Customer Reviews

Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"When Billboard Magazine honored Emmylou Harris in 1999 with its prestigious "Century Award," they appropriately lauded her as a "truly venturesome, genre-transcending pathfinder," whose award was meant "to acknowledge the uncommon excellence of [her] still-unfolding body of work." Billboard

As I was listening to the first couple of hours of this CD, I kept thinking "How to review this unbelievable 78 track CD." For forty years this magnificent voice has been a part of our culture. She has brought so many new and glorious voices with her as she paired country and rock and blues to the rhythm. Most of the voices appear on this CD. Emmylou started her discovery with Gram Parsons many years ago, and in the recent past she has made marvelous music with Mark Knopfler. And, all the in-between is covered nicely. I will divulge one of the best parts of these discs to me are the middle ones, where she pairs with the "Queenston Trio" as they were known , Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton. Sweeter, truer voices have not been heard.

Disc One covers the early years. The early seventies with Gram Parsons and her pairings and covers with and of Dolly Parton, the Beatles, Queen, Rodney Crowell and Waylon Jennings. Those older songs are bliss, true bliss.

Disc Two covers the 1990's- there was an important landmark when she recorded 'Wrecking Ball' which is said to have saved the Ryman theatre from extinction. She continued her writing with Anna McGarrigle at this time. Some of Emmylou's best work is from this decade.

Disc Three goes back to the late 70's and 80's and my favorite disc. Her CD's with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadtare marvelous. Of this song 'Softly and Tenderly' Emmylou says, "I was grieved that this [song] didn't come out with the origiinal CD, I think the singing is exquisite. When Linda goes up in that modulation you realize all over again why she is maybe the greatest voice of our time... and then of course Dolly was made to sing these old-time songs... It was an unbelievable experience to hear those voices on the same song." Tracks number 43 'Palms of Victory', #44 Softly and Tenderly', # 45 'My Dear Companion, and #47 'I Don't Love You Much Do I' are the Cat's Pajamas as Gramma used to say and worth the entire CD. What a miracle of music.

Disc Four has more duets, one with Mark Knopfler 'Alone and Forsaken' and 'Beyond The Blue' with Patty Griffin. And, Emmylou Harris's inspiration, George Jones she sings 'Here We Are'. 'Wildwood Flower' and "When We Are gone, Long Gone' are part of this disc. Gorgeous music.

"For more than a year, Emmylou Harris sifted through a treasure trove of music to serve as the foundation of Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems. Over the course of four CDs, she illuminates her favorite album tracks that never made it to radio, along with numerous collaborations and contributions that are worth rediscovering. In addition, a DVD spotlights several top-notch television performances from throughout her career." CMT

Emmylou Harris has sung in over 20 albums and has given country, folk, and county rock a name in the world of music. She appeared with one of my favorite groups, 'The Band' in 'The Last Waltz', and most recently with Neil Young in 'Heart of Gold'. She is a true treasure of our American music scene. This set of 4CD's in Songbird give us a glimpse of the magic of the woman and her voice.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 09-22-07

All the Roadrunning

The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches and Highways

Wrecking Ball

The music on this set speaks for itself, you don't get the hits, instead you get the rare stuff, duets, tributes, album cuts etc. Incredible music. The packaging for this set matches the music. Inclosed in a hard case with two hard cover booklets inside. One houses the five discs, the other is a 200 page book with track by track notation, filled photos and song info and intro by Emmylou herself. A beautiful set and well worth the price of admission.
Note: The packaging is top notch, however the discs are very difficult to remove from the sleeves. You do have to be careful or risk tearing the sleeve.

My God, I've loved Emmylou since I first heard her at the Chancery in Washington, DC, back in the early '70's - way before Pieces of the Sky. I have everything she's done either on LP or CD. I think this is an amazing collection and love it, with one exception - the package. While 90% of the box set package is first class, Rhino has made it extremely hard to get the discs out of their sleeves. I just tore the case trying to get disc 4 out. I am over 60 years old and my hands don't work as well as they once did.

As a side note, I wish all the CD/DVD manufacturers would give us old farts a break. We love music and movies just like the young ones they're aiming at. Is it really necessary to have all the shrink-wrap and adhesive strips all over every package? My God, if it's shrink-wrapped why do I have to face that damn adhesive strip on the jewel case? At least it's better than the old dog-bone that you couldn't completely get off but it's still unnecessary.

I liked the bold statement on the casing: "Mastered in Analog" by Brian Ahern & Donivan Cowart. Analog sound is typically warmer than digital and the sound quality here is excellent, with a few exceptions: notably the gorgeous song "Sonny", which has suffered terribly in this process - what happened there Brian and Donovan ? To condense such a varied and exhalted career into 4 CDs is a tough ask, and naturally everyone will have some tracks that they would have liked to have been included. For me, I would have liked a little more from the to-date unissued "Evangeline" and the strangely distributed "Cimarron". In Australia Cimarron was released in the early 90s on CD by EMI, as part of their Legendary Masters collection (432099-2) with typical quality of the period - nothing special. Then in 2000, it was released in the US as 'remastered with bonus track' by the Eminent label. It is hard for the average punter to understand how these two albums were not released on CD by Warner and afforded the proper treatment. It's like why is "Pronto Monto" the only Kate & Anna McGarrigle record never to get a CD release ? Maybe now, fan's feedback will encourage Emmy to get Brian and Donivan to remaster Evangaline and Cimarron completely for release in analog (!), and while they're at it, the original "Trio", as "My dear companion", included in this set,comes up a treat compared to the original and only available pressing? As to everyone's bone of contention, I have to agree with nearly all the previous reviewers - the packaging is appalling. It looks fantastic and the liner notes and photos are beautiful, however, unlike everyone else, I am not so concerned about tearing the sleeve (it seems too tough) but to remove each disc requires dangerous man-handling resulting in finger prints and possible scratching. That said, this set is a must for any fan, despite the obvious drawbacks of the packaging. Handle with care !! and you will be justly rewarded, as she is one of music's true legends.

From a musical standpoint SONGBIRD is wonderful. Its packaging is another story.

Songbird comes housed in a attractive slipcase containing a nice book & the cds.

It is aesthetically pleasing but not very functional. The 5 3/4 x 5 1/4 cd packet opens into a 5 section, 28.5 inch cardboard monster with each section containing a cd or dvd. All the disc are tightly housed in the sections making it difficult to remove without tearing the packaging and impossible to handle the disc properly.

All of my disc are playable but somehow marred because of the packaging design. Rhino would have been wiser to have each disc housed in individual jackets that fit into the slipcase. I would urge Songbird buyers to find another way to house the Songbird disc.

SONGBIRD is a big ticket item, musically superb, and worth every penny, but its poor packaging is a disservice to both Emmylou and anyone electing to buy the collection. A pity since this is a MUST HAVE item for Emmylou fans.

This collection will blow your mind! If you are an Emmylou fan, it is indispensable for all of the unreleased and "forgotten" gems it contains. If you know Emmylou's music only in a casual way, this is the best in-depth survey you could ask for, especially since Emmylou handpicked the tracks. With her track-by-track commentary, it's like sitting down with her for an afternoon and letting her take you through her favorite moments of her career.
If you don't know Emmylou's music at all, then this collection will introduce you to one of the most important musical artists in America. There is no fluff here -- these songs will move you to the core of your soul. There are many top-name guests included in this collection, so in addition to Emmylou, you get wonderful vocal performances from a variety of artists.
Do not hesitate to pick this one up!! You will not be disappointed!

P.S.-- The packaging is beautiful, but you will have to be careful in removing some of the discs. It's not that big of a deal, however, and certainly no reason to knock a star off of the review.

I just received Songbird and was struck by the beauty of the package and the hardbound book with the songs, musicians, etc. (Didn't see any pictures of Emmylou with Gram Parsons.)

However, when I got to the heart of the package (the cds and dvd), I just stared in horror at the packaging and am still trying to figure a way to get the cds out of their slots intact without destroying the packaging. Even cutting won't be easy.

I cannot believe these geniuses who designed this packaging couldn't predict the problems. Obviously, they never tried opening the package once it was done.

Incredibly stupid and another finger in the eye of the poor consumer. Shoddy jewel cases and now shoddy packaging (at top dollar).

If I can ever get the cds out and can listen to them, will report back on the music.

Right now it's back to figuring a way to access the treasures.

Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems
with Emmylou Harris for three decades or so. At first it was because she looked a lot like my girlfriend but later it was because of her voice and the songs she chose to sing. Emmylou shared her heartbreak and lonliness with me and I never doubted hers was as real as mine. I have always hated country and western music except when Emmylou sang it - I could never figure that out. Perhaps it was because she never tried to oversell it.
The new boxed set Songbird was actually compiled by Emmylou and as such there are many, many songs that I never knew existed here and they are mixed artfully with the more familiar songs. Some of this material would not have been available at all without her efforts as the rights were owned by different and various people. I feel this represents an unprecedented effort on the part of an artist to represent herself through the music she herself feels closest to. The trios with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt are particularly welcome in that regard.
If you like Emmylou Harris you must have this set even if you own every other album she ever released.

Rhino is intentionally packaging their box sets to make the removal of the discs nearly impossible without damage to the discs and or the boxes themselves. It's true of this set and many others recently issued. It leaves the buyer with no place to store the CDs after surgically removing them from the packaging. The music on this set is wonderful and it has enough unique tracks to make it worthwhile for longtime listeners. Buyers need to complain to Rhino directly and demand replacement CDs for any damaged due to their intentionally lousy packaging.

I do agree with people who are complaining about the packaging; why does Rhino--which CATERS to the collector--put together such shoddy packaging?
Hip-O Select has SLEEVES, which keep the surface of the cd pristine. That said, I'm obsessive compulsive, and also PRACTICAL...take the cds out ONCE, and put them in slim-line jewel cases. I do that with all cds that come in cardboard; I even do it with cds and dvd that overlap in cramped box sets. THAT WAY YOU'RE NOT TAKING THEM IN AND OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN...practical, right? That said, Emmylou Harris is amazing.