Emmylou Harris
The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches & Highways
(Rhino/Warner Bros.)
First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2005, Volume 12, #8
Written by John Metzger
Emmylou Harris is no stranger to career retrospectives. Considering she
scored 27 Top 10 singles, her popularity certainly has warranted the issuance of
a pair of greatest hits packages (Profile and Profile II), and
four years ago, Rhino assembled the two-disc, 44-track Anthology: The
Warner/Reprise Years, which successfully summarized her recordings for the
label. Her most recent compilation is The Very Best of Emmylou Harris:
Heartaches & Highways, and in essence, it bridges the gaps between all three
of these outings, while adding a handful of selections from her recent artistic
re-emergence. Perhaps what is most intriguing about the set, however, is that
Harris herself selected the songs. In sequencing them in loosely-knit
chronological order, she allows the tunes not only to inform one another, but
also to chart a clear path that connects past to present in such a manner as to
highlight the focused clarity of her artistic vision. From Boulder to
Birmingham’s devastating loss to the aching, tender beauty of To Know Him
Is to Love Him; from the sparse traditionalism of Wayfaring Stranger
to her jangly update of Green Pastures; and from the ethereal ambience of
Michelangelo to the treacherous tale of Townes Van Zandt’s Pancho &
Lefty, Harris paints a strikingly diverse, if not definitive, portrait of
her abilities, and in the process, she effectively demonstrates the profound
impact that she has had upon the music industry. 
48th Annual Grammy Award Winner:
Best Female Country Vocal Performance
The Connection
The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches & Highways
is available from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005 The Music Box