Customer Reviews

Portraits

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This collection of these early works is a very strong cross-section of the immense talent that has been evident in the voice of Emmylou Harris since "Pieces of the Sky" premiered on vinyl in the pre-CD mid-1970's. From this album the Emmylou-penned 'Boulder to Birmingham' stands out along with 'Too Far Gone", 'Before Believing' and the Beatles cover 'For No One'. For those who missed the 1969 "Gliding Bird" and her collaborations with Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan, these jewels were just a hint of the rich gifts to come to the world through the instrument of Emmylou Harris. Throughout the years, Emmylou has distilled the rich emotion of country, bluegrass, roots, folk, rock and roll, and other musical genres while instilling each with an essence unmistakably 'Emmylou'.

This collection begins with the best of her first solo ablum and a strong nod toward the important influence of Gram Parsons in her life and musical sensibility. Emmylou's profound respect for other icons of songwriting such as Dolly Parton, Bill Monroe, Townes van Zandt are clear in her choice of material and her sensitive interpretations of their work.
This 3-CD set could easily be much longer without resorting to "filler" material. Some gems missing from this collection include 'She' from "Luxury Liner" (otherwise well represented), 'I Don't Have to Crawl' and 'Ashes by Now' from "Evangeline". The much-maligned "White Shoes" album is severely underrepresented with only 'In My Dreams' included. For a time it was only available in Europe (like the yet hard to find "Ballad of Sally Rose"). Though, as a "cross-over" album it was not popular, it remains one of her strongest works - AND - it's a lot of fun!

Except for 'Sweet Chariot', "Ballad of Sally Rose" is also missing from this collection as is the powerful "Thirteen". "Sally Rose" is very personal, self-penned album. Find it and buy it for a more complete understanding of Emmylou. "Thirteen" offers a fine helping of Cajun influence and some beautiful pieces including 'Mystery Train', 'My Father's House', 'Just Someone I Used to Know' and 'Your Long Journey'. Again, do yourself a favor and FIND IT!

If you are new to Emmylou... Buy this set for a fantastic introduction to this goddess of the harmonic. Then buy "Ballad of Sally Rose", "Thirteen", and "White Shoes". To understand a little of the magic of Emmylou live, pick up "Last Date" and "Live at the Ryman". This will provide a strong "History of Emmylou".

Then buy what she has called "my weird album" - "Wrecking Ball" and the inspired "Red Dirt Girl" to go even deeper into the soul of this artist. You will never stop playing these. These two albums stand apart and mark the beginning of a, hopefully long, new phase of Ms. Harris' career as an artist of sound, voice and song with the collaboration and influence of Daniel Lanois, Julie and Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch and other essential singer/songwriter/artists of our age. Long live Emmylou Harris, our lives are all richer each time she opens her soul through a song.

This box set is worth the money. Emmylou's career has presented us with one of the most eclectic collections I have heard. Every song on these three cd's stands out as classic, at least in my mind. I have never been a country music fan but Emmylou Harris not just country. There is something about the heart of her music that is not easy to explain and that is demonstrated nowhere better than in this set. I personally like "In My House Of Darkness" with Gram Parsons, but I also like "Togather Again" and "You're Still On My Mind." Actually, I like every song. I like to listen to this set when I have time to play all three cd's straight through...then I feel like I have truly been around the world of music. It's wonderful listening!

Contrary to what Mr. Himes writes on behalf of Amazon.com, Ms. Harris IS a distinctive singer and songwriter. "Boulder to Birmingham" (her signature song) and "Prayer in D" among others display a depth of feeling and vivid imagery that Dolly Parton can never hope to achieve.

This 3-CD set is an extraordinary compilation of her career, spanning almost 2 decades of her recorded work, some of which is released officially for the first time. The tracks on these CDs are not in chronological order (although close), nor do they include more recent efforts (nothing from Wrecking Ball, for instance).

However, the unreleased nuggets of gold, such as duets with her late lover Gram Parsons (in whose memory she wrote "Boulder to Birmingham"), live cuts, and other notable tracks make this compilation as important to Harris fans as the Bootleg Series is to Dylan fans.

Whether you are a fan of Emmylou Harris or a newcomer, this is a "must have."

The three discs and booklet in the Emmylou Harris Portraits box set try to give her the credit for keeping the hillbilly spirit of country music alive. In addition to having a lovely voice, she was aware of much more that was going on in music. The booklet says she was born April 2, 1947, just a few weeks after I was born myself. It was time for a lot of people who were expected to make their own choices in life. My original impression of the songs in the box set was that it sought to be broadly inclusive, selecting as many songwriters as possible. Not being a country music fan myself, the songs picked early in her career by Emmylou Harris helped me determine who I might like more of. Danny Flowers wrote "Before Believing," (1978) the second song on Disc One, and I was hardly aware of anything else he had done until I saw that he wrote "Gulf Coast Highway" (1990, selection 11 on Disc Three) with Nanci Griffith and James Hooker. In the case of Delbert McClinton, whose "Two More Bottles of Wine" (1978) is on Disc One, I was fortunate enough to enjoy many of his own albums as well in the years since Emmylou Harris helped me find his songs.

Bob Dylan actually helped me discover Emmylou Harris by using her for background vocals on his "Desire" album, and including her picture behind a small picture of a gigantic Buddha on the back of that album. There is only one song by Bob Dylan on Portraits, "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (previously unreleased) near the end of Disc Three. For a collection released in 1996 of songs that are not strictly chronological, I'm not sure why Disc Two, which ranges from 1977 to 1985, includes the song "Dimming of the Day" (previously unreleased) by Richard Thompson unless the musicians take a certain pride in showing that they knew this song before Bonnie Raitt made it sound great on her album "Longing in Their Hearts" in 1994.

Meeting Gram Parsons is called "a critical, defining moment of her career" in the booklet. From the plane ticket in August, 1972, for California to work on his album, "G.P." to his [demise] in September 1973 in the California desert, Gram Parsons made her listen to country music and play for a crowd of cowboy hippies. Disc One has the duets with Gram Parsons on the song "Love Hurts" (1974) by Boudleaux Bryant and on Gram Parsons's song "In My Hour of Darkness" (1974), as well as on two songs from the album "Sleepless Nights" (1976). The songs "Luxury Liner" (1977) and "Juanita" (1982, on the live "Last Date" album) were also written by Gram Parsons.

According to the booklet, on the Carter Family's "Hello Stronger," (1977) "Nicolette Larson played Mother Maybelle to Emmylou's Sara." There is a lot more history to these songs than I will ever know. The other songwriter who shows up more than I expected is Paul Kennerley, who wrote the songs on the album "The Legend of Jesse James," on which Emmylou Harris sang "Heaven Ain't Ready For You Yet" (1980). Disc Two has a song, "Born to Run" (1981) by Paul Kennerley just before "The Price You Pay" (1981) by Bruce Springsteen. Together, Emmylou Harris and Paul Kennerley wrote the song "Sweet Chariot" (1985), which has parts for multiple voices on a familiar swing down, carry me theme. Disc Three starts with the song "In My Dreams" (1983) by Paul Kennerley, and selection 9 is "Heartbreak Hill" (1989) by Emmylou Harris and Paul Kennerley.

There are a number of songs by the famous trio, with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, including a "Mister Sandman" (1981) from the album "Evangeline," though the single released by Emmylou overdubbed all the vocal parts. Music is a funny business sometimes, and I'm surprised how often I have read that Dolly Parton is better than the other two singers in that trio. I think that she has more country character, or sounds more authentically like a country singer, or really means what she sings, but I still like the sound Emmylou Harris is able to produce. Part of music is putting in more than people expect, so they always have the ability to get more out of it the next time it's played. The songs that Emmylou Harris has been able to connect with are awesome.

I have been a fan of Emmy's since I heard "Goodbye to Daddy" played by an AM radio station in Virginia, when I was just a kid riding to the feed store in Daddy's battered old pickup. I have owned various copies of her work, on vinyl, tape, and the blessed CD. This collection brings out some of my favorites from years passed, and some real gems that I had missed out on before. Don't worry about how "complete" this album is, or how representative of her past work. This stands alone just fine. Each song gives a slice of someone's life, a short story, expressions of joy and thanksgiving, or the chilling recognition of someone from your past. In her cover of James Taylor's Millworker, you will hear the unarticulated laments of women who realize they sold themselves short for what they thought was love. Listen to Icy Blue Heart and you hear a good man recoil in horror, but reply with compassion when he is approached by a burned-out barfly seeking refuge. Rollin' and Ramblin' (The Death of Hank Williams)is followed by the perfect companion piece, Casey's Last Ride. The Willie Nelson duet, Gulf Coast Highway, is a tribute to all couples who cling together through thick and thin, an affirmation that there are great loves existing quietly among us. Emmylou shines as always in her spiritual pieces. Angel Band, Calling My Children Home, The Angels Rejoiced Last Night, and others,are mournful and uplifting at the same time - true Appalachian expressionism. Nothing makes us feel better than to cry and sing at the same time. Although it may seem odd to follow a Bill Monroe tune with Bob Dylan, it certainly works here, with the rollicking songs Walls of Time and When I Paint My Masterpiece. This album may have been an unwieldy project to put together simply due to its size, scope and wide musical variety, but if you prefer some parts to others, program your favorites into your CD player and arrange them to suit yourself. Bottom line: If you enjoy Emmylou Harris at all, you will never regret purchasing Portraits.

I couldn't believe what I was reading with the editorial review by Amazon! This girl is soooo much better than Dolly Parton will ever be. One of the finest voices on the planet today.

Through my early years of listening to rock or country, my favorite was not Emmy Lou Harris, but since then, when I got this 3-cd set, I'm amazed at the beauty of her soft voice, her style of music played, and her choice of collaborators and cover songs.

Gram Parsons
My absolute favorite here is the duets with country/rocker Gram Parsons. Musical partners, Parsons and Harris sang together, before his self-destructive death in early 70s. Harris has always held him close to her heart, and she is instrumental in a tribute CD to Parsons, Return Of The Grievous Angel: A Tribute To Gram Parsons. If you haven't been introduced to Gram Parsons, listen to this one.

Quite the versatile performer, Emmy Lou sings performs and collaborates with notable musicians. She is into folk, rock, bluegrass and more. There are many cover songs, and duets here.

Another favorite is Evangeline, with The Band. She performs this on their The Last Waltz (Special Edition)and the companion CD. Another song, the cover version of Save the Last Dance is not as good as Dolly Parton's version, but it is pleasurable to listen.

Harris better achievements happen when her voice can be complimented by other artists. She duets with Willie Nelson, Don Williams, Early Thomas Conley, and several from her partners, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton.

If anything, acquaint yourself to Emmy Lou Harris if you haven't already. Talented with a unique pleasing voice, you will like this great collection that spans the years. ...Rizzo.

I really can't explain why I like Emmylou Harris so much. I don't even care for most country music, at least what's being played on the radio. However, Ms. Harris strikes a chord in my soul like no other singer and I have never been able to get enough of her music. This boxed set is a beautiful compilation of the best of the best and is a must have for anyone who considers themselves a collector of influential music. Ms. Harris is a rare individual who can move from genre to genre and still make music that can be taken seriously. I had the priveledge of hearing her live about a year ago and I still get chills thinking about it.

This lady brings out the soul in everything she touches. No disrepect to Dolly Parton but there's just no comparison - to my mind it's only the stuff very close to Dolly's heart and experience (e.g. coat of many colours etc) where she manages anything like this brooding angel.

As with any box set, purists may quibble amongst themselves, or in a public forum such as this, about what is missing, what should have been left out, packaging, etc. The bottom line with Emmylou Harris, however, is that she sings like an angel and to the uninitiated, this is the place to start. Although I'm not a Harris completist, if she released an album of herself gargling peanut butter, I'd probably buy it. Listen for yourself to see what inspired Sammy from The Bodeans to pen "Looking For Me Somewhere."