Customer Reviews

At the Ryman

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I've been listening to and enjoying Emmylou Harris's live album "At the Ryman" for a number of years.It had been a good while since I last heard it and the thought occurred to me too put it on tape for the car (yes, I know, I'm way behind in the technology department..). Relistening to it made me once again appreciate what a wonderful live album it really is.The CD is culled from some 1991 performances at the historic, world famous, Ryman Auditorium, which is basically considered "the Mother church" of country music.On this CD Emmy and her band, The Nash Ramblers, concentrate their efforts on interpretations of cover tunes from song writers/performers that have influenced her career. This includes everyone from rocker, Bruce Springsteen to folkie/country artist, Nanci Griffith to the father of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe.The CD opens with a rousing version of Steve Earle's "Guitar Town". The music is high spirited and lively. Emmylou and the band really cook! Probably my favorite cut of the album is a performance of Stephen Foster's civil war era tune, "Hard Times".This is a sentimental, song, where one stops for a moment to remember those who are less fortunate. Emmylou and the members of the band join their voices (acompanied by a lone guitar) and pull it off beautifully.Another highlight is Emmy's interpretation of Nanci Griffith's "It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go".Here Emmylou reveals her former days as a 1960s folk singer. This gentle song is at first nostalgic, but then eventually reveals it's pity and rage against those who commit acts of racism.The song then morphs into the sad '60s era ode to our fallen civil rights leaders "Abraham, Martin and "John". Emmylou's performance is simply beautiful.There are many great tunes on this CD and Emmylou and the Nash Ramblers do a fantasic job with outstanding performances.I highly recommend this CD if you are a fan of country, bluegrass, folk or just plain, good music in general!

On this magical live album, Emmylou and the Nash Ramblers pay tribute to the very old (Stephen Foster), the new (Steve Earle, John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen) and bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, with covers of three of his songs. Of course, the album is a seamless blend of the old and the new.

The music goes from uptempo country rock like Earle's Guitar Town, to lovely yodelling as on Cattle Call, the Tex Owens song. There is also the lovely lilting country pop of Guess Things Happen That Way, the sensitive treatment of Springsteen's Mansion On The Hill and the thrilling instrumental Scotland, the first of the Monroe numbers.

Emmylou talks a bit more between songs here than on her other brilliant live album, the great Spyboy. The playing is superb throughout, as in the buoyant Montana Cowgirl, the slow and melancholy ballad like Strangers (first recorded by the Everly Brothers), and the propulsive Lodi, the old Creedence hit.

A highlight of At The Ryman is the soul stirring Calling My Children Home, just Emmylou and the male backing vocals. This one reminds me of the biblical expression about Rachel weeping for her children, because they're there no more. Next, there is the most beautiful guitar picking on If I Could Be There, a tender love song.

Walls Of Time and Get Up John are both energetic Monroe compositions, performed with feeling and gusto. The medley of Hard Life and Abraham, Martin and John is done in a more folkie style and her voice really soars here. The album concludes with the rhythmic train song, Smoke Along The Track.

At The Ryman is a triumph of excellent material interpreted with expertise and feeling. The CD booklet contains background notes by Emmylou on this performance plus photographs and information on her and the members of the Nash Ramblers.

I would *LOVE* to get this entire concert on audio and video. I have a ticket to see Emmylou in concert this month, but I already know it won't be anything like this. This performance is pure country soul, and the band is just incredible. I love not only Emmylou's "Wrecking Ball" sound, but I love even more her more traditional country side. This album and "Roses in the Snow" are the two best examples of Emmylou as a venerable country artiste.

Her vocals here are even better than studio recordings, and this band brings it all together so impeccably. I have so much fun with this album, yet I take a break near the end and cry with Nanci Griffith's beautiful "It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go" (which segues into a beautiful rendition of "Abraham, Martin, and John"). I could say more and more about this, but some of the previous reviews capture it.

If you're on the fence about buying this album, just buy it and love it; you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't already curious and interested. And it will deliver. It is really golden. I hope I get to see Emmylou play with a band like this some day. I'd love to kick up some "hillbilly dust" with them.

There has been nonsense perpetuated in the media about someone like Kathy Lee Gifford being "America's Sweetheart", but we know who's REALLY earned the title now don't we? `Nuff said. On this live concert CD recorded at Nashville's Ryman Theater, Emmylou and the steeped in bluegrass Nash Ramblers, in the great American tradition, dig out nuggets from the cultural stew and make them fresh, relevant, and their own, while blowing away cobwebs of preconceived genres. Hence Stephen Foster's 1850 classic, "Hard Times" sounds just right next door to Bruce Springsteen's 1982 "Mansion On The Hill". Along the way there are songs by Steve Earle, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Everly Brothers, Nancy Griffith, several by bluegrass titan Bill Monroe, as well as various 1940s and 1950s country songs that I had not known, but was pleased to make their acquaintance. The acoustic guitar, standup bass, dobro, and fiddle work well with the filigree of Harris' silvery smoky soprano voice which as always is a remarkable harmony instrument itself. There probably wasn't a dry eye in the house after she and the boys unload two heartbreakers in a row: the acappella "Calling My Children Home", and the melancholy dobro tune "If I Could Be There". To top it off, in the finest country tradition, they all ride off into the sunset with "...a little train music" ("Smoke Along The Track"). Kathy Lee Gifford, tsk, yea right.

Considering the current state of country music, it is so refreshing to hear Emmylou Harris play the music the way it should be played: raw and acoustic, with an emphasis on emotion and spirituality. "At The Ryman" is, in my opinion, Emmylou's best record. With all the hoopla surrounding "Wrecking Ball" and "Spyboy," I don't believe that this album has gotten enough credit. While I love Emmylou's more recent albums, "At The Ryman" is a masterpiece that pays tribute to the great songwriters in country music. Like all of Harris's albums, "At The Ryman" showcases an eclectic mix of song choices. Emmylou may not be the greatest songwriter in Nashville, but no one can doubt her superb taste in music. "At the Ryman" contains traditonal material by Curley Williams, Tex Owens, Jack Clement and Alan Rose. She also pays homage to the "Father of Bluegrass", Bill Monroe, on songs such as "Scotland." The renditions of "Walls of Time" and "Get Up John," two Monroe spirituals, are absolutely spine-tingling. With some suberb mandolin playing by Sam Bush, these toe-tapping songs will leave you with a smile on your face and goose-bumps on your skin. Of course, Harris performs more current renditions of folk and rock tunes. Fellow music visionary Steve Earle is the source of the opening track, "Guitar Town." The band also runs through a stirring cover of John Fogerty's classic "Lodi" and tosses in Springsteen's "Mansion on the Hill" for good measure. Backed by a stellar all-acoustic band including Sam Bush, Al Perkins, and Roy Huskey Jr., this album is essential for any fan of Emmylou Harris or traditonal country music. You won't hear any progressive arrangements or akward percussion solos on "At The Ryman," just country music at it's purest. When Emmylou was apprenticing with Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels, she was asked by a radio DJ how the band felt about playing progressive country. She replied that "we play regressive country." Thank God for Emmylou.

I'm not an educated acoustic country/bluegrass guy, but I like this a lot! I'll briefly mention a very minor drawback to this outstanding album: Nanci Griffith's "It's a Hard Live Wherever You Go" is, for me, a bit preachy. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful preachy song. If there's such a thing as a good "preachy" song, then I guess this is it. I wish many more albums had such admirable defects!

The album is a joyful listen. Lately, the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack has drawn millions of listeners to the beauty of acoustic country/folk music. This album, recorded ten years before O Brother, reveals the heart and soul of that music as perhaps no one save Ricky Skaggs could reveal it. There are two astounding high points amid much great music: "Walls of Time" is an unbelievably fierce and, at the same time, beautifully spiritual explosion of bluegrass virtuosity; "Get Up, John" follows it and rides the crest of a wild wave of flashing sound that tears me apart.

Emmylou has released three commercial live recordings. Each one is great; I can't choose a favorite. But "At the Ryman" reveals a truly essential aspect of Ms. Harris' artistry. I rate this 4.5 stars, but NOTE THAT I round it up to five, instead of down to four! BUY AT THE RYMAN! YOU WON'T GO WRONG. Ms. Harris is a woefully underappreciated artist, and At the Ryman is one of her most important recordings!

Equally deserving of commendation are, of course, the players in the Nash Ramblers: Larry Atamanuik, Sam Bush, Al Perkins, Jon Randall Stewart, and the late Roy Huskey, Jr.

The promotion of this CD as merely a Live Emmylou album is unfortunate because At The Ryman is much, much more. In fact, At The Ryman is no less than a blistering Bluegrass revival from a gal who has stubbornly stuck by the genre during its darkest days. Emmylou has proven over and over again that she sprung full grown from Bill Monroe's musical brow and the stinging rendition of Walls of Time on this CD is possibly the greatest interpretation of that song ever.. bar none.. not even Bill himself could howl those lyrics like that. In fact, the arrangement of Walls of Time should apeal to anyone who has gotten addicted to that haunting style via the O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU Soundtrack with it's anthem Man of Constant Sorrow.
Accompanying Emmylou on this performance are star string players she has not been known to perform with in the past and each one is clearly the master of his instrument. She and the "Nash Ramblers" as they call themselves, swing into Bluegrass rednitions of a variety of unexepected gems such as as Bruce Springteen's south-jersey lament MANSION ON THE HILL. Most folks probably assumed that she would be singing the familiar Hank Williams tune by that name, but no, true to form, Emmylou throws in a Springsteen cut where you least expect it and delivers up a crucial re-imagination of the tune so perfect that none of us were surprised when Bruce nodded to her in his recent hillbilly duet of the song with his wife on his new Live album.
Other wonderful nuggets include, I Guess Things Happen that way, Lodi, and Abraham Martin and John. She also digs way back into Americana for Hard Times, a Foster tune from the 1800's which never sounded better and delivers a darling version of Cattle Call. The harmonies are resonant and rich, the string playing simply divine and after one listen you will forget this is a "Live" album and start writing Emmylou fan letters begging for a reunion with the "Nash Ramblers".

My CD collection boasts 22 titles by Emmylou Harris, which is not nearly her entire output, but I am slowly working on acquiring the rest of her amazing catalogue. While not every one of her albums is a favorite, she consistently has produced more stunning albums than almost any other artist I can name.

Naming a favorite is tricky. I am partial to her early Warner Brothers / Reprise material, but truth be told, there is only one or two albums in her whole output (so far) that I haven't much cared for (Wrecking Ball and Spyboy being the only two albums that I have been unable to warm to at all). My favorites include Blue Kentucky Girl, Cowgirls Prayer, Elite Hotel, Quarter Moon, Luxury Liner, Roses in the Snow, Light of the Stable and the two Trio albums with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. Near misses (meaning I don't absolutely love every single track on the album, but did enjoy much they had to offer) were Brand New Dance, Last Date, Cimarron, Bluebird, Last Date and Red Dirt Girl.

When I do think of my favorites, of course I think of the albums I find myself playing over and over. And for the past few years, the Emmylou Harris album I listen to more than any other is At the Ryman with the Nashville Ramblers.

Like most of her other albums, the quality and musicianship of At the Ryman is remarkably consistent throughout the entire CD. While there is not a weak track on the whole album, the standouts are more than usually exceptional. Mansion on the Hill, I Guess Things Happen That Way, Half As Much and Cattle Call are all wonderful. But the two best tracks to me are Like Strangers, one of the most gorgeous love songs ever written, and the remarkable medley, It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go / Abraham, Martin & John. These two cuts may just be my two favorite ELH tracks ever. At least, they're my current favorites, and have been for a while.

If you are unfamiliar with Emmylou, I caution you to go slowly when deciding what to buy. Her voice is always lovely, but her style tends to shift (the mark of a true genius) between several different genres. While I prefer her country, bluegrass and folk-flavored albums, others may prefer her forays into rock & roll and country /rock. If I had purchased Spyboy or Wrecking Ball as my first ELH album, I may not have purchased a second. And then I would be missing out on some incredible music.

While other country artists were becoming more progressive, Emmylou Harris remained loyal to her traditional roots. Live At the Ryman showcases Emmylou Harris great talent. She does a wide range of songs from traditional songs such as "Cattle Call" and Stephen Foster's "Hard times. to Hank Williams "Half as much" to John Fogerty's(Creedence Clearwater Rival) "Lodi". All songs are performed with Acoustic instruments. It is good to hear a singer to sing a simple song and sing it beautifully without any electrical embelishments.

If my house were burning down. I would grab my wife, my guitar, and my Emmylou at the Ryman CD !!!