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Pieces of the Sky [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Emmylou HarrisAudio CD
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

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MP3 Music, 12 Songs, 2004 $9.49  
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Vinyl, Original recording, HiFi Sound, 1975 --  
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Biography

Already celebrated as a discoverer and interpreter of other artists’ songs, 12-time Grammy Award–winner Emmylou Harris has, in the last decade, become admired as much for her eloquently straightforward songwriting as for her incomparably expressive singing. On Hard Bargain, her third Nonesuch disc, she offers 11 original songs—three of them co-written with Grammy– and ... Read more in Amazon's Emmylou Harris Store

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Pieces of the Sky + Luxury Liner + Elite Hotel
Price for all three: $23.97

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (February 24, 2004)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
  • Label: Rhino
  • ASIN: B00013BN4S
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,563 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Bluebird Wine
2. Too Far Gone
3. If I Could Only Win Your Love
4. Boulder To Birmingham
5. Before Believing
6. Bottle Let Me Down
7. Sleepless Nights
8. Coat Of Many Colors
9. For No One
10. Queen Of The Silver Dollar
11. Hank And Lefty
12. California Cottonfields

Editorial Reviews

Her achingly beautiful 1975 major-label debut plus unissued versions of Hank and Lefty and California Cottonfields .

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
(35)
4.9 out of 5 stars
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This was one of my favorite albums in my long ago vinyl collection. AKPenny  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
The songs are very touching and beautiful but still very catching. Reijo Piippula  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 78 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Where It All Started June 24, 2005
Format:Audio CD
December 7, 1974 my friend Early and I went to see Leo Kottke at Minnesota Orchestra Hall. The opening act that night was an unknown girl singer named Emmylou Harris. We had no idea what to expect and little interest - we'd come to see Kottke. As soon as we saw Emmylou, we began to get interested and when she opened her mouth and started singing, we were completely and totally mesmerized. A voice like nothing we'd ever heard before. And, a voice that is still instantly identifiable.

Pieces Of The Sky came out early in 1975 and I was almost afraid to play it, afraid that it could never match what I remembered from that cold December night. But as soon as the needle hit the record, I knew that it was everything I remembered and more. "Bluebird Wine", "The Bottle Let Me Down", songs that really show that she can make a song move. "If I Could Only Win Your Love", the first of many Louvin Brothers songs that she exposed to a whole new audience. And my favorite, "Too Far Gone." Everything about the way "Too Far" is produced says that it should be a disaster. I mean, heavy strings, for Pete's sake? Instead, Emmylou makes both the song and the arrangement a masterpiece.

Since "Pieces", I've bought nearly all of Emmylou's works and have rarely been disappointed. I would urge anyone who doesn't own this disc, to get it immediately. It's a timeless piece of work that stands as well today as it did when it was released 30 years ago.

Thanks for all you've done for country music, Emmylou. I just wish that today's Nashville suits would go back and listen to this CD and and understand how beautiful three chords and the truth can sound. They - and we - need you more than ever.
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52 of 56 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic - but not your daughter's alt-country December 10, 2003
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Emmylou was a delightful discovery nearly 30 years ago, and her first album remains a joy. Before she started experimenting with different genres several albums down the road, before age took a toll on her voice and she adapted with grace, producing masterpieces like "Wrecking Ball", there was this pure clean gorgeous voice like no other. And there was a unique sound that hit the ground running here, with a perfect album in which every song was a solid winner.

This isn't today's "alt-country", and indeed it may well be more country than some of Emmylou's 21st-century fans are comfortable with. Back in the day, we hippie sorts had nothing to do with official country music, and the official world of country music would have nothing to do with Emmylou. She was nowhere near to moving to Nashville yet, and was played on the same FM stations that played rock music. Her music was a continuation of music we then put in the country-rock genre, which was considered every bit as cool as any other sort of rock in the early 70's. In a rock historian's book, maybe the driving force was Gram Parsons joining the Byrds and helping create their "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album. But out in the real world, no one had heard of Gram Parsons, was unlikely to have heard more than a song or two from that album, and what brought country-rock into our worlds were later incarnations of the Byrds, Bob Dylan doing "Nashville Skyline", and lesser bands like New Riders of the Purple Sage or Commander Cody. Those are the sounds that primed us for the far more enduring music of Emmylou Harris.

Without denying Gram Parsons his due, he is known today largely because of the work Emmylou Harris started so brilliantly here. Some have said below that her covers of other people's songs were often superior to the originals, and I agree. I'll go a step farther and say that it's her covers of music that Parsons wrote or loved that not only put it on the map, but that made it sound good enough for it to acquire what eventually became a huge audience. I don't think that detracts from his talents, but it speaks to the beauty of her voice and the arrangements and production on this album and those that followed.

Listening to this CD decades later, it is striking how country it is, and hard to remember how easily we accepted this music in the rock world way back when. It's nearly as hard to imagine why her work wasn't accepted at the time by the country audience. And nowadays, when her voice is an entirely different sort of instrument, it's impossible to imagine why reviewers at the time thought her voice wasn't strong enough for a solo artist, and that she was better suited to being a backup singer. Though I was a huge fan, I felt there was some truth to the criticisms, and what drew me in were her soft, unspeakably sweet, angelic interpretations of slower songs. Tastes were just so different then. Compared to all the lovely and popular, but much-weaker, girlish voices of today's alt-country world, the Emmylou of the 70's belted songs out with a voice whose strength I had nearly forgotten. It is stunning to listen to today, after years of spending much more time with Wrecking Ball. Emmylou really rocked country long before "crossover" was invented.

This is probably an essential Emmylou album for anyone who is a fan of her 70's and 80's work. If you're browsing because you have a love affair with Wrecking Ball or later work, this may not be your cup of tea. To those of us who were there, this is the voice we loved doing the music we loved, and represents Emmylou at her peak - or, rather, one of her many peaks.

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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic for both country & non-country fans February 27, 2002
Format:Audio CD
I kid you not, this is pure country. But Emmylou has always had a huge non-country audience. There is something in her voice, in her delivery, that one has to like, regardless of genre.

I was a D.J. (among other duties) at a small radio station in Cottonwood, Arizona, when Emmy Lou came out with this, her first album. That was over 30 years ago, and this still stands as a classic.

Anybody listening to this album will have his or her favorites. These are mine:

"Too Far Gone", a soulful ballad in which emmylou's plaintive voice expresses a beauty, an integrity, which is still her trade mark.

"If I Could Only Win Your Love", which I believe was her first hit. Whatever, it sounds just as fresh to me as it did thirty-something years ago.

"Boulder To Birmingham" is another enduring favorite, expressing Emmy Lou's versatility and ability to evoke emotion.

It takes a truly great singer to take songs associated with other singers and present us with a worthwhile interpretation comparable in quality to the original. Merle Haggard's "Bottle Let Me Down" could've been written for her, her version being uniquely styled.

Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors" again illustrate her superb way of handling another's song. The current term of course is "cover", but in the case of these two songs, the term just doesn't seem to fit, IMHO.

I will quickly mention one cut which I consider a lesser one, but well worth noting, Lennon/McCartney's "For No One". Even at the very beginning, she showed off the diversity, the range of her talents.

This debut album is brought to a close with the rousing, yet poignant "Queen of the Silver Dollar", written by the great Shel Silverstein. Listen carefully, very carefully, and you will catch Linda Ronstadt's voice in the background.

All in all, as I said from the beginning, this is a classic album which is pure country, yet with an appeal to all musical tastes.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Showing my age
Love Emmylou. Have since the 60's - so happy to strart a new collection of her music on CD's. Great price for a new CD.
Published 20 days ago by Kathleen Hansen
5.0 out of 5 stars 3rd copy since 1975
favorite album of all time, ever, I love her, I have owned copies of this since it was released in 1975
Published 3 months ago by Touch0Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars Pieces of the Sky
This was one of my favorite albums in my long ago vinyl collection. While I am not really a fan of country music, Emmy Lou is in a class by herself, more bluesy than country. Read more
Published 3 months ago by AKPenny
5.0 out of 5 stars Her first and it's a good one
I got this album as a gift. No one had ever heard of her and I didn't listen to much C&W at the time. I wasn't expecting much,figured it would go to the Salvation Army. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Suzan
5.0 out of 5 stars As expected
Everything came as expected. All is well CD plays fine. Packaged new with original liner notes,etc.
I am pleased with this vendor.
Published 10 months ago by Arty 49
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Album, Great Sound
Received this great album pretty quick. There were no skips or warps, and I'm glad to have it in my collection. Read more
Published 15 months ago by jdefmc83
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Album
First let me say I am a big Emmylou Harris fan, have been for years, since the 70's. I was going through my old vinyl records and copying them to my computer to digitize them. Read more
Published 19 months ago by S. Howard
5.0 out of 5 stars From me, a fan from the beginning
Been a fan of Emmylou's work from way back when. I had the privilege of seeing her perform in Washington, DC many, many times. Read more
Published 23 months ago by @JaiGuruDeva
5.0 out of 5 stars BluesProfessor
This is my favorite Emmylou Harris album, still--more than three decades after its release. I first heard this album in the late 1970s, and I couldn't believe the amazing mix of... Read more
Published on March 21, 2011 by Blues Professor
5.0 out of 5 stars Emmy Lou is always AOK
One of the most talented, and one of the nicest people you will ever meet!!!Her old gospel album, "Angel Band" is a classic and I consider it her very best, RVS
Published on January 20, 2011 by R. V. Stewart
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