Pieces of the Sky

Emmylou Harris

album cover

The Emergence of a Country Iconoclast

Even before she recorded on her own, the young Emmylou Harris turned heads with some of her first trips to the recording studio: She was the haunting and haunted female voice accompanying Gram Parsons on his galvanizing 1972 solo debut GP and its follow-up Grievous Angel (see p. 581), works that forged a profound connection between country and rock. After Parsons died from a drug overdose in September 1973, Harris's star rose. This album, released in 1975, was her major label debut, and its amiable blend of pop and traditional tunes became the blueprint for many of her subsequent works.

Even if she hadn't been associated with Parsons, Harris would have emerged sooner or later: Hers is among the most arresting voices in all of popular music. It's reedy and small, a fragile crystalline miniature that tells of emotional wounds in the least demonstrative tones possible. On this consistently inspired set, she sings such durable melodies as the Beatles' "For No One" as if she's gliding along, trying to be untroubled. Every heavy phrase is bathed in calm; even when she mourns deeply, as on her tribute to Parsons, "Boulder to Birmingham," a slight tremble in her voice is the primary way she signals heartache. The restraint gives Harris's interpretations a special one-two punch: They sound effortless at first, but on closer scrutiny become devastating. Let pop singers uncork extravagant me-so-hurt testimonials; Harris soldiers stoically onward, meting out despair as a subtle spice rather than the main ingredient.

Genre: Country
Released: 1975, Reprise
Key Tracks: "If I Could Only Win Your Love," "For No One," "Boulder to Birmingham"
Catalog Choice: Wrecking Ball; Roses in the Snow
Next Stop: Gillian Welch: Revival
After That: Iris DeMent: Infamous Angel
Book Pages: 344–345