Product Description Usually viewed in a country context, Emmylou Harris is in fact one of the most distinctive and visionary voices in all of popular music to emerge over the last three decades. Mentored by ex-Burrito Brother Gram Parsons, she rose to stardom as his transcendent vocal partner on the "Cosmic American Music" gracing his landmark solo albums GP ('72) and Grievous Angel ('73). Harris' own ever-adventurous solo career launched shortly after Parsons' untimely death with 1975's PIECES OF THE SKY. Produced by Brian Ahern (who would helm ten more albums for Harris and become her second husband), the LP showcased her crystalline, achingly beautiful vocals, and kicked off a string of '70s album masterpieces featuring her "Hot Band" of stellar sidemen that are her defining classics. A nine-time Grammy-winner, Harris is equal parts keeper of Parsons' extraordinary flame, sweetheart of the rodeo, alt-country/rock madonna, and 100% all-time master interpreter of American roots music. Each historic album is digitally remastered and expanded with rare bonus material, masterfully supervised for reissue by original producer Brian Ahem. Upgraded booklets feature all-new notes and vintage, previously unseen photos. The most trad-country and acoustic-leaning album of these five remastered editions, 1979's BLUE KENTUCKY GIRL won Harris that year's Best Country Female Vocal Grammy, and features the #1 Country single "Beneath Still Waters" is now expanded with 2 previously unissued cuts. .com Emmylou Harris focuses more intently on her country ancestry with this 1979 record, tackling songs made famous by Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, and the Louvin Brothers. However, the most rewarding cuts are the lesser-known gems: Willie Nelson's rollicking "Sister's Coming Home" (with Tanya Tucker), Dallas Frazier's aching ballad "Beneath Still Waters" (which hit No. 1 for Harris), and Jean Ritchie's moving folk song "Sorrow in the Wind." Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt help out on "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," while Lincoln Davis's accordion beefs up the Flatt & Scruggs classic "Rough and Rocky." This record, Harris's fifth for Reprise, signals the end of her classic country-rock period. She would unplug completely for 1980's superb Roses in the Snow before breaking up with producer-husband Brian Ahern and pointing herself in new directions. --Marc Greilsamer
