Emmylou Harris Album: “Love Hurts”

Whoops! I gave this 1 star only after being informed that "-" failed the site's edit check.

I should have done some better homework before making this purchase. At best, the info available is inadequate. The cover art resurrects some earlier meanings to the term "artful".

By my count (and ear), Emmylou can be heard on 5 of the 16 cuts. One or two might generously be called duets. The remaining cuts are Emmylou doing her usual superb and generous backup harmony.

To label this as EMMYLOU HARRIS feat. Carl Jackson is very artful marketing. Maybe that's how they do business in E.C. where the CD was made. (Where is E.C.?) As an Emmylou fan, it's helpful to have it listed among the titles in a search on the Amazon site. A little more detail about the performers' roles would have made for a more informed buying decision.

I should have done a bit more research.....

I saw this CD at a local Border's and bought it. If its title said it was Carl Jackson with some harmonies by Emmylou, I might have still bought it, and would probably give it another star in that context. However, this is in no way an Emmylou Harris album. She sings harmonies on less than half of the tracks.

If you like Carl Jackson with Emmylou backing him up, a far better album is

, which is Carl Jackson and John Starling, with Emmylou and the Nash Ramblers (Sam Bush etc.) as backup. Better harmonies, better songs, better production values.

I'd be willing to bet that Emmylou had no say in the release of this CD, because she would probably not have allowed her name to be used so carelessly.

It's obvious to me that Emmylou is on this album. Her voice cannot be mistaken for anyone else. Nonetheless, I consider it an excellent album.