Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems by Emmylou Harris Rhino Records

Product Description: Emmylou Harris, godmother of the Americana movement, is a phenomenon for any number of reasons, one of which is that she has has managed to conduct more than four decades of her remarkable career without a single misstep. While Harris has always been committed to honoring the roots of old-school, traditional country, she also expanded the music beyond its conservative lyrics and narrow melodic structures without abandoning its core themes of enduring love, family, and prideful sense of place. Throughout, she interpreted and wrote songs of integrity and emotional depth and resonance, surrounding her keening soprano with a Who's Who of players and collaborators, including Rodney Crowell, the McGarrigle Sisters, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Daniel Lanois, and Mark Knopfler. This unusual 4-CD compilation isn't a greatest-hits package, but rather a gathering of Harris's personal favorites, most of which have never appeared on other collections. Some of the most compelling tracks are special collaborations ("Jordan," with Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash), previously unreleased live, studio, and demo tracks (the folky "Falling in a Deep Hole," circa 1970), and contributions to tribute projects (Townes Van Zandt's chilling "Snake Song"). Harris's reedy voice is one of the most empathetic instruments in all of popular music, and perhaps no other female performer of the genre has been able to capture the desperate, paralyzing sense of longing and loneliness as well as this greatly revered singer. That may be a red flag of warning for the Prozac generation, but this deeply satisfying set stands as a benchmark of 40 years of artistry, as well as an uncommonly soulful illumination of the human condition. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

5 stars It's Emmylou, `nuff said!

The voice is still the same voice I first heard many years ago. Pop a CD in my player and I'm 20-something and back at the Childe Harold. What more could a DC area boy want?

There are some things on it I don't care for, and some I wish were here. But the voice is still the voice. If you like Emmylou, buy it now!

1 stars Packaging will eventually destroy the disks--don't waste your money!
Others have written about the lousy packaging that makes it very difficult to remove the disks from their sleeves, especially disks 2 and 3. I thought that, if I was careful, I wouldn't have a problem. I was wrong: the cardboard sleeves are so tight that removing and reinserting the disks will cause scratches on their surfaces that will eventually grow so deep that you will no longer be able to play the disks. Unfortunately, I discovered this problem after it was too late to return the cds.

I'm a big fan of Emmmylou Harris. However, because of the destructive packaging, this collection is a big ripoff!

5 stars A MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF A LEGEND
What a awesome collection! I agree with the other reviewers who have complained about the poor packaging but as far as Emmylou Harris there is absolutely nothing poor or lacking! All of her hits from "Pieces of the Sky" to "Red Dirt Girl" are represented on this special collection as well as songs from special projects and live performances. This is a ABSOLUTE must for any Emmylou Harris fan. Do not let the negative comments about the packaging keep you from purchasing this great collection. Also, check out Emmy's new album, "All I Intended to Be"--another *****album!

5 stars EmmyLou: Always Great!
If you love EmmyLou's great voice, then this collection is a "must own". Each disc is as great as the next. I get very tired of an artist when I try to listen to all three or four discs of a box set at one sitting. Not this compilation---kept my interest through all four discs in a row. Played all four again, and then once more the following day---I've never tried that before, and I do own some great box sets---Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Jefferson Airplane, Moody Blues, even the Stones---but they all tend to get a bit "long in the tooth" after awhile. EmmyLou manages to stay fresh the whole time.

Now, as for the packaging that eveyone is complaining about---I was prepared for the worst! However, disc three is the only one that is nearly impossible to deal with. I got the other three out relatively easy, but had to commit a very grievous sin---had to pull them out with my thumb and forefinger---a total "no-no", self-imposed because of my "obsessive-compulsive" audiophile tendencies. I absolutely loathe touching any part of my cd's except for the rims. Fingerprints on cd's---they just don't belong there---don't look good, don't sound good either.

So, I won't be listeneing to cd # 3 very often! But, hey, there's three other great ones to enjoy. EmmyLou picked all of these songs out herself, and you can tell---she did a superb job---you might even say that she knows her own music better than any producer ever could. And to end with a quote from Forest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that".

5 stars Forty years!
Thank you Amazon! You're right: it's not enough just buying the box, it's my duty to tell the world what I think about it.

What can I say, it feels like it was only yesterday I bought my first Emmy-Lou Harris album and lo and behold! reading the booklet I'm informed it was nearly forty years ago. She's been singing and I've been listening: three marriages ago - we've got that in common!

We have some more in common: we knew back then that Folk and Country would converge. Yessiree. Did I deserve all that scorn from my friends in those years 1970-75? I would say "Listen: this is good, it's Bobby Bare: Detroit City" or "Harper Valley PTA: Jeannie C. Riley, good stuff!" Nah! Red neck stuff, must be trash!

Who turned out to be right? Emmy-Lou and I! "Folk" is the people and the people are who they are. A bit on the schmaltzy side I concede. But when you think of it, "Silver dagger" and "Ode to Billy Joe", same thing.

So, some really nice pieces here among these forgotten gems and rare tracks. My favorites: the (gasp!) cheesy hymns. Yeah, I know, I'm old by now - she isn't though! - that happens to old folks you know!

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