Category: Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris’s Discography – Elite Hotel (1975) 

In 1975 Emmylou was reportedly unhappy with an Esquire magazine feature about her new album Elite Hotel. The article didn’t mention her ‘Hot Band’, so she took out an advert in a trade press to credit the players she felt were so central to her sound. 

The Hot Band, of course, were brilliant. No question this album benefits from her working with such high calibre musicians. Emmylou had invested a considerable amount of money in getting the best musicians who deserve acclaim. 

However there’s something about that decision which feels very 1975. What woman nowadays would take out a press release crediting her male collaborators? It almost reads like Emmylou felt the need to downplay her own talent and give men the spotlight. Maybe she was just trying to keep her band happy. Or maybe this was honestly how she felt about herself – still suffering from the lack of self-confidence which stalled her early career after the release of Gliding Bird (and led her to mainly becoming an ‘interpreter’ of songs rather than a writer). 

Emmylou’s name is on this record for a reason. Listening to Elite Hotel you know this album wouldn’t have succeeded without that voice. Emmylou was going to be a star with or without this band, as great as they are. 

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Emmylou’s Discography – Gliding Bird (1970)

‘I was an imitator; you have to start that way.’ – Emmylou Harris

Finding your voice is never as simple as opening your mouth and hoping you hit the right notes. Rarely do artists arrive fully formed, with something to say and a distinctive voice to carry them into the public consciousness. The history of music is littered with the sound of people hoping to find success by emulating others, many straight up stealing ideas in a desperate form of mimicry.

Work produced during this youthful development stage is referred to as juvenilia. If you make it to the other side of this time of experimentation and exploration then you might just have what it takes to become something original. Of course, once you become a success there is a level of embarrassment associated with this early work and indeed Emmylou Harris’s discography begins with Gliding Bird, an album she is so averse to that she no longer even classifies it as her debut. She actually sued a record company who tried to reissue the album after she became famous.

“I was trying to keep it a secret. I hope somebody in authority will be able to buy the masters and burn them. Everybody involved with that record hated everybody else and I was in the middle trying to keep the peace. It was a disaster.”

The album can be bought on second hand vinyl and some of these copies have been recorded and uploaded onto YouTube (in the internet age you can’t hide your past even if you wanted to).

So let’s take a listen and find out exactly what went wrong with Gliding Bird. Are there any positives to be found in this album? Was Emmylou right to disown this record?

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Live Review: Country to Country Festival, Glasgow, Friday 9th March 2018

You could tell this was going to be a good day because it was unusually sunny in Glasgow, with thankfully no sign of the snowmaggedon conditions that had caused shows to be cancelled at the same venue last week. I was at the Hydro to attend Country 2 Country festival, which brings the best of Nashville to the UK for three days every March. The Friday evening show featured performances from Lukas Nelson, Ashley Campbell, Midland, Margo Price, Emmylou Harris and Little Big Town. Continue reading “Live Review: Country to Country Festival, Glasgow, Friday 9th March 2018” →

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