1000 Kisses

Since the breathtaking purity of her debut, Living with Ghosts, Patty Griffin has proven she can luxuriate in glamorous pop, rock like a biker, hold her own on stage with the Dixie Chicks, and write hit songs and singer-songwriter classics. What she hadn't done is craft an album as wholly exquisite and emotional as her talent. With the spare, acoustic 1000 Kisses, she has done just that. In the basement of longtime guitarist Doug Lancio's Nashville home, Griffin takes a suite of intensely personal songs (and three covers, including a tingling version of Bruce Springsteen's "Stolen Car") into the close confidence of her airy but twang-shaded voice, and draws accordion, cello, mandolin, brushed drums, and even Emmylou Harris into a candid and rare musical space. After a four-year wait, 1000 Kisses is more than reason to celebrate Griffin's return--it's a guileless, glowing masterpiece. --Roy Kasten