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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And the List Continues, July 10 2008
It's about 3:45am, so I'm a little short on words. I will say this though. The amazing records that continue to be produced by the artists who got their start in the 60's and 70's keeps growing. Prairie Wind, Modern Times, Dirt Farmer, and now All I Intended To Be. Emmylou's voice is smooth, clear and character laiden. The production and instrumentation is complex and enveloping. If this record doesn't receive a grammy this year I'll be shocked!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Approaching the sublime, Jun 19 2009
The sound is a departure from Wrecking Ball (1995), Red Dirt Girl (2000) and Stumble Into Grace (2003), considered her Daniel Lanois trilogy although the last two were produced by Malcolm Burn. It's not a return to her earlier style either, despite the production of Brian Ahern who was responsible for masterpieces like Luxury Liner, Elite Hotel and Blue Kentucky Girl.
Most tracks appear to be in the mournful ballad mould; they may be melancholic on the surface but there's a subversive undertone of hope. The opening number Shores of White Sand, defiant and life-affirming, is given a wistful air by a recorder flute. This contrasts nicely with the rock ballad Hold On where slide electric & electric guitars call the tune.
Patti Griffin's Moon Song has stirring mandolin and accordion whilst Mark Germino's Broken Man's Lament is a springsteenesque tale of resignation with references to Patsy Cline and the 1960s Procol Harum classic A Whiter Shade of Pale. Then suddenly there's soul. Emmylou's own Gold, on which Dolly Parton and Vince Gill provide harmony vocals, is pure poetry. Sonically, the twang puts it firmly in the country camp.
With their voices, a banjo & guitar, Canada's talented McGarrigle sisters add magic to the second Harris composition How She Could Sing The Wildwood Flower. The magic intensifies through a striking interpretation of Tracy Chapman's All That You Have Is Your Soul, one of the album's highlights. Then Emmylou's vocals rise a register or two for Take That Ride with its impressive electric guitars.
Atmospheric accordion & mandolin accompany the duet with Mike Auldridge called Old Five and Dimers Like Me, a track as good as any on her Duets album whilst Kern River, written by Merle Haggard, sounds vaguely familiar in theme, tune & structure to some other country or folk song. Dobro and fiddle add that special element that imprints it on one's soul.
In its regret and nostalgia, the Harris composition Not Enough recalls Dolly Parton's old hit Just Someone I Used To Know whilst Sailing Round the Room with its spectral backing vocals was co-written with Anna & Kate McGarrigle. The devotional Beyond the Great Divide is unapologetically country in sentiment & sound with aching male backing vocals that resemble those on the live album Spyboy.
The CD booklet contains all the lyrics, the credits, a message from M Lou and some lovely full-color photographs of her and various contributors. With the exception of the aforementioned Chapman interpretation, I would say Ms Harris' own compositions outshine the covers. Songs like Gold, Wildwood Flower, Not Enough and Beyond the Great Divide will soon be reckoned amongst her most beloved songs.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, Feb 12 2009
I found the songs were very similar. During the 1980s I listened to Emmylou Harris a lot and liked her intensity -- but that seemed to be missing in this CD.
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