Classic country, aging gracefully: A brief introduction to Emmylou Harris
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At age 63, Emmylou Harris hasn’t tarnished her status as a legendary game-changer in the world of country music. In fact, much of her latest release—2008's All I Intended To Be—stands up pretty well against her previous work in terms of both quality and exploration. With this, Harris offers shining evidence that no genre of music ages more gracefully than classic country. (It's tough to imagine a 63-year old Ghostface Killah barking out couplets about snorting blow off his wife's snack table.) While Harris proved herself an evocative songwriter with classics like the heart-ripping “Boulder To Birmingham,” much of her legacy is built on her shivering reinterpretations of other songwriters, from The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen to Gram Parsons to Townes Van Zandt.
In the past decade, Harris has stayed busy as a collaborator. She stole the hearts of indie dorks by coloring in Ryan Adams’ “Oh My Sweet Carolina” (arguably one of Adams' best tunes) and outshining Conor Oberst on Bright Eyes’ “We Are Nowhere And It’s Now” with her haunting croons. Looking back a lot further, The A.V. Club offers a brief tour of Harris' rich history of collaboration and heartbreak in anticipation of her show at Overture Hall tonight.
"Streets Of Baltimore" (with Gram Parsons and The Fallen Angels, Live at The Liberty Hall, Houston, Texas 1973)
Yes, we know this is a poor-quality video, but it still provides vivid evidence of the irreplaceable chemistry that formed between Harris and her friend, collaborator, and mentor Gram Parsons (whose work as a solo artist, with The Byrds, and with the Flying Burrito Brothers counts as a little "alt-country" movement in itself). Being that this was in 1973, we can assume that the pair was playing in support of Parsons’ 1973 solo debut GP. Sadly, we can also assume that it was shot shortly before Parsons’ fatal overdose in Joshua Tree, Calif.
“Boulder To Birmingham”
Released in 1975, “Boulder To Birmingham” is a gut-wrenching (in a good way) tribute to Parsons, whose death both shocked Harris and broke her heart. Building off delicate swells of pedal-steel guitar and melancholy chord strums, Harris’ beaming vibrato tells a sad tale of futility and loss. “Well, you’ve really got me this time / And the hardest part is knowing I’ll survive,” she delicately warbles with pain and surrender. It seems like a tough way to kick off an excellent solo career.
“For No One” (from Emmylou Harris' Ten Commandments Of Country on BBC Four, 2007)
“For No One” is a perfect example of how effectively Harris can take a song from one musical context and jam it through the Americana lens. Harris’ soaring voice wears Paul McCartney’s lyrics as though they were her own, and her slowed-down delivery pushes the song into an even darker, bleaker place than the original. The sparse string accompaniment from Harris’ backing band doesn’t hurt either.
"Shores Of White Sand" (On The Late Show With David Letterman, 2008)
“Shores Of White Sand” brings us to All I Intended To Be, Harris’ 21st and most recent album. While All I Intended To Be includes a number of Harris originals, this tune was penned by Jack Wesley Routh, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and former Johnny Cash collaborator. David Letterman seems to be introducing this Late Show performance with a rare display of humility, or perhaps he's just having trouble with the print on his cue card. Either way, Harris still sounds great, and The A.V. Club doesn’t count on getting to see her in Madison again soon, if ever.
