I believe one reason fame has eluded Tift Merritt is that she’s too damn intellectual. I certainly don’t mean that as a criticism, but I can see how it limits her appeal.
Merritt is the ultimate NPR artist. She’s done a slew of Tiny Desk Concert-esque performances for a dozen audience members and a radio listenership probably not much larger. Her albums are lauded by crunchy granola whisperers like the ones Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon used to parody on SNL.
‘Heartache is an Uphill Climb’ is the second track and first single on Tift Merritt’s Stitch of the World.
I’ve heard Merritt compared to a host of artists. Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Sheryl Crow. One recent reviewer wrote that she lives at the midpoint between Emmylou Harris and Joni Mitchell, a description I like. Many write-ups of today’s SOTD compare her vocals to Dolly Parton.
Last year around this time I posted a song-by-song consideration of Lucinda Williams’ latest album, The Ghosts of Highway 20. It wasn’t exactly applauded by my regular readers, though I did get at least one staunch Williams fan defending me.
That defense came in a comment on a song by another favorite artist of mine, Tift Merritt, and earlier in the thread the same person broke the news that Merritt would release a new album in early 2017.
Ah, Tift Merritt. I find this woman’s voice, and her songwriting, as emotionally satisfying as pretty much any music I own. She exudes thoughtfulness and sensitivity, but with an underlying grittiness. Just sublime.
Today’s Random Weekend selection is the closing track of Merritt’s 2008 album, Another Country. She has been so consistently good that I can make an argument for that album being her best, her “worst” or anything in between.
I don’t know that any of my favorite artists have quite the effect on me that Tift Merritt does.
Maybe it’s the intelligence and humanity in all of our songs, the generosity of spirit, the earnestness and warmth. Maybe it’s her rich, welcoming vocals. Maybe it’s just the fact that she’s the only one of my favorites I’ve met in person, and I’ve met her twice.
Meet Me In Montauk 