Patty Griffin Crown Of Roses
Patty Griffin's Crown Of Roses arrives as a quietly powerful collection that mines introspection, parenthood and family history with plainspoken poetry and spare arrangements. Across three professional reviews the record earns a 76.67/100 consensus score from critics who praise how restraint and emotional focus make songs like “Back at the Start”, “Way up to the Sky” and “I Know a Way” emerge as the best songs on Crown Of Roses.
Critics consistently note Griffin's versatility - the album moves from roots-rock pulse to hymn-like acoustic confession - and they single out “All the Way Home” and “The End” for their dramatic and intimate moments. PopMatters highlights the record's reward for repeated listens, Uncut emphasizes the slow-burning revelations in tracks such as “Back At The Start” and “Way Up To The Sky&, and Glide Magazine points to the album's power in shadow, where whispering vocals and sparse production amplify themes of loss, resilience and mortality. Across three reviews, professional reviewers agree the work favors emotional truth over showmanship.
While praise centers on craft, poetry and the record's emotional anchors, critics offer a tempered verdict rather than unqualified acclaim - the consensus score reflects strong admiration for Griffin's songwriting alongside recognition of the album's deliberate, sometimes bleak tone. For readers seeking what critics say about Crown Of Roses, the collection stands as a mature, intimate statement in Griffin's catalog and is worth exploring for its standout tracks and understated endurance.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Back at the Start
3 mentions
"With its scratchy groove and percussive shuffle, “ Back At The Start ” is about as busy as they get"— Uncut
I Know a Way
2 mentions
"Similarly, “ I Know A Way ” – which evolves from droning guitar to humid gospel, with electric piano by Terry Allen ’s son, Bukka"— Uncut
All the Way Home
3 mentions
"the truly wonderful “ All The Way Home ” feels like the album’s statement piece."— Uncut
With its scratchy groove and percussive shuffle, “ Back At The Start ” is about as busy as they get
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Back at the Start
Born in a Cage
The End
Long Time
All the Way Home
Way up to the Sky
I Know a Way
A Word
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In a patient, introspective register Justin Cober-Lake finds the best songs on Crown Of Roses to be those that let Griffin pry open private places and turn them outward. Patty Griffin makes the case most clearly in “Back at the Start” and “Way Up to the Sky”, where the slow, roots-rock pulse and the spare acoustic questioning respectively crystallize why these are standout tracks. He praises the drama of “The End” and the Southwestern intensity of “All the Way Home” as further proof of the album's versatility, and he reserves special note for the closing tenderness of “A Word” as the emotional relief that completes the record. The result is an album whose best tracks reward repeated listening for their honesty and craft.
Key Points
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The best song(s) balance private revelation with broader concerns, notably “Back at the Start” and “Way Up to the Sky”.
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The album's core strengths are Griffin's lyrical introspection and versatile arrangements that move between spare acoustic moments and chambered drama.
Themes
Critic's Take
Patty Griffin’s Crown Of Roses quietly stakes its claim with the best tracks doing the most emotional work: “Back At The Start” and “Way Up To The Sky” are early and late high points, the former a scratchy, persuasive exercise in restraint and the latter a hymn to parenthood sung with only acoustic guitar. The review voice lingers on craft, praising how the band’s intuitive textures let songs like “I Know A Way” evolve from droning guitar into humid gospel, and how “All The Way Home” serves as the album’s statement piece. That concentrated hush and rootless simmer makes these best songs on Crown Of Roses feel like slow-burning revelations rather than immediate hooks.
Key Points
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“Way Up To The Sky” is best for its intimate acoustic delivery and wide, hymnlike scope about parenthood.
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The album’s core strengths are Griffin’s concentrated hush, intuitive band textures, and emotionally precise songwriting.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his measured, slightly rueful voice Jim Hynes argues that Patty Griffin’s Crown Of Roses finds its power in shadow rather than light. He repeatedly points to tracks like “Back at the Start” and “I Know a Way” as the album’s emotional anchors, praising Griffin’s poetry even as the record tilts toward bleakness. Hynes’ sentences are observant and plainspoken, noting how a whispering vocal and spare arrangements make songs such as “The End” and “All the Way Home” feel achingly intimate. The result, he suggests, yields some of the best songs on Crown Of Roses because they trade showmanship for plain truth and resonant lines.
Key Points
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The best song is notable for poetic lines and rhythmic engagement, making “Back at the Start” the standout.
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The album's core strengths are Griffin's rich poetry, intimate vocal delivery, and willingness to confront mortality.