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  1. 2023 Albums Thing 152 - Emmylou Harris “Blue Kentucky Girl”

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    The Hot Band are all here, we have contributions from Dolly and Linda Ronstadt, an Everly Brother and, most importantly for me, Gram is back. “Blue Kentucky Girl” (a song originally recorded by the great Loretta Lynn in 1965) finds Emmylou moving to a much more trad Country style, perhaps following rumblings from some Country purists that the Country Rock style she’d forged ahead with was more Rock than Country.

    Let’s get straight to it. The absolute gem on this record is the cover of Gram Parson’s “Hickory Wind”. It is one of Gram’s greatest songs, written and recorded for The Byrds album “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo” in 1968, the very birth point of Country Rock. He then recorded another version in a faux-live style for his 1974 solo album “Grievous Angel”, a version on which Emmylou sings with him. She gives it everything here and I’d argue it’s one of her greatest vocal performances. You can hear the longing and the loss in her voice and there’s a rough edge to her singing that you don’t usually hear from her. A great take of a wonderful song.

    There’s another Louvin Brothers song sung in duet with Don Everly. The closing two songs are as Country as Country can be. Firstly Loretta Lynn’s song that lends its title to this album, one of those lyrics that maybe Loretta wasn’t entirely happy with, telling her roving man he can come back anytime to his blue Kentucky girl, even the strongest personalities had to bow to the Nashville studio execs sometimes. The Coal Miners Daughter was, after all, no stranger to having her own songs censored, particularly “The Pill” in which she wasn’t telling any roving man to come back “Miniskirts, hot pants, and a few little fancy frills, Yeah, I'm making up for all those years since I've got the pill”, sent shockwaves through Nashville and was much more Loretta’s style !

    The final track is Rodney Crowell’s “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues” including harmony vocal support from Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. This track came out of some ill-fated recording sessions where the trio attempted to make an album together. It took them another 9 years before they managed to nail that.

    This is a much better record than its predecessor. Better arranged, performed and recorded, there’s just more life to it. It’s very much more “Country” than her previous records but even the go at The Drifters “Save The Last Dance For Me”, country style, works. There’s also that little rough edge to Emmylou’s voice that I’ve not heard before. Oh, and Gram.

    Hickory Wind - https://youtu.be/gDrf1sOLgEk

  2. 2023 Albums Thing 151 - Emmylou Harris “Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town”

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    Released early in 1978 “Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town” is the first Emmylou album we’ve covered that doesn’t feature a song about or written by Gram Parsons. I’m not really sure why I held on to this one, I must have completely succumbed to this gorgeous voice by now. But I really don’t have much to say about it other than it’s Emmylou and its Country.

    On a slight down note, for me, Dolly Parton’s “To Daddy” is the kind of sickly sweet, mawkish Country music that I really don’t like but it delivered up a #3 hit so what do I know. The Rodney Crowell song “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight” has a guest appearance by The Band’s Rick Danko on Fiddle and backing vocals.

    Guy Clark’s “One Paper Kid” sees Emmylou duetting with the great Willie Nelson on a stripped back (acoustic guitar and harmonica) story of a dreamer. “Green Rolling Hills” is worth a mention. Written by Bruce “Utah” Philips a man who saw himself as a labour organiser, folk singer, storyteller and poet. He wrote about the struggles of labour unions and self-identified as an anarchist. That must have gone down well in Nashville’s Music Row record company offices !

    There’s not really one shining standout moment on “Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town”, it is, as you would expect, expertly, slickly delivered Country music. Emmylou’s voice does it for me, a thing of wonder throughout.

    Green Rolling Hills - https://youtu.be/LS3Z0ughijk

  3. 2023 Albums Thing 150 - Emmylou Harris “Luxury Liner”

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    Today we reach album #150 in this “little” project I started back in January, quite the milestone. It’s been good for me writing about these records and in some cases discovering corners of and things about them that are new even to me and I hope some of you out there are still following along and occasionally enjoying these ramblings.

    “Luxury Liner” is Emmylou’s 4th solo album and 2nd successive (US Country) #1.  Live and in the studio she had gathered around her a bunch of musicians now known as the Hot Band, chief among them being James Burton from Elvis Presley’s band and who had also played on Gram Parsons records. Around 1976 Burton returned to Elvis’ live band and was replaced in the Hot Band by British guitarist virtuoso Albert Lee (check out his song “Country Boy”) who makes his first appearance on an Emmylou album here.

    Makeup wise things remain the same. A couple of songs written with Rodney Crowell, some standards by Chuck Berry and the Louvin Brothers, no Beatles this time but two more of Gram Parson’s songs and, importantly, the very first cover of Townes van Zandt’s “Pancho And Lefty”.

    Townes van Zandt was a singer and songwriter who was effectively ignored during his lifetime but who, in later years, has come to be hailed as a master of American songwriting. He lived for many years in a shack with no electricity or telephone. He had his addictions to drink and drugs and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His health problems from his addictions were responsible for his death in 1997. “Pancho And Lefty”, which Van Zandt recorded originally for his 1972 album “The Late Great Townes Van Zandt”, has become his best known song as, after this first cover by Emmylou, it’s been covered by anybody who is anybody in Country music and beyond. There are versions by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, Roseanne Cash, Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan and even Frank Turner…the list is seemingly endless. It’s a wonderful song, the tale of 2 “cowboy” drifters, Pancho (spelt Poncho on TvZ’s original version) and Lefty, one of whom “met his match you know, On the deserts down in Mexico”, the other who immediately “split for Ohio”. Have a listen below, Emmylou delivers it beautifully.

    I only usually include one video link on these things but today I’ve left you three. “Pancho And Lefty” from this album, a live version from someot other Euro music show with Emmylou and the Hot Band (Rodney Crowell on acoustic and Albert Lee on Electric guitar) and last a lovely interview with Townes himself about the song. Sorry if it’s overload but it’s such an important song I think it deserves to be celebrated.

    Back to the album…my other main points of interest here are the two Gram Parsons songs. “Luxury Liner” dates back to Gram’s time in the late 60’s, pre-Byrds, with the International Submarine Band. That band also featured Chris Etheridge who turned up in the Flying Burrito Brothers later on. The song is a steamroller Country hoedown with an impossibly fast picked solo by (I’m pretty sure) Albert Lee.

    The second of Gram’s songs is the gorgeous ballad “She”. It originally appeared on Gram’s first solo album “GP”. I’ve always thought the song was about Emmylou anyway with lyrics like “She, came from the land of the cotton” (Emmylou is from Alabama) and the more than obvious “Oh my, but she sure could sing”. It’s a thing of rare beauty.

    Not much else to report. You either like Country music or you don’t (I do and I’d like to think I might help change some perceptions along the way). Onto the next one.

    Pancho And Lefty - https://youtu.be/l3LQeRqTBK4

    Pancho And Lefty (TopPop) - https://youtu.be/1MtvnZ2LvsM

    Townes van Zandt Explains Panch And Lefty - https://youtu.be/g3bFAuuUeXU