WHILE Emmylou Harris will always be in debt to Gram Parsons for opening her eyes and her heart to the infinite possibilities of modern country music, she has never under-estimated the role Rodney Crowell has played in her musical journey.
In the wake of Parsons’ death in 1973, Crowell stepped in to provide Emmylou with achingly beautiful songs like Till I Gain Control Again and to wrap his warm baritone voice around her silvery soprano. These days Emmylou is looking back. In The Road, the stunning first track of 2011’s superb Hard Bargain album, she hauntingly recalls her time with Gram.
Old Yellow Moon is less emotionally charged, but it is a heart-felt thank-you letter to Crowell and a reminder of halcyon days of the Hot Band. Stand-out tracks are Roger Miller’s Invitation To The Blues and Allen Reynolds’ Dreaming My Dreams, but Crowell’s Open Season and Here We Are underline his own under-rated song-writing talent.
• Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell play theSage, Gateshead on May 16.
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