Emmylou Harris - Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town
Posted by: Sal in Sal's Boutique, tags: emmylou harris
As I sit at my desk looking at the inner sleeve of this record, I can’t help but think that Emmylou Harris is one of the most beautiful women to ever attach her voice to a song.
There she sits, in front of the standard issue photographer’s backdrop, wearing jeans and a Danskin and looking as breathtaking as any woman ever photographed. Fast forward to 2009, as she turns 62 years old this coming April 2nd, and you’ll see not much has changed over the past 30 years: she remains as stunningly beautiful as ever.
Putting my crush aside, what about the music on this, the fourth album she did for the Warner Brothers group (and the first to actually bear the Warner Brothers name).
From the very first note — as she sings “there he goes, he’s gone again” — she tells us this record is about love and loss and how it can be thrilling and frustrating and painful all at once.
She’s saying it will be Easy From Now On but she doesn’t really believe it. In the Susanna Clark/Carlene Routh tune that also bears the album’s title line, Emmylou lies that “it’s gonna be easy to fill the heart of a thirsty woman” but her plaintive fragile voice, backed by Mickey Raphael’s harmonica work that descends down a bass line to the chorus, says otherwise.
The theme of thirst continues with Two More Bottles of Wine, a mid-tempo piece from the Delbert McClinton catalog that Emmylou dives into with typical wit. Her voice this time is light and airy, capable of anything it would seem, but again, there’s an undercurrent of loss and heartbreak. Behind the whistling-in-the-dark courage she sings, Albert Lee supports her with workmanlike guitar and piano that highlights the work of her LA session group, the Hot Band.
Passing over her take on Dolly Parton’s To Daddy to get to first of two Jesse Winchester tracks, My Songbird, Emmylou continues the theme as she sings “how I crave the liquor of her song”. The bird is not the one suffering; it’s Emmylou who craves her freedom. As much as any tune on the record, this one cuts to the core what made Harris such a wonderful interpreter.
The side closes with Leaving Lousiana In The Broad Daylight, broken hearted and heading out of town, she is, with the help of friends Rick Danko and Garth Hudson, loading the truck (and providing vocals and accordion, respectively)
The highlights of side two are the songs of redemption: Utah Phillips Green Rolling Hills and Winfield Scott’s Burn That Candle. “The green rolling hills of West Virginia, are the nearest thing to heaven that I know,” she says, as she’s put away her hurt from living in an apartment in West L.A. to seek heaven on earth in West Virginia.
Garth and Rick are back for the final redemption on Burn That Candle, with Garth contributing a smashing sax solo and Hank DeVito doing yeoman’s work on pedal steel.
Having raved about the beauty of her voice (and her face), I can now admit that I’ve never been a fan of Emmylou Harris. That is to say I’ve never been a “fanatic,” settling for more of a passing affection. But every time I look and listen, the crush becomes a little deeper.
LP ($1.50 cents at Goodwill): Great shape, save for the last tune, and well worth the money.
CD ($18 minimum, used): As near as I can tell, the CD is out of print. You can get a used copy as low as $18 or a new copy for as (little!) as $89. Yeah, $89.
DOWNLOAD: You can download the full album from Amazon for less than $10.
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terrific album..
I was just a gal when I first heard Emmy. I am 51 now. She never sold out, she taught me to play the guitar and sing and now my kids are singing songs like…Hello Stranger, One paper kid, and …”I live on a big blue ball….”