The Last of the True Believers

The Last of the True Believers is singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith's fourth album, and her last album for Philo Records. The acclaim accorded her from her previous Once in a Very Blue Moon and the current album would gain her a contract with a major recording company after this album. Here, Griffith continues her turn toward a more country-oriented work than her first two albums, which were primarily folk-sounding. It also includes two songs which would later be hits for Kathy Mattea: "Love at the Five and Dime" from her 1986 album Walk the Way the Wind Blows, and "Goin' Gone", Mattea's first Number One, from 1987's Untasted Honey.

The Last of the True Believers
Studio album by Nanci Griffith
Released	1986
Recorded	October 7–9, 1985 at Jack Clement's Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Country
Length	35:16
Label	Philo Records
Producer	Jim Rooney and Nanci Griffith[1]
Nanci Griffith chronology
Once in a Very Blue Moon (1984) The Last of the True Believers (1986) Lone Star State of Mind (1987)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	B−[3]

Cover

The photograph on the album cover contains several references to the album's songs. A couple can be seen dancing behind Griffith, standing in front of a Woolworth's store as described in "Love at the Five and Dime." The male dancer is Lyle Lovett, who also appears on the album as a vocalist. The man standing at far left is John T. Davis, at the time a music writer for the Austin American-Statesman.

As with other Nanci Griffith albums she is pictured holding books by and/or about southern writers. On the front cover she is holding a copy of The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams by Donald Spoto. On the album's back cover she is clutching Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.[4]

Accolades

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[5]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Nanci Griffith; except where indicated

1. "Last of the True Believers" – 2:47
2. "Love at the Five and Dime" – 4:33
3. "St. Olav's Gate" (Tom Russell) – 3:03
4. "More Than a Whisper" (Griffith, Bobby Nelson) – 3:42
5. "Banks of the Pontchartrain" – 3:39
6. "Lookin' for the Time (Workin' Girl)" – 2:43
7. "Goin' Gone" (Pat Alger, Bill Dale, Fred Koller) – 4:19
8. "One of These Days" – 2:54
9. "Love's Found a Shoulder" – 2:19
10. "Fly by Night" – 2:36
11. "The Wing and the Wheel" – 2:41

Personnel

• Nanci Griffith – vocals, harmony vocals, acoustic guitar
• Philip Donnelly – electric guitar
• Pat Alger – acoustic and high-string guitar
• Rick West – acoustic guitar, mandolin
• Roy Huskey Jr. – double bass
• Ralph Vitello – piano
• Lloyd Green – dobro, pedal steel
• Béla Fleck – banjo
• Mark O'Connor – mandolin, violin, mandola
• John Catchings – cello
• Kenny Malone – drums, percussion
• Lyle Lovett – harmony vocals
• Pros and Cons Harmony Choir (Nanci Griffith, Marlin "Griff" Griffith, Richard Dobson, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Tom Russell) – harmony vocals on "St. Olav's Gate"
• Rachel Peer Prine – harmony vocals on "More Than a Whisper"
• Maura O'Connell – harmony vocals on "Banks of the Pontchartrain"
• Curtis Allen – harmony vocals on "Fly By Night"
• Gove Scrivenor – autoharp on "Goin' Gone"
• Robin Batteau – violin on "The Wing and The Wheel"

Track listing and Personnel transcribed from the album's liner notes.[1]

References

1. The Last of the True Believers (liner notes). Nanci Griffith. Philco. 1986. PH-1109.CS1 maint: others (link)
2. AllMusic review
3. Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
4. The Nanci Users Guide Archived March 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
5. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (February 7, 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.

External links

• The Last of the True Believers (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)