Emmylou Harris Rodney Crowell
Album: Old Yellow Moon
Label: Nonesuch
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.emmylouharris.com

Probably one of those "even more than the sum of its parts" records in the end, although on first play it's a deceptively laid-back outing that has a classic backward-time-tripping feel that should be regarded as timeless but actually reeks strongest of the Southern California country-rock-meets-rock'n'roll of the Burritos and often of those classic Emmylou-and-Gram recordings prior to Crowell's joining the Hot Band back in '75.

It's good to be able to report that Emmylou's in finest voice, and clearly well pleased at being within her comfort zone for what (believe it or not) actually marks her first official collaboration with Crowell on record. And Crowell's no mean singer either, his smooth timbre an ideal foil for Emmylou on this album of duets, a dream of a record that it's taken many years of each singer's cycles of creativity to get around to making - and thank goodness they've finally made it into the studio! The material has been chosen oh so carefully too, with four songs written by Crowell taking a pride of place among the covers, which include Roger Miller's swinging Invitation To The Blues, Kris Kristofferson's Chase The Feeling and Hank DeVito's Hanging Up My Heart. It all sounds great, with a modern-day Hot-Band lineup (including many of its original members alongside latter-day stalwarts Stuart Duncan, Bill Payne and Vince Gill) on expectedly excellent form. And as a further throwback and connection to the old Hot Band glory-days, the team chirpily re-works, to great effect, Bluebird Wine, the driving uptempo Crowell composition that opened Emmylou's very first solo record Pieces Of The Sky way back then.

Special favourites for me on this set are probably the slowies - Here We Are, the Patti Scialfa composition Spanish Dancer, Crowell's own Open Season On My Heart and the even more gorgeously harmonised Allen Reynolds waltzer Dreaming My Dreams (eclipsing even the incomparable Waylon Jennings version) - but in truth there's not a weak cut. The whole set is ably produced by Brian Ahern, and it marks a further high point in the two protagonists' careers for sure.

David Kidman