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In May of this year, I attended the Jazz
and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. I am not a big fan of country
music and I had always lumped "Emmylou Harris" into
that category. On the Friday I was there, we watched Dave Bartholemew
on the main stage. When we saw that Emmylou Harris was scheduled
next, we decided to make our way to the food and beverage tents.
Then, a strange thing happened. She started singing and I was
simply blown away by her voice. To my surprise, not only did
I stay for her whole set, but it was also one of the highlights
of the whole event for me.
Flash forward to the writing of this review.
If I were to actually start an "Emmylou Harris" collection,
I would have no idea where to begin. As I said, I have never
been a big country fan, and would have no clue as to whether
to begin with her early career or try some of her later recordings.
Luckily, she has solved that problem for me with the album "Spyboy."
It is a live album, featuring her and her band, "Spyboy,"
and draws from songs spanning her entire career. With this album,
she also manages to transcend the "country" label,
displaying a sound that features elements of country, rock, folk,
and alternative.
The album opens with two tracks, "My
Songbird" and "Where Will I Be," that showcase
her voice, which is truly amazing. The first song in particular
begins with sparse instrumentation and her voice, which seems
to pluck notes out of the air and hold them sparkling like jewels
till she glides effortlessly to the next one. The second song
begins to show some of the versatility both of her music and
of her band. The guitar work of Buddy Miller on this song sounds
less like the typical sound associated with country music, and
more like the guitar work from The Edge on U2's "Unforgettable
Fire" and "Where the Streets Have No Name."
Country fans will delight in the high-energy
country rocker "Ain't Living Long." She proves on this
song that she can kick back and let loose with the best of performers,
and this song in particular sounds like it could have possibly
influenced a young Trisha Yearwood in her vocal style.
One of the biggest surprises of the album,
at least for me, follows. I am generally against performers doing
cover versions of other people's music, because one of two things
usually happens: they do a note-for-note reproduction of the
original artist's version, which is pointless, or they try to
transform the song into something of their own, which generally
fails pretty miserably. However, "Emmylou Harris and Spyboy"
pull off a cover of "Love Hurts," a song probably best
remembered as the metal-ballad done by Nazareth in the late '70's.
I really enjoyed this track! They transform it into a moving
wistful ballad that produces a sense of regret instead of the
feelings of anger and resentment that the original recording
stirred.
She and the band tackle a gospel sound
on such tracks as "Green Pastures," "Prayer In
Open D" and the long free-form closing track "The Maker."
Her voice is the prominent feature on two other moving tracks:
"Calling My Children Home" and "All My Tears."
The band is showcased on yet another country rocker, the lengthy
jam "Deeper Well." This track almost sounds like it
could have been penned by Steve Earle.
The band goes folksy on tracks like "Tulsa
Queen" and "Boulder To Birmingham," and prove
that they are capable of reaching a wide range of styles and
playing them all effortlessly. They are a tight-knit group and
each one complements the others well.
This is a lengthy album, featuring 14 tracks
and a running time of over an hour. There aren't really any disappointments
on the album, though at that length it may not be something someone
listens through completely at any one sitting. Emmylou's voice
clearly drives the music, but the variety of styles and songs
is what keeps the album interesting and make it worth listening
to.
As far as the band goes, they've played
shows in Nashville, participated in the New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Festival, and also played some dates on the Lilith Fair
tour, which shows that they know how to reach a broad spectrum
of audiences.
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