Customer Reviews

Blue Kentucky Girl

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Go with the majority of the reviewers on this one folks. This is country the way it was meant to be!! Emmylou's vocals shine pure and true especially on "Beneath Still Waters" and "Save the Last Dance For Me" two of her masterpiece cuts and both #1 hits for her at the time of their release. This CD is Emmylou at her very best and when I found out they had released this treasure on CD I nabbed it immediately because I'd just about worn out my vinyl LP! It still packs a wallop after all these years!!

Emmylou has recorded many brilliant albums throughout her career but the string of albums that she recorded between 1975 and 1980 are ultimately her most important legacy. Everybody has his or her favorite - this is mine, perhaps because traditional country is what I like best, and that's what this album is filled with.

The set opens with Sister's coming home, an up-tempo song written by Willie Nelson, on which Tanya Tucker joins Emmylou for an incredible duet. I love Willie's music, but Emmylou and Tanya's version of this song is far superior to Willie's original.

Next comes the superb ballad, Beneath still waters, a hitherto obscure George Jones song, which provided Emmylou with a country number one hit. Even better is Save the last dance for me, also a huge country hit for Emmylou. I've heard countless versions of this song including the original Drifters version as well as brilliant covers by Buck Owens and others, but this is the best I've ever heard.

Among the other great covers here are Rough and rocky (Flatt and Scruggs), Hickory wind (a Gram Parsons song that first appeared on the classic album Sweethearts of the rodeo by the Byrds), Sorrow in the wind (Jean Ritchie - the song is sometimes titled Sweet sorrow in the wind), They'll never take his love from me (Hank Williams) and Every time you leave (Louvin Brothers) - with Don Everly.

The title track, Blue Kentucky girl, was an early Loretta Lynn country hit that might have faded into obscurity but for Emmylou's revival of it.

The album (as originally released) closes with one of my favorite country songs, Even cowgirls get the blues. Written by Rodney Crowell and with friends Dolly and Linda joining in, this is brilliant, although more restrained than Lynn Anderson's rousing up-tempo version, which is equally brilliant. Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings later recorded the song on their Heroes duet album, and they also did a great job with it.

Two bonus tracks have been added to this re-mastered edition, including a cover of Cheatin'is, originally recorded by the talented but under-appreciated Barbara Fairchild.

As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best albums ever recorded by anybody in any genre of music.

This was the first Emmylou Harris album I ever bought. As many great albums as she has made, it's probably still my favorite. If you're unfamiliar with her work, this is probably the best intro to Emmylou you'll find. As with many Emmylou records, her talent for finding and interpreting songs is matchless. The song cycle here holds together as if the songs were written for one another. Backed by Ricky Skaggs, the Whites, Tanya Tucker, Don Everly, and many others, Emmy shines with her crystaline voice all the way through.

Probably at her vocal peak with this record, Emmylou shows rockers, bluegrass pickers and country wannabes all how to do it -- and that she was doing it better decades ago. If you're a fan of new country, O Brother, roots rock or Americana, pick up this disc and listen to a master at work. Emmylou truly set the standard and blazed the trail for all those to come who would blur the lines of genres in the name of creative individuality.

Emmylou had a string of phenomenal records on Reprise from 1975 through and including this release in 1979, but this one holds up as a cohesive, dreamy, almost perfect explication of her vision and musical personality. While for the most part eschewing covers of popular and rock songs and reaching back to her musical roots, Emmy rediscovers the lilting, pure beauty of her voice, harmony, and acoustic guitar. She is joined by fantastic musicians such as Ricky Skaggs on fiddle, Ronnie Tutt (later of the Jerry Garcia Band) on drums, the great Elvis guitarist James Burton, Albert Lee, and others.

It all works. Her cover of "Save the Last Dance for Me" should have been the benchmark version of this Doc Pomus staple, but she makes it all her own. She tries on Willie Nelson's "Sister's Coming Home," again making it personal and dramatic.

"Beneath Still Waters" is beautiful and haunting, the emotional anchor to the album. As a Byrds fan I was pleased and surprised by her version of "Hickory Wind," taking it places Gram Parson never did. And "Blue Kentucky Girl" and "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" sound effortless and perfect, with swirling harmonies provided by Dolly Parton and Linda Rondstadt.

Bonus tracks include an interesting harmonic diversion with Glen Campbell and songs that add to the overall experience of the album, a treasure trove of great music, great harmonies, and great instrumentation.

Blue Kentucky Girl is a real roots country album, both in the sound and the nature imagery of the songs, as is obvious from titles like Beneath Still Waters, Hickory Wind, Sorrow In The Wind and Rough & Rocky.

The rhythmic uptempo number Sister's Coming Home with its great fiddle opens the album, and is followed by the stirring slow ballad Beneath Still Waters. Hickory Wind is the Gram Parsons song, and of course Emmylou makes it her own with a soulful, delicate interpretation. The execution is quite different from her duet with Gram Parsons.

This recording of Save The Last Dance For Me is probably the definite version by now, whilst Sorrow In The Wind is a poignant gentle song full of yearning, where the harmony vocals of Cheryl and Sharon White are almost magical.

Other beautiful voices that contribute to this gem of an album are Don Everly on Everytime You Leave, and Ricky Skaggs and Fayssoux Starling on They'll Never Take His Love From Me. The title track and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues are rhythmic mid-tempo ballads with strong melodies.

The two extra tracks include Cheating Is, an atmospheric ballad with Glen Campbell and the sorrowful I Know An Ending When It Comes, where her voice shines in glory. My favorite sequence on the album is the one from Hickory Wind to Sorrow In The Wind, as Harris takes the listener to places one seldom goes.

Blue Kentucky Girl is amongst her very best work and stands proudly next to Roses In The Snow, Cowgirl's Prayer, Pieces Of The Sky and the more recent classics like Red Dirt Girl and Wrecking Ball. As always, a wise selection of great songs, beautifully interpreted.

BLUE KENTUCKY GIRL was not only my introduction to Emmylou Harris, it was the first tape I ever bought. It's hard to imagine a better album in existence. The excellent uptempo country songs, "Sister's Coming Home", a duet with Tanya Tucker, a terrific version of Flatt & Scruggs "Rough And Rocky", or the masterful "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues", can transport you to the West. Her talents as an arranger shine through in all the songs, but her version of "Save The Last Dance For Me" is the BEST version I've heard of the song. "They'll Never Take His Love From Me" isn't any less spectacular. The #1 hit "Beneath Still Waters", is gorgeous with the excellent arrangements perfectly suiting Emmylou's beautiful voice. On "Hickory Wind" she improves upon the original arrnagements, and increases the emotion of the song. "Sorrow In The Wind" is a display of Emmylou's ability with harmony, and she sings it beautifully. "Everytime You Leave" is an excellent duet with Don Everly, the defination of a classic country love song. The musical master does it again on "Blue Kentucky Girl", as Emmylou Harris makes a classic. No collection should be without BLUE KENTUCKY GIRL. Once her sensational music comes into your life it doesn't leave. BLUE KENTUCKY GIRL is one of many crowning acheivements, by one of the most talented, intellegent, and creative performers of this century.

In my opinion this is the best album made by Emmylou Harris and one of the best you can buy in the field of country music period. I have never understood why Emmylou has received so little notice in the mainstream media or press, because she is one of the best ever.

Her voice is so beautiful. This CD is worth getting for "Hickory Wind" alone. I am not a big country music fan, but I like music that is well written and well thought out. This CD is a keeper for me, and the start of my exploration of Emmylou's music.

This is early Emmylou Harris and probably one of her best efforts, if not the best. The title song will send shivers up your spine. Emmylou has one of those rare voices that never disappoints, no matter what she sings. You have probably heard "Save the Last Dance for Me" a zillion times, as it has been performed by many artists, but no one does it like Emmylou.

This remains one of my favorite country albums, and with new bonus tracks, it's just that much better. Not only does Emmylou cover some of country's classics here, but this CD is extremely well-polished, and musically one of her finest works. "Sorrow In The Wind", with help from Sharon and Cheryl White, is one of the unheralded gems on this collection, and "Hickory Wind" and "Rough And Rocky" are excellent, soulful pieces that showcase her range and the sweet, soulful sound of her voice. "Sister's Coming Home" with Tanya Tucker is a rollicking fast-stepper, and her rendition of "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" remains the best I've heard of that song. If you're new to Emmylou Harris, and looking for a sampling of her work without investing huge bucks, this is a perfect addition to your collection. If you want a more detailed, thorough portrait of Emmylou, go with "Portraits", a 3-disc boxed set, which covers most of the highlights of her career.