Emmylou Harris Album: “Pieces of the Sky”

Emmylou was a delightful discovery nearly 30 years ago, and her first album remains a joy. Before she started experimenting with different genres several albums down the road, before age took a toll on her voice and she adapted with grace, producing masterpieces like "Wrecking Ball", there was this pure clean gorgeous voice like no other. And there was a unique sound that hit the ground running here, with a perfect album in which every song was a solid winner.

This isn't today's "alt-country", and indeed it may well be more country than some of Emmylou's 21st-century fans are comfortable with. Back in the day, we hippie sorts had nothing to do with official country music, and the official world of country music would have nothing to do with Emmylou. She was nowhere near to moving to Nashville yet, and was played on the same FM stations that played rock music. Her music was a continuation of music we then put in the country-rock genre, which was considered every bit as cool as any other sort of rock in the early 70's. In a rock historian's book, maybe the driving force was Gram Parsons joining the Byrds and helping create their "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album. But out in the real world, no one had heard of Gram Parsons, was unlikely to have heard more than a song or two from that album, and what brought country-rock into our worlds were later incarnations of the Byrds, Bob Dylan doing "Nashville Skyline", and lesser bands like New Riders of the Purple Sage or Commander Cody. Those are the sounds that primed us for the far more enduring music of Emmylou Harris.

Without denying Gram Parsons his due, he is known today largely because of the work Emmylou Harris started so brilliantly here. Some have said below that her covers of other people's songs were often superior to the originals, and I agree. I'll go a step farther and say that it's her covers of music that Parsons wrote or loved that not only put it on the map, but that made it sound good enough for it to acquire what eventually became a huge audience. I don't think that detracts from his talents, but it speaks to the beauty of her voice and the arrangements and production on this album and those that followed.

Listening to this CD decades later, it is striking how country it is, and hard to remember how easily we accepted this music in the rock world way back when. It's nearly as hard to imagine why her work wasn't accepted at the time by the country audience. And nowadays, when her voice is an entirely different sort of instrument, it's impossible to imagine why reviewers at the time thought her voice wasn't strong enough for a solo artist, and that she was better suited to being a backup singer. Though I was a huge fan, I felt there was some truth to the criticisms, and what drew me in were her soft, unspeakably sweet, angelic interpretations of slower songs. Tastes were just so different then. Compared to all the lovely and popular, but much-weaker, girlish voices of today's alt-country world, the Emmylou of the 70's belted songs out with a voice whose strength I had nearly forgotten. It is stunning to listen to today, after years of spending much more time with Wrecking Ball. Emmylou really rocked country long before "crossover" was invented.

This is probably an essential Emmylou album for anyone who is a fan of her 70's and 80's work. If you're browsing because you have a love affair with Wrecking Ball or later work, this may not be your cup of tea. To those of us who were there, this is the voice we loved doing the music we loved, and represents Emmylou at her peak - or, rather, one of her many peaks.

1975's Pieces of the Sky was Emmylou Harris' major label debut. It is also part of Rhino's recent reissue of her first five Reprise albums.

Pieces of the Sky established a high standard that Harris maintained for years to come. Her blueprint included the assemblage of stellar musicians, among them the legendary guitarist James Burton who had earlier worked his magic on numerous recordings by Rick Nelson and Elvis Presley. Also, an extremely eclectic song selection, with new compositions such as "Bluebird Wine" (by her future Hot Band member Rodney Crowell) and Harris' own "Boulder To Birmingham," alongside covers of the Louvin Brother's "If I Could Only Win Your Love," Lennon & McCartney's "For No One" and Dolly Parton's "Coat Of Many Colors."

"Too Far Gone" (# 13 country) and "If I Could Only Win Your Love" (# 4 country, # 58 pop) were this album's singles. For these remastered Rhino reissues, they have also included two bonus tracks on each cd. The additions to Piece Of The Sky are a pair of Dallas Frazier compositions, "Hank And Lefty" and "California Cottonfields" whose ultra-traditional sound fits in nicely with the rest of the original album.

Pieces of the Sky wasn't so much the beginning of the road for Emmylou Harris as the ramp onto the interstate. In her major-label debut, Emmylou built on her experiences as both coffehouse folkie and harmonizing sidekick to country-rock guru Gram Parsons, while managing to create a springboard for the traditional country sound that marked the rest of her output during the '70s. This is a remarkably diverse album. "Bluebird Wine," with its dancing fiddle riffs, is an otherworldly blend of bluegrass, honkytonk, and rural funk. Danny Flowers' cryptic antiwar ballad "Before Believing" captures Emmylou's brittle, haunting soprano at its most ethereal. Emmylou shines on barroom rockers such as Merle Haggard's "Bottle Let Me Down" and the late Shel Silverstein's classic "Queen of the Silver Dollar," but on Lennon and McCartney's quietly lilting "For No One" she is no less impressive. Her renditions of the Louvin brothers' "If I Could Only Win Your Love" and on "Sleepless Nights," a tear-jerker penned by Boudeleaux and Felice Bryant, find her paying homage to the songwriters her mentor Parsons had taught her to love. And her signature song "Boulder to Birmingham," a requiem to Parsons, never fails to produce goosebumps. All in all, this is an enormously impressive album that begs to be listened to over and over and over. . . .

Although this wasn't my first introduction to Emmylou (first hearing her harmonize with Linda Ronstadt on her HEART LIKE A WHEEL album) it was my first time I heard her singing solo. It was because of this album that Emmylou has remained my favorite musical artist for over 25 years now. Listening to it after all this time gives me the same thrill as it did in 1975 when I first heard it and knew I had to see this singer in concert ASAP, which I did that same year.

My favorite cut, is without a doubt, BOULDER TO BIRMINGHAM since it's also my all-time favorite Emmylou song. My least favorite is probably FOR NO ONE and perhaps for no particular reason other than I never was a big Beatles fan and this always reminds me of the Beatles. I do like THE BOTTLE LET ME DOWN but then I'm a big Merle Haggard fan so there you go.

I love Herb Pedersen's harmonies on IF I CAN ONLY WIN YOUR LOVE, making it another favorite cut. BEFORE BELIEVING is also a favorite as is SLEEPLESS NIGHTS. The others, BLUEBIRD WINE, COAT OF MANY COLORS, QUEEN OF THE SILVER DOLLAR although enjoyable fit somewhere in the middle. TOO FAR GONE fits somewhere between the favorites and the middle.

What strikes me most on this early album is the way her voice hasn't changed that much. Her voice is so pristine in this album and although I do note a grittiness in her voice not there previously, her voice is still strong and so distinctive.

Ranking of this on my favorite Emmylou CDs? Probably #1. Probably because of BOULDER TO BIRMINGHAM and IF I CAN ONLY WIN YOUR LOVE but because it struck me so emotionally the first time I ever heard it. And also likely because the first two of three times I saw Emmylou in concert this was the only album she had out so these songs are indelibly etched in my brain. Anyway, this album is a MUST if you're a true Emmylou fan.

This is Emmylou Harris' debut solo album, released in 1975 titled PIECES OF THE SKY. "Bluebird Wine" starts off the album, its a nice bluegrass/traditional country tinged song that will get your toes tapping. "Too Far Gone" is a favorite of mine, her first hit record too. She sings with so much remorse and passion in this song especially. Her rendition of the Louvin Brothers' "If I Could Only Win Your Love" is inspired, another highlight of the album. "Boulder to Birmingham" has become only one of her signature tunes, but it's one of her best as well. It is a tribute to Gram Parsons, who helped her get her career started. She also manages a cover of Merle Haggard's "Bottle Let Me Down". She does a wonderful version of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors" here as well, and Shel Silverstein's "Queen of the Silver Dollar". Another impressive song is "For No One", penned by Lennon and McCartney. Overall its a strong debut album, definately essential for any Emmylou Harris collection.