Patty Griffin Releases Rarities on ‘Tape’

Patty Griffin is releasing TAPE, a collection of rare demos and home recordings off her own PGM Recordings label, via Thirty Tigers, on June 17, including a video for single “Get Lucky.”

“At some point in the pandemic, I was digging through my own music streaming to relearn some of my own oldies and found something that had been compiled (perhaps by a computer algorithm) that was titled as a ‘rarities’ or ‘deep cuts’ collection,” say Griffin of TAPE. “I looked of course, and it was a pretty boring list for the most part. I later dug through some recordings I had done on cheap home recording apps, including my favorite one called TapeDeck which I’m not sure exists anymore.”

Griffin said she likes some of the songs since they were better than she had remembered. “I dug around some more and found things from some GarageBand recordings, and then also a couple of things from an in-studio demo session in Nashville that were pretty interesting, including a duet I did with Robert Plant when we first met,” she said. “It all seemed worth listening to. Back then I didn’t think so, but I do now.”

The 10-track album features first single a demo of “Get Lucky,” a slow and steady uplifting track with Griffin singing Maybe you’ll get lucky / one more time / maybe all the stars / will shine for you / one more time.

“The sound quality on the majority of things on TAPE is pretty low, but the performances are what really matter to me,” said Griffin. “My home recordings are almost always my favorite recordings, as far as capturing a fresh, direct feeling. The shy introvert’s dilemma… I’ve always had a hard time creating that same feeling in a studio full of people whose talent is in sound quality. These songs have a feel you can only get when you’re by yourself at three o’clock in the morning.”

Currently on a headlining tour and supporting The Chicks, Griffin released her 10th self-titled album in 2019.

“To listen to the bulk of these recordings, you do have to let go of the idea of good sound quality and just listen to the performance. I feel better getting some true rarities out there for people to listen to, not compiled by a computer algorithm.”

TAPE Tracklist

Get Lucky
One Day We Could
Strip of Light
Don’t Mind
Sundown
Little Yellow House
Night
Kiss of a Man
Octaves
Forever Shall Be

Photo: Michael Wilson