Emmylou Harris' major-label solo debut quickly establishes the pattern that the vast majority of her subsequent work would follow: "Pieces Of The Sky" is bravely eclectic, impeccably performed, and achingly beautiful. Amid a collection of songs that ranks among her most well-chosen ranging from the catalogs of the Beatles ("For No One") to Boudleaux and Felice Bryant ("Sleepless Nights") and the Louvin Brothers (the hit "If I Could Only Win Your Love") the record's centerpiece is one of Harris' rare original compositions, "Boulder to Birmingham," her stirring tribute to fallen mentor Gram Parsons. A melding of traditional country's honesty, folk music's heart, and country-rock's punch. Her choice of material followed a similar curve everything from Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, and the Louvin Brothers to the Beatles and Shel Silverstein. Former Elvis sidemen James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, and Ron Tutt along with guests like Ricky Skaggs, fiddler Richard Greene, and pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat form a formidable supporting cast. What's most impressive is Harris's versatility she moves from delicate acoustic ballads to buoyant two-steppers to lavish string arrangements without ever sounding overmatched. She even takes a very personal tale like Dolly Parton's wonderful "Coat of Many Colors" and makes it her story. She may have inherited the band and the vision from her late mentor Gram Parsons, but the shimmering soprano voice is all her own.
Track listing
01. Bluebird Wine (Rodney Crowell) - 3:18
02. Too Far Gone (Billy Sherrill) - 4:05
03. If I Could Only Win Your Love (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) - 2:36
04. Boulder to Birmingham (Emmylou Harris, Bill Danoff) - 3:33
05. Before Believing (Danny Flowers) - 4:44
06. Bottle Let Me Down (Merle Haggard) - 3:16
07. Sleepless Nights (Felice, Boudleaux Bryant) - 3:25
08. Coat of Many Colors (Dolly Parton) - 3:42
09. For No One (Lennon–McCartney) - 3:40
10. Queen of the Silver Dollar (Shel Silverstein) - 5:14
11. Hank and Lefty (Dallas Frazier, Doodle Owens) (Bonus Track) - 2:50
12. California Cottonfields (Dallas Frazier, Earl Montgomery) (Bonus Track) - 2:47
Released: February 1975
Recorded at: The Enactron Truck, Beverly Hills, California
Genre: Country
Length: 44:11
Label: Reprise
Producer: Brian Ahern
Personnel
Brian Ahern - Acoustic Guitar, High-Strung Guitar, Super 400 Acoustic Guitar, Bass
Bruce Archer - Acoustic Guitar
Duke Bardwell - Bass
Byron Berline - Fiddle, Mandolin
James Burton - Electric Guitar, Gut-String Guitar, Dobro
Mark Cuff - Drums
Rick Cunha - Acoustic Guitar, High-Strung Guitar
Nick DeCaro - String Arrangements
Amos Garrett - Electric Guitar
Richard Greene - Fiddle
Tom Guidera - Bass
Glen D. Hardin - Piano, Electric Piano, String Arrangements
Emmylou Harris - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Ben Keith - Pedal Steel
Bernie Leadon - Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Dobro, Backing Vocals
Bill Payne - Piano
Herb Pedersen - Acoustic Guitar, 12-String Guitar, Banjo, Backing Vocals
Danny Pendleton - Pedal Steel
Ray Pohlman - Bass
Linda Ronstadt - Backing Vocals
Ricky Skaggs - Fiddle, Viola
Fayssoux Starling - Backing Vocals
Ron Tutt - Drums
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