Emmylou Harris Album: “Elite Hotel”

Beautiful, vulnerable, full of musical integrity, and possessing a voice so pure that you could drink from it - one could easily make the argument that Emmylou Harris was the Alison Krauss of the 1970's. "Elite Hotel" was Emmylou's second effort after working with the late Gram Parsons, and in some ways typical of a lot of her work - tributes to her mentor ("Sin City" and "Wheels") while putting a rootsy spin on a broad spectrum of material, including The Beatles "Here, There, and Everywhere," Patsy Cline's (well, Don Gibson's, if you want to get technical) "Sweet Dreams," and Buck Owen's "Together Again."

Her voice is quite capable of breaking the hardest of hearts - but I also enjoy the more uptempo numbers (her backing group, The Hot Band, was and remains one of the truly great ensembles), like the driving "Amarillo" (Emmylou's only original) and the rollicking "Feeling Single, Seeing Double" (the little growl in her voice when she intones "wound up in a whole lotta trouble" makes my knees knock!). And her plaintive plea on "One of These Days" - "there's gonna be peace of mind for me/one of these days" - is the very essence of quiet desperation.

Listening to any Emmylou Harris collection is an artistic pleasure and an education in American music. "Elite Hotel" set the bar at a high level, and put Emmylou on the way to becoming the stateswoman of country/Americana music that she is today.

ELITE HOTEL is pure magic. On this record there is some of the best country-rock in history. Emmylou Harris re-wrote the rules of country when she recorded this. Emmylou's vocals, the Hot Band, and the excellent arrangements, bring great flavor to an excellent group of songs. "Amarillo" is a fun Western song, the second one Emmylou Harris cowrote since GLIDING BIRD (the first was the shining "Boulder To Birmingham". Her first #1 single was "Together Again", in which she gives the song new power. "Feelin' Single-Seein' Double" is another prime example of the great country-rock sound. She brings new emotional charge to the beautiful "Sin City". The #3 hit "One Of The Days", is terrific as well, a great song. Rodney Crowell's beautiful "Till I Gain Control Again", recorded with the band from PIECES OF THE SKY, is given a sensational vocal performance. Her version of the Beatles "Here, There, And Everywhere" is enchanting. She makes the song an even more tender declaration of love. "Ooh Las Vegas" rocks. On the #1 hit "Sweet Dreams" she gives the song new character, new beauty. "Jambalaya" is fun, a great interpetation of a classic. The simple arrangements, and powerful beauty on "Satan's Jewel Crown" are stunning. She delievers a fantastic farewell with "Wheels", a song that rings with flavorful energy. ELITE HOTEL isn't my favorite Emmylou Harris album, but it's not far from the top of the list. When you hear this terrific album, you'll know why.

Elite Hotel was the follow up to Emmylou's magnificent Pieces Of The Sky. The tuneful material includes both achingly beautiful ballads and fast country rock. The album kicks off with the uptempo Amarillo full of twang, and is followed by the sensitive weepie Together Again which was her first number one country single in 1976.

The slow songs encompass a variety of styles: Sin City a gentle ballad with lovely male harmonising; One Of These Days, a number 3 hit on the country charts, is a lilting mid tempo ballad, whilst Till I Gain Control Again showcases Emmylou's interpretative skills to their best on his sensitive and evocative love song.

Lennon/McCartney's Here, There And Everywhere receive a subdued, mellow treatment, whilst Sweat Dreams, another country chart topper, is fragile and soulful. The most spiritual moment on the album is the moving Satan's Jewel Crown, a song that is up there in her repertoire with transcendent masterpieces like My Songbird and Calling My Children Home.

Besides Amarillo, the fast rockers include the rowdy Feelin' Single Seein' Double, the catchy and propulsive Ooh Las Vegas with its impressive playing, the lilting live recording of Jambalaya and the soaring mid tempo ballad Wheels, a duet with Jonathan Edwards. Full of yearning and acceptance, it is one of the most memorable road songs in any musical genre.

The two bonus tracks tie in perfectly with the mood of the album. The stirring ballad You're Running Wild is a duet with Rodney Crowell, whilst the buoyant Cajun Born is an energetic number from the same tradition as Jambalaya. They're both great songs that enhance an already brilliant album.

The most gripping moments on this album, in my opinion, are Together Again, Sin City, Till I Gain Control Again, Satan's Jewel Crown and Wheels. But Elite Hotel is as beautiful and essential as Pieces Of The Sky, Cowgirl's Prayer, Blue Kentucky Girl, Cimarron and Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town.

I was NOT into country music at all in 1976 when I got turned on to Emmylou Harris's Elite Hotel. I had a band, was a rock'n'roller and jazz player. HOWEVER, this album just melted me. OMG, Emmylou Harris sings like an angel. She transcends categorization. I had a cassette tape back then of this album that I wore out and just recently bought the CD, and cannot get her out of my head. This album is a true treasure that I would share with anyone, regardless of their musical tastes, simply because it is so terrific.

A wondrous new voice and a unique sound came pouring out in Emmylou's 1975 albums "Pieces of the Sky" and "Elite Hotel". Both amazing pieces of work, "Elite Hotel" is in some ways superior, highlighting that gorgeous voice in its prime on perfectly chosen slow songs. My first exposure to Emmylou was her version of "Here, There, and Everywhere", which remains unspeakably gorgeous. As she did so often, she took a great song, made it her own, and improved on it. With all due respect to her later self-written work, for her first ten or so albums Emmylou's (then-rare) songwriting was nothing special, and her choice of material was occasionally questionable (e.g. I wasn't a fan of the "Evangeline" album or of a few songs here and there). The quality of her early albums depended on her choice of songs and styles. Given good material and the Hot Band, she made magic, as here.

For those of us who'd never heard or wanted to hear "real" country music, Emmylou made songs like "Together Again" or "Sweet Dreams" part of our repertoire, and made them current and cool. To an unsophisticated teenager, "Jambalaya" was a Creedence Clearwater song, and I hadn't yet heard of Hank Williams, but she did the song better. Emmylou's versions of all the above remain definitive, with apologies to Patsy Cline. The same goes for her versions of Gram Parson's songs, first introduced here. She brought out the joyous feel of the music better than he was able to, in my opinion, though I've since come to appreciate his own versions. In 2003, I may learn toward the versions of "Sin City" and "Las Vegas" from the Tribute album, but the versions here still beat the originals.

This is a perfect album and it catches Emmylou at her best in her early prime. If I had to have just one of her CD's now that she has dozens, it might not be this one, which is perhaps a bit dated now, but it would certainly be one of my contenders for her best.