The Last of the True Believers

Infobox Album | Name =Last of the True Believers
Type = Album
Artist = 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
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:cgem97u7krkt link]
Last album = "Once in a Very Blue Moon"
(1984)
This album = "Last of the True Believers"
(1986)
Next album = "Lone Star State of Mind"
(1987) |

"Last of the True Believers" is singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith's fourth album, and her last with the folk music-oriented 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. One highlight is Mark O'Connor's fiddle playing throughout the album. Although Griffith would later get a major label contract, many of her fans agree that this album is one of the best of her career.Fact|date=February 2007

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. Another couple can be seen apparently acting out a scene from "Lookin' for the Time" as the man, John T. Davis, a journalist and music historian, is pointing at his empty wrist.

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. [http://home.austin.rr.com/ferghome/nanfaq.html The Nanci Users Guide] ]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Nanci Griffith; except where indicated

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

Notes and sources