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Not so familiar with Emmylou Harris' later stuff, ie post-70s material. Wrecking Ball is arguably her best album though, and last year's All I Intended To Be is a very good late offering. Again, like with Imogen Heap, my brush with Earle and Harris was a very brief one. Can't even remember which song I heard - it was very probably the very one you've highlighted there. Great little performing duo though.
Goodbye may seem familar to you is because Emmy does a version of the song on Wrecking Ball, the album you mentioned in your post. Below is a video of that recording. Wrecking Ball was produced by Daniel Lanois. Lanois has produced some of the most critically acclaimed albums of Brian Eno, U2, the Neville Bros and Bob Dylan. Lanois had a lot to do with the sparse minimalist sound of Wrecking Ball.
Emmy has done several covers of Steve Earle's songs and they are frequent musical collborators. In the early 90s Steve's career went into a tailspin due to his heavy drug use and he lost his record contract with MCA. After that Earle moved into rough African American neighborhood in West Nashville and became a persona grata in the eyes of the Nashville music establishment. Steve had several run ins with the law culminating in his year long sentence to jail on a heroin charge in 1994, and by all stories I've heard, Emmylou was his only ally.
I learned a lot about was happening with Steve's scrapes with the law because I wrote for the roots rock magazine No Depression in the mid 90s. He got a year long sentence in jail but Steve finally ended up in rehab and he was a big success story.
Steve Earle is a personal hero of mine and I think when all is said done he will be remembered as the Johnny Cash of his generation. More than any other artist, Steve is responsible for reigniting the interest is roots rock and country music that led to the post-Millenium success of roots musicians like Wilco, Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch and Neko Case.
10-26-2009, 02:34 AM
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