Aging Musicians

I have an on again, off again relationship with Emmylou Harris. I loved my mother's cassettes of my childhood - Profile, At The Ryman, Duets, and Profile II are albums that have shaped me from birth in ways I forget constantly. When I go back and listen to them, I remember what it was like to sit on a cold linoleum counter in Guam watching my mother bake bread. The nostalgia catches me often, but as I get older and I continue to listen to Emmylou age, some part of me... doubts her.

At The Ryman is my favorite album of hers. Why? Because she sings with The Nash Ramblers. This band was one she assembled from her friends and musicians. Each one of them as gifted as she, and together they made a knockout ensemble. I love this album. I think sometimes that the only reason she was really good was because of her backup band. Her voice is amazing, yes, but most of the songs she sings are written with or by someone else - a community effort.

I cannot deny that she is an excellent solo musician. Her early days in the 70s are the most touching to me. Before she dyed her hair into oblivion, before the angelic vision was seen to be fair, she was simply beautiful and touching. Then, her voice was tremulous and strong, its timbre unequivocally unique. Her band then was a typical 5-6 piece bluegrass band, and she was its showpiece. As a young girl I wanted to be named Emmylou... I thought she was the most beautiful person on earth.

Even as she ages, her music still remains relevant and touching, if increasingly sung in French. My mother continues to buy every CD, but after Red Dirt Girl she sighs and remarks at how "Emmylou just sounds tired." Sometimes, though, as in this song, she finds a topic so plaintive and true that I can't help but stop and think that somewhere in the music she sings is more truth than in any Top 40 hit from the last forty years. The first song is an old one, but the second (starting at 3:30) is written about Johnny & June Cash - worth a listen. Here, she plays at Prairie Home Companion's New Year's Eve Show 2006.

Anyway. Thoughts of a Tuesday morning before a car trip. Needless to say I'm making music mixes for the nine hour drive, and I needed something rootsy and bluegrassy.