Alfred is a noted Emmylou tearer-downer.
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 12 April 2014 16:24 (ten years ago) link
These songs are okay to great! Lanois ain't the right choice though.
― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 12 April 2014 16:25 (ten years ago) link
history says otherwise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OomaNxkY-KY
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Saturday, 12 April 2014 16:33 (ten years ago) link
^^ btw just because this is a great-sounding track and superlative rendition doesn't mean i'm tipping my hand or anything. think i've got it narrowed down to seven...
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Saturday, 12 April 2014 16:36 (ten years ago) link
Never heard this, but lol at Alfred's post.
― tl;dr5-49 (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 12 April 2014 17:56 (ten years ago) link
Was listening to this (perfect) album today, feeling bad that I had to skip the Emmy/Lanois show last week. I love "Where Will I Be" the best. But "Goodbye" is beautiful. Emmy (via this song) was the only one willing to give Earle another shot post jail. I think this was the first thing he recorded when he got out.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 12 April 2014 18:10 (ten years ago) link
Goin Back to Harlan
― bone a wish (Drugs A. Money), Saturday, 12 April 2014 20:33 (ten years ago) link
Eliminating the songs that I find merely wonderful, I'm still left trying to decide between:
GoodbyeWrecking BallEvery Grain of SandSweet Old WorldOrphan GirlBlackhawkWaltz Across Texas Tonight
Damn.
― Inside Lewellyn Sinclair (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 15 April 2014 02:31 (ten years ago) link
Finally listening to this. Thought I would share Alfred's objection but the period production is working for me, the same way the Steve Lillywhite production works on Marshall Crenshaw's Field Day.
― Lem E. Killdozer (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 15 April 2014 03:22 (ten years ago) link
Left out the word "brouhaha" after the second "production."
― Lem E. Killdozer (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 15 April 2014 03:34 (ten years ago) link
Wha? Lucinda Williams song?
― Lem E. Killdozer (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 15 April 2014 03:36 (ten years ago) link
Sweet Old World is Lucinda.
― banjoboy, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 04:11 (ten years ago) link
I know it well
― Lem E. Killdozer (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 15 April 2014 04:36 (ten years ago) link
The only song I don't have time for on this is "Waltz Across Texas Tonight". Ironic as it's the only Emmylou Harris-penned track on the record. All else is supreme.
― vmajestic, Friday, 25 April 2014 14:52 (nine years ago) link
BREAKING: I think I've maybe got it down to five now
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Friday, 25 April 2014 18:09 (nine years ago) link
"Goodbye" is one of those songs I've got to have on me wherever I go. Emmylou's version, though Steve Earle's too lately. "but I recall..." & her voice breaks on "recall", man, I do too.
― Euler, Friday, 25 April 2014 18:50 (nine years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Sunday, 27 April 2014 00:01 (nine years ago) link
Voted "Harlan," but love a lot of them.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 27 April 2014 00:04 (nine years ago) link
I don't think she can quite match the honesty of Steve n Lucinda's originals, because those are such personal songs. But her renditions of both are lovely.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 27 April 2014 00:06 (nine years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Monday, 28 April 2014 00:01 (nine years ago) link
Why so few votes?!
― Inside Lewellyn Sinclair (cryptosicko), Monday, 28 April 2014 03:59 (nine years ago) link
i thought i voted for "where will i be" but i guess not
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 28 April 2014 07:02 (nine years ago) link
had never heard this album til today. never made it past the first track, or I should say, I haven't stopped listening to it yet. not sure i could think of a better song atm. feel in love as soon as the first snare hit.
― down that brown path (Spottie), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 07:53 (six years ago) link
fell*
kinda nervous to listen to the rest, there's no way it can stay this good. all these sounds and tones just fit too perfectly.
― down that brown path (Spottie), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 07:56 (six years ago) link
"where will i be" is prob my favorite opening track of all time but trust me the rest of the album is amazing
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 13:00 (six years ago) link
wonderful drumming too, makes the song feel slightly out of phase with itself
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 13:10 (six years ago) link
Sometimes I agree with this! Lanois is an underrated songwriter, and this I think is his first pairing with Brian Blade, who is a perfect companion.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 13:22 (six years ago) link
yeah the drums are what hooked me. just finished the rest of this, what an album. I love the production, i cant understand the arguments against it, but this is my entry point for Emmylou so maybe trve fans felt it was way off base?
― down that brown path (Spottie), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 20:08 (six years ago) link
im also not super familiar w Lanois and his work outside of u2 and a couple other records he produced, so i have a limited frame of reference there.
― down that brown path (Spottie), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 20:14 (six years ago) link
The next album, "Red Dirt Girl", is almost as good.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 20:20 (six years ago) link
ok going in on that next
― down that brown path (Spottie), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 20:22 (six years ago) link
lol i was just listening to "where will i be" this morning and just casually thinking "wow the drums are awesome" without even knowing it's brian blade, that dude is unbelievable
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 20:23 (six years ago) link
think ive listened to that song at least 25 times in the last 24 hours
― Spottie, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 20:38 (six years ago) link
Anyone gonna rep for "Stumble Into Grace"? It's not bad but it lacks something that the previous two provide me, just can't put my finger on it.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 21:00 (six years ago) link
It's OK, I think not terribly worse than Red Dirt Girl (which I don't think is nearly as good as Wrecking Ball, for what that's worth). With Red Dirt Girl, I want to say that's where Emmylou started writing her own songs, which can be great (the title track), but she's no Lanois/Earle/Young/McGarrigles/Welch et al., and the production approximates Lanois but again, Malcolm Burn is no Lanois. All I Intended to Be and Hard Bargain are both pretty good, but then, most of her stuff is good, as are the Trio albums, as is the album with Crowell as is the Duo album with Ronstadt.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 21:14 (six years ago) link
i gave red dirt girl a spin but it's just not. quite. the same. doesn't have that same enveloping warmth in comparison to WB. The title track, my baby needs a shepherd, bang the drum slowly is a gorgeous three-song run tho.
― Spottie, Thursday, 27 July 2017 23:38 (six years ago) link
Give "Tragedy" and "Michaelangelo" another spin.
― the general theme of STUFF (cryptosicko), Friday, 28 July 2017 01:19 (six years ago) link
All The Roadrunning, her duet album with Mark Knopfler, is the other contemporary one of hers I really like.
And Spottie, the companion to this album really is Willie Nelson's Teatro.
― Eazy, Friday, 28 July 2017 03:32 (six years ago) link
Ah, now that one I outright didn't like. Don't find Lanois (or the percussion) a good fit with Nelson, it really felt like a full on attempt to replicate "Wrecking Ball" with the wrong artist. Maybe I should listen again. If anything, I find the Neville Brothers' "Yellow Moon" an interesting analog to "Wrecking Ball."
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 28 July 2017 03:41 (six years ago) link
― the general theme of STUFF (cryptosicko), Thursday, July 27, 2017 6:19 PM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
tragedy was a little too trip hoppy for me maybe? idk listening now and its really nice. wish it didn't have that drum track. theres gotta be a killer live version of that somewhere. good call on michaelangelo too.
― Spottie, Friday, 28 July 2017 07:54 (six years ago) link
haven't really ever listened to Willie beyond knowing the obvious classic tracks.
yellow moon is def an interesting comparison! distant cousins
― Spottie, Friday, 28 July 2017 08:01 (six years ago) link
I've seen Emmylou live a bunch, and "Michaelangelo" and "Red Dirt Girl" make their way into her sets a good deal, which is something. From "Wrecking Ball," I want to say she still plays "Goodbye" a lot (which means a lot to her and Earle) and "Orphan Girl." I wish I saw the "Wrecking Ball" tour, but I think I was out of town.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 28 July 2017 12:20 (six years ago) link
Another atmospheric Americana precursor to "Wrecking Ball," now that I think of it, is "Living with the Law." Iirc Lanois produces maybe a track on that, and Malcolm Burn, his right hand man at the time, does the rest of it. That was ... '91?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 28 July 2017 13:17 (six years ago) link
That was 91. Discovered by Lanois, recorded by Burn. RIP CW
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Friday, 28 July 2017 17:21 (six years ago) link
Recorded at Lanois' studio, with Lanois' right hand man at the time, Mark Howard (who also worked on Wrecking Ball). Lanois plays guitar on it a bit, too.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 28 July 2017 17:28 (six years ago) link
checked out the willie album, not my thing, gotta agree w josh on that one.
where should I go w Emmylou if I go backwards from Wrecking Ball?
― Spottie, Monday, 31 July 2017 20:31 (six years ago) link
can't go wrong with everything from pieces of the sky to roses in the snow
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 20:58 (six years ago) link
Honestly, maybe give Lanois' Acadie a shot, too. But yeah, pretty much anything she recorded with her first Hot Band is pretty awesome. I want to say she doesn't really have any bad records, just better records than others.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 31 July 2017 21:10 (six years ago) link
Angel Band is incredible
― nomar, Monday, 31 July 2017 21:24 (six years ago) link
thanks! checked out a bit of Angel Band yesterday and liked it. Starting from the beginning then.
― Spottie, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 17:35 (six years ago) link
i just picked up the remastered double LP reissue of Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers - Live at the Ryman, which is one of my favorite live albums. it's from 1992 (the show is from 1991), and she's so phenomenal throughout.
http://www.nonesuch.com/sites/g/files/g2000005811/f/styles/featured_release/public/201705/emmylou-harris-at-the-ryman-brd-545.jpg?itok=InD0DTPz
― nomar, Friday, 4 August 2017 05:51 (six years ago) link
nice, gonna listen
― Spottie, Friday, 4 August 2017 22:40 (six years ago) link
great record
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Friday, 4 August 2017 22:58 (six years ago) link
The story behind that album/show is great, too. The Ryman (not to Nashsplain...) was in serious disrepair, vacant for like 20 years (!) and in danger of being closed forever or torn down, iirc. And Emmylou, long one of the loudest supporters of country music traditions, was one of the first (only?) to step up and push for a show there. The Ryman is so associated with country music and its history that it's hard to believe how close it came to vanishing. A reminder of what country was like - when the album was released Emmylou had yet to even be inducted as an official member of the Opry. Emmylou Harris!!!
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 5 August 2017 01:01 (six years ago) link
That's awesome. Got about halfway through, really great.
― Spottie, Saturday, 5 August 2017 03:37 (six years ago) link
did we talk about how spyboy is an incredible live album
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Sunday, 8 October 2017 13:56 (six years ago) link
Yeah, Spyboy is pretty great. Buddy Miller is incredible on it and Emmylou's singing is inspirational.
― banjoboy, Tuesday, 10 October 2017 09:06 (six years ago) link
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Wednesday, July 26, 2017 1:23 PM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink
yeah it's basically the greatest drum performance of all time imo lol
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 1 August 2019 19:40 (four years ago) link
its perfect
― big city slam (Spottie), Thursday, 1 August 2019 21:00 (four years ago) link
Version on Here Is What Is is better:https://youtu.be/DCnBIdOR8_U
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 5 August 2019 03:21 (four years ago) link
(I’d vote for Goin’ Back to Harlan)
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 5 August 2019 13:16 (four years ago) link
wait, no way that version is better!
― big city slam (Spottie), Monday, 5 August 2019 16:04 (four years ago) link
Points for Lanois version:His best vocal (hers is weirdly one note)Odd, hypnotic Mellotron-y partsBlade playing over Willie Green’s “Maker” beatSweet Hofner bassline
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 5 August 2019 21:51 (four years ago) link
Am I the only person who hears the drums backward on this song? I feel like the live and alternate versions have the downbeat in an entirely different place than the album version, although the parts themselves are played virtually identically.
Album version:[ONE]-oh-the (2)streets-are-cracked [THREE, FOUR](1)And-there’s (2)glass-everywhere [THREE, FOUR]
Spyboy etc:[FOUR] Oh-the-streets-are (1)cracked [TWO, THREE] and there’s (4)glass every(1)where [TWO, THREE]
― Una Palooka Dronka (hardcore dilettante), Tuesday, 6 August 2019 17:36 (four years ago) link
You’re not imagining things. Live version is much more straight ahead than either of the studio takes, with the snare on the 2 and 4. Main studio take has the first snare on the upbeat after 2 and downbeat of 3. It’s a very different feel.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 10 August 2019 13:30 (four years ago) link