Emmylou Harris's 1975 major-label debut unveiled the formula that she would revisit numerous times throughout the decade: a melding of traditional country's honesty, folk music's heart, and country rock's punch. Her choice of material followed a similar curve--everything from Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, and the Louvin Brothers to the Beatles and Shel Silverstein. Former Elvis sidemen James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, and Ron Tutt along with guests like Ricky Skaggs, fiddler Richard Greene, and pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat form a formidable supporting cast. What's most impressive is Harris's versatility--she moves from delicate acoustic ballads to buoyant two-steppers to lavish string arrangements without ever sounding overmatched. She even takes a very personal tale like Dolly Parton's wonderful "Coat of Many Colors" and makes it her story. She may have inherited the band and the vision from her late mentor Gram Parsons, but the shimmering soprano voice is all her own. -- Marc Greilsamer
Track Listing
Bluebird Wine Too Far Gone If I Could Only Win Your Love feat Herb Pedersen Boulder To Birmingham Before Believing Bottle Let Me Down Sleepless Nights Coat Of Many Colors For No One Queen Of The Silver Dollar Hank And Lefty California Cottonfields
