Emmylou Harris - The 80s Studio Album Collection (2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Eight of thirteen time Grammy Award winner Emmylou Harris' best albums from the '80s, featuring: Roses in the Snow, Evangeline, Cimarron, White Shoes, The Ballad of Sally Rose, Thirteen, Angel Band and Bluebird. All of these spectacular 1980's albums made it to onto the U.S. albums chart, ranging from the number 2 spot to number 23.

Already celebrated as a discoverer and interpreter of other artists’ songs, 12-time Grammy Award winner Emmylou Harris has, in the last decade, gained admiration as much for her eloquently straightforward songwriting as for her incomparably expressive singing. As well as leading a successful solo career, Harris has worked with a wide spectrum of musical luminaries, including Gram Parsons, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Mark Knopfler, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. A 12-time Grammy winner, she was also a Billboard's Century Award recipient in 1999 and has been inducted into both The Country Music Hall of Fame and The Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was also named one of VH1's "100 Most Influential Women in Rock and Roll."

Combining acoustic bluegrass with traditional Appalachian melodies (and tossing one contemporary tune, Paul Simon's "The Boxer," into the mix), Roses in the Snow ranks among Emmylou Harris' riskiest – and most satisfying – gambits.

Tracklist:

01 - Roses In The Snow
02 - Wayfaring Stranger
03 - Green Pastures
04 - The Boxer
05 - Darkest Hour Is Just Before The Dawn
06 - I'll Go Stepping Too
07 - You're Learning
08 - Jordan
09 - Miss The Mississippi And You
10 - Gold Watch and Chain

NOTE: Tracks "1-7" are 44khz/24bit encoded files.

Long considered a substandard effort due to its oddly brief running time (it's just barely half an hour long) and scattershot feel (like its sister album, Cimarron, also released in 1981, it primarily consists of outtakes from earlier albums), Evangeline is not as bad as its detractors claim. It's true that the album has more than a couple of clunkers; the synthesizers and California rock guitars of Rodney Crowell's "I Don't Have to Crawl" and "Ashes By Now" do neither singer nor songs any favors, the version of John Fogerty's "Bad Moon Rising" adds nothing new to the song, and James Taylor's "Millworker" simply isn't very good. On the other hand, two recordings from the then-unreleased Trio sessions with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, a perky "Mr. Sandman" that was a minor pop hit and a reworking of Robbie Robertson's haunting "Evangeline" featuring some outstanding harmonies from Parton, are outstanding, as are "Spanish Johnny," a Springsteen-ish ballad sung with Waylon Jennings, and a dazzling version of the standard "How High the Moon" that uses the same pre-rock arrangement style as "Mr. Sandman." So, Evangeline is certainly uneven, but it's not at all worthless.

Tracklist:

01 - I Don't Have To Crawl
02 - How High The Moon
03 - Spanish Johnny
04 - Bad Moon Rising
05 - Evangeline
06 - Hot Burrito #2
07 - Millworker
08 - Oh Atlanta
09 - Mister Sandman
10 - Ashes By Now

That Cimarron, Emmylou Harris' ninth regular album, was assembled largely from recording sessions held for her previous couple of records is no necessary reflection on its quality. In fact, Cimarron was a typical effort for Harris, presenting her usual mix of country favorites, songs borrowed from the pop/rock arena, and singer/songwriter discoveries. Most prominent among the last category was Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You," released as a single three months ahead of the LP. From the pop mainstream, Harris borrowed Poco's "Rose of Cimarron" and Bruce Springsteen's "The Price You Pay." The recent T.G. Sheppard country number one hit "The Last Cheater's Waltz" and "Tennessee Waltz," best remembered for Patti Page's pop hit, were given respectful readings. And there was a lovely arrangement of the traditional ballad "Spanish Is a Loving Tongue." But the most memorable songs on the album were its two other country Top Tens, Karen Brooks and Hank DeVito's "Tennessee Rose" and Paul Kennerley's "Born to Run." On the whole, the album maintained the high standard Harris had set with her previous releases, and it deserved its 1982 Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female. Though it matched the success of recent Harris LPs on the country charts, hitting the Top Ten and remaining listed for more than nine months, it did not enjoy as great a pop crossover sale and became Harris' first regular album since her 1975 breakthrough not to go gold. This was more indicative of the overall decline in country's crossover success than of any deficiency of the album itself; nevertheless, Harris' commercial success had crested.

Tracklist:

01 - Rose Of Cimarron
02 - Spanish Is A Loving Tongue
03 - If I Needed You
04 - Another Lonesome Morning
05 - The Last Cheater's Waltz
06 - Born To Run
07 - The Price You Pay
08 - Son Of A Rotten Gambler
09 - Tennessee Waltz
10 - Tennessee Rose

Harris' final album with longtime producer (and husband) Brian Ahern is among her most surprising and diverse, perhaps the closest she's ever come to a straightahead rock LP. Among the unusual cover choices: Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love" and Donna Summer's "On the Radio".

Tracklist:

01 - Drivin' Wheel
02 - Pledging My Love
03 - In My Dreams
04 - White Shoes
05 - On The Radio
06 - It's Only Rock And Roll
07 - Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend
08 - Good News
09 - Baby, Better Start Turnin' Em Down
10 - Like An Old Fashioned Waltz

This is one of the most intriguing albums of Emmylou Harris' career, and that is saying a lot. It marked the first album where she wrote or co-wrote all the songs, and the strength of the songwriting makes one wonder why she had never attempted it before. One can tell that this album is truly a labor of love, as it is a semi-autobiographical concept album that she also co-produced. It tells the story of a girl from a small town who gets taken under the wing of singer that takes her (and her angelic voice) out on the road. (The story mirrors her relationship with Gram Parsons, although it is a fictional account of the life of another woman.) As a concept album, it only partly holds together; one must read the liner notes to get a true feeling for the story. However, Emmylou Harris sounds particularly inspired, and the songs themselves are strong both musically and lyrically. As expected, she truly shines on the slower ballads such as "Diamond in My Crown" and the closer "Sweet Chariot." While not essential for casual fans, it is an interesting album worth tracking down for Emmylou Harris fans.

Tracklist:

01 - The Ballad Of Sally Rose
02 - Rhythm Guitar
03 - I Think I Love Him/You Are My Flower
04 - Heart To Heart
05 - Woman Walk The Line
06 - Bad News
07 - Timberline
08 - Long Tall Sally Rose
09 - White Line
10 - Diamond In My Crown
11 - The Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (with Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Vince Gill & Gail Davies)
12 - K-S-O-S
13 - Sweet Chariot

NOTE: Tracks on this album are sourced from 3M DAT 50khz/16bit captured analog at 192khz/24bit.

Thirteen takes its title from the number of solo efforts Harris had recorded to date; her numbering didn't take into account hits collections or her true debut, Gliding Bird, an album she later disowned. For that matter, Thirteen is no great shakes either – with the exception of a lovely cover of Bruce Springsteen's "My Father's House," both the material and the performances are lackluster.

Tracklist:

01 - Mystery Train
02 - You're Free To Go
03 - Sweetheart Of The Pines
04 - Just Someone I Used To Know
05 - My Father's House
06 - Lacassine Special
07 - Today I Started Loving You Again
08 - When I Was Yours
09 - I Had My Heart Set On You
10 - Your Long Journey

Tracks on this album are 44khz/16bit mixes, captured to 192khz/24bit.

Angel Band is yet another fascinating left turn, an acoustic record comprised of country-gospel songs like "We Shall Rise", "If I Be Lifted Up" and "Someday My Ship Will Sail", performed with great subtlety and nuance.

Tracklist:

01 - Where Could I Go But To The Lord
02 - Angel Band
03 - If I Be Lifted Up
04 - Precious Memories
05 - Bright Morning Stars
06 - When He Calls
07 - We Shall Rise
08 - Drifting Too Far
09 - Who Will Sing For Me
10 - Someday My Ship Will Sail
11 - The Other Side Of Life
12 - When They Ring Those Golden Bells

Like most of Emmylou Harris' albums, Bluebird is an expertly performed album, featuring some truly startling and affecting tour de forces. The material features a handful of truly great songs, like John Hiatt's "Icy Blue Heart" and her original "A River for Him".

Tracklist:

01 - Heaven Only Knows
02 - You've Been On My Mind
03 - Icy Blue Heart
04 - Love Is
05 - No Regrets
06 - Lonely Street
07 - Heartbreak Hill
08 - I Still Miss Someone
09 - A River For Him
10 - If You Were A Bluebird


Thanks to the Original customer!