Roses in the Snow

Emmylou Harris | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KL5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,445 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Harris's 1980 back-to-the-roots album marks a high point in her career. With stellar support form Tony Rice (acoustic guitar), Albert Lee (mandolin), and Ricky Skaggs (fiddle), Harris wanders comfortably and warmly through traditional-country and bluegrass pastures. Skaggs, Dolly Parton, and the Whites add beautiful harmonies as Harris slides effortlessly from the Carter Family to the Stanley Brothers to the Louvin Brothers to Paul Simon. Among the set's peaks are Flatt and Scruggs's "I'll Go Stepping Too," with Rice, Skaggs, Lee (on superb electric guitar), and dobro master Jerry Douglas turning up the instrumental heat, and the spiritual "Jordan," with Harris, Skaggs, Rice, and Johnny Cash engaging in buoyant four-part harmonies. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

Emmylou's bluegrass-flavored 1980 LP soared to #26 on the pop album charts, garnering fervent praise from all corners along the way. This reissue contains her country hits Wayfaring Stranger and The Boxer , and the rest of the original LP along with two unissued bonus tracks! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No mechanical bull references here..., December 28, 2003

By 

ewomack "ewomack" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Roses in the Snow (Audio CD)

In 1980 "country" music was going the way of "Lookin' for Love in All the Wrong Places" and "9 to 5". The old "country" sound of the 1960s and 1970s was giving way to a new "country" sound that would eventually produce Garth Brooks and ultimately make "country" the dominant music genre in the United States.

Emmylou Harris did not follow this trend, in fact she seems to have fled from it. In 1980 she and the band left the electric guitars at home and recorded an absolutely gorgeous acoustic country/bluegrass album. The road less travelled bore far more fruit than expected in this case. From the first ripping fiddle notes that open the title track the album takes you in with its sound, atmosphere and beauty. I first heard this album in headphones (I was at work and needed to filter out the usual nonsense going on around me), and was simply dumbstruck. Being relatively new to "country music" (I hate categorizing music) I wondered what I had been missing all these years. Now I know.

This album owes as much to folk and bluegrass as it does to country. Its sound is significantly different from Harris' previous album "Blue Kentucky Girl" which tends toward electrified country. The themes are sometimes heartbreakingly sorrowful ("Wayfaring Stranger", "You're Learning", "Miss the Mississippi and You"), sometimes religious ("Green Pastures", "Jordan"), sometimes hopeful ("The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn"). It is also easy to be skeptical about "country" covers of "rock" songs, so I was pleasantly surprised at the version of "The Boxer" which complements the other songs incredibly well. There are no duds on this album, only great and greater songs.

The CD booklet contains in-depth information on the making of the album, and it's place in the "country" genre of the time. We can all be happy that Emmylou Harris is not a follower.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The HOTTEST Version of Emmylou's "Hot Band", March 29, 2004

By 

Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Roses in the Snow (Audio CD)

Ms. Harris' band has been called "The Hot Band", and dozens of talented musicians have been members. The Hot Band was never hotter than on this beautiful album. Albert Lee is one of the hottest country guitar players ever - a sort of country Eddie Van Halen. Tony Rice on the acoustic guitar is every bit the equivalent of Albert Lee's electric. Ricky Skaggs adds his fine mandolin and fiddle work. Dobro King Jerry Douglas adds his stamp.

Then the vocals! Emmylou's angelic voice is harmonized with Rice and Skaggs. Linda Ronstadt. Dolly Parton. Johnny Cash. The Whites.

This recording is every bit as good as ANY of the "Will the Circle be Unbroken" albums, but it is WAY more consistant. AT the same time it's way hotter than the wonderful "Trio" albums with Ronstadt and Parton. There's not a weak track on here. Ralph Stanley, the Louvin Brothers and Simon and Garfunkle's songs never sounded so good.

Get it.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angelic music, March 20, 2005

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Roses in the Snow (Audio CD)

Brave Emmylou made this album at a time when bluegrass was not fashionable at all. Roses in the Snow has remained a firm favorite down the years; her interpretations are just so sublime, the song selection is spot-on, the playing superb and the arrangements exquisite. Several country legends lend their talents to add magic to the sound. The album has now been enhanced by the addition of two previously unreleased tracks that do not reflect the bluegrass style of the other tracks but resemble her traditional country work of the 1970s from albums like Luxury Liner.

It kicks off with the up-tempo title track, an elegy with rich allusive imagery which is followed by the urgent Green Pastures, a stirring devotional duet with Ricky Skaggs. The traditional Wayfaring Stranger comes across with great power in her mid-tempo treatment and yearning vocals. The folk/pop Paul Simon composition The Boxer gets a graceful treatment, light and lilting, while hope triumphs over despair in the slow & melancholy The Darkest Hour is just before Dawn with its beautiful male vocals.

The picking on the fast-paced I'll Go Stepping Too is breathtaking as is the overall instrumental virtuosity. It contrasts markedly with the slow, aching ballad You're Learning, a moving description of love gone wrong. Next come the joyful gospel song Jordan where male vocals make a prominent contribution, followed by the gentle ballad Miss the Mississippi. The original album concluded with the sublime Gold Watch & Chain, another up-tempo duet.

Besides this bluegrass treasure, Emmylou's non-traditional country albums include 1987's Angel Band, a devotional album that is more folk than country, 1999's Western Wall which is folk-rock and the trilogy of Wrecking Ball, Red Dirt Girl and Stumble into Grace where she explored a haunting style of atmospheric rock music. They are all works of consummate artistry but Roses in the Snow has a visceral emotional appeal.

Every single song is a gem so it's not easy to pick favorites, but the title track, Green Pastures, Darkest Hour, The Boxer, Miss the Mississippi and Gold Watch & Chain are particularly outstanding. I also recommend Dolly Parton's bluegrass excursion Grass Is Blue although it does not leave quite as strong an impression as this masterpiece. I've discovered much beautiful new music since bluegrass made a comeback in the 1990s but I always return to Roses in the Snow as one collection embodying the absolute best of the genre.