EMMYLOU HARRIS - PIECES OF THE SKY

Country singers who are aware of the world that lies beyond the honky-tonk at one end of Main Street or the church at the other (and all that triangulating Family Life in between) are not as rare as that once were, but still we haven't been inundated with females ones of that sort. Hold on to your hat or whatever, then, and prepare to be overrun by Emmylou Harris, the best new thing I've been flattened by lately.

Emmylou produced an album in 1970, but she produced a child at about the same time and retired temporarily, later to sing on a couple of the late Gram Parson's albums. Now "Pieces of the Sky," her first for Reprise, is freshly released, and it is rich and solid. The songs are country (mostly), and the backing (headed up by Elvis Presley's crew) is worldly- country, almost slick, and, in a very quiet way, spectacular. Brian Ahern, whose production of Anne Murray's albums has often left me peevish and morose, does a precision job here.

It occurs to me that Ms. Harris may have some trouble with fidgety listeners because her voice sounds something like Linda Ronstadt's, but the song selection and arrangements lead to the kind of relaxed, open minded listening in which differences rather than sameness become important. Emmylou's voice is smooth, it has good range and a lovely tone that shimmers on the high notes, and she compliments all this with a folksinger's straightforward phrasing. She puts across the too-rural-to-be-modern-country air of a Dolly Parton song (Coat of Many Colors), introduces another (Boulder to Birmingham) she wrote with Bill Danoff (he who co-authored Take Me Home, Country Roads with John Denver), does well by Merle Haggard, the Louvin Brothers - you name it. Even a slow-as-molasses experiment with Lennon and McCartney's For No One seems to work, profiting as it does from a wondrously economical and deeply felt electric guitar solo by Amos Garrett. The "regular" (Elvis') guitarist, James Burton, plays with similar economy and fine style, and it's all just...well, it's so good I've been sitting around here instead of making the rounds. The church and the honky-tonk could've both burned down for all I know.

AWARDS :

1976 Grammy- Best Country Vocal Performance Female - "Elite Hotel"

1979 Grammy- Best Country Vocal Performance Female - "Blue Kentucky Girl"

1980 Grammy- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals - "That Lovin' You Feeling Again" with Roy Orbison
CMA Female Vocalist

1984 Grammy - Best Country Vocal Performance Female - "In My Dreams"

1985 - Inducted into the WAMA (Washington Area Music Association) Hall of Fame

1987 Grammy- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals - "Trio"
Academy of Country Music Album of the Year - "Trio"

1988 CMA Vocal Event - "Trio"

1992 Grammy- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals - "At the Ryman" with the Nash Ramblers
Inducted into the Grand Old Opry
ACM Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award
CMF Walkway of Stars

1993 Opryland's Star Walk (Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers)

1995 Grammy - Best Contemporary Folk Album - "Wrecking Ball"
Winner of the Nashville Symphony's Harmony Award. The honor recognizes her contribution to the Nashville music world.

1996- Nashville Music Award - Folk Album - "Wrecking Ball"
Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
Patsy Montana Entertainer Award (from the Nat'l Cowgirl Hall of Fame)

1998 Grammy - Best Country Collaboration With Vocals - "Same Old Train" (from "Tribute to Tradition")

1999 - Nashville Music Award - Independent Album - "Spyboy"
Indie Award for Country Album of the Year
Billboard's Century Award
Grammy - Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "After The Gold Rush" (Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt & Dolly Parton from: "Trio II")

2000 - Grammy - Contemporary Folk Album - "Red Dirt Girl"

2001 - Gibson Best Acoustic Guitarist Female
Grammy - Album of the Year -- O'Brother Where Art Thou? Soundtrack by (Various Artists), T Bone Burnett, producer Best Traditional Folk Album -- Down From the Mountain Soundtrack by (Various Artists), T Bone Burnett, producer Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media -- O'Brother Where Art Thou? by (Various Artists), T Bone Burnett, producer

2002 - Lifetime Achievement-Performer - The Americana Music Awards
The Patrick J. Leahy Humanitarian Award

2003 - January 25, 2003 - Emmylou was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame for her lifework in the music field. - Preview article, Emmylou Fact sheet

2004 - May 3 - ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award
ASCAP Founders Award

2005 - Grammy - Best Female Country Vocal Performance - "The Connection"