A '90s Picture Of Emmylou Stands As The Cover Of The Album

As I mentioned in the general introduction, this was the first album by a country artist that I ever bought. Leaving aside the sentimental value that I consequently attach to the CD, I must say that it is consistently good – even when I know that it was assembled more or less in a hurry to capitalize on the success of the “Trio” album.

Emmylou’s duet partner include Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson, John Denver, Roy Orbison and Ricky Scaggs along with The Band and Southern Pacific (the band Stu Cook from Creedence Clearwater Revival was to join shortly).

The highlights of the record are undoubtedly the three songs that hit the top 10 upon their respective release dates: “Love Hurts” (with Parsons),”That Lovin’ You Feelin” (with Orbison) and the duet with John Denver on “Wild Montana Skies”.

From where I stand, other songs that make this compilation worth a try include “Thing About You” (a Tom Petty song) and the take on “Green Pastures” with Ricky Scaggs (for an excellent live version of the song check out the “Spyboy” album or the “Heartbreaks and Highways” compilation).

And if I had to pick just one song from the 12-track CD I would go for “Gulf Coast Highway”, a duet with Willie Nelson so brilliant that I became actively interested in the famous outlaw musician.

Conversely, the duet with Neil Young on “Star Of Bethlehem” is very listless and “All Fall Down” doesn’t cause that much of a lasting impression.

At the end of the day, the album is nothing but a cut-and-paste affair. But when you are gluing together individual pieces so enduring as the ones mentioned above, it is difficult not to come with an appealing collage.

Rating: 7.5/10