All the Intentions Come Home, 4 Out Of 5 StarsEmmylou Harris could - to paraphrase an overworked comment - sing the phonebook and she could make me sad. On her 2008 "All I Intended to Be," she digs in deep and follows a mournful track that is just pure Emmylou, teaming up with old collaborators like the McGarrigle sisters and her ex-husband/early producer Brian Ahern to make a fantastic album. As the pure country strains of "Shores of White Sand" give way to a lilting Celtic flute, you realize Emmylou has moved away from the Daniel Lanois atmospherics of the lovely Red Dirt Girl and back to the openness of traditional country.
"All I Intended To Be" stays the course with a mixture of Emmylou's original songs and a choice selection of covers from Merle Haggard, Patty Griffin and Tracy Chapman. Chapman's "All You Have Is Your Soul" (from her Crossroads) is one of the album's highlights. But for me, the clincher is Harris's own "Gold." Here, she invites Vince Gill and old Trio companion Dolly Parton to sing harmonies. The result is sublimely beautiful (and makes me wish for a return of the "Trio" for a third album). It's my favorite song on an album that surrounds the soul-pulling of sadness with strains of hope, and rates up among Emmylou Harris' best CD's.
No comments:
Post a Comment