Emmylou Harris - Stumble into Grace

"...another long night to be alone.."

The longer Emmylou continues,the better she gets.This,in my opinion, is the best album that she has made and the main reason for that is ,since she wrote most of the songs,we hear her talking right from her soul. It takes a couple of listens before the full impact of these songs really hits you.
While I've often said that Emmylou can take any song and make it her own;
it is a sign of a great artist to do this as we have seen with Cash,Ray Charles,Nana Moscouri,Sinatra,just to name a few.
When a great artist is finally able to take off on their own,with their own music and ideas ;then we see the real greatness emerge. The latest work by Johnny Cash hit us like a bolt of thunder and here we see the same with Emmylou.
Someone once asked Picasso how long it took him to do one of his paintings.His answer was "about fourty years." I think the same could be said about the songs on this album. It takes a whole lot of living to reach into one's soul and bring this sort of thing out for all of us to see and feel.
There are all kinds of studio and industry songwriters who can crank out an endless stream of songs for about any topic and for any singer;but they can't do the kind of thing that we see Emmylou doing here. It has to come from the soul and that can't be done by someone else for her.
When we listen to Hank Williams sing "Your Cheating Heart" ,Dolly Parton sing "Coat of Many Colors", Loretta Lynn sing "Coal Miner's Daughter",and Kris Kristofferson sing "Sunday Morning Coming Down";we are hearing songs they wrote themselves and from their heart and soul and above all,personal experience.
Line after line as Emmylou sings these songs, she reaches out and is able to captivate us and get right to our emotions.
When she sings;

"We make our own Heaven,our own Hell,
Trying to get across to theother side"

We are seeing the work of real greatness.

It is hard to single out one song over another;but when she sings "Strong Hand" I can visualize Johnny and June listening to Emmylou and enjoying it to no end.

Yes,Emmylou,we can hear you now. Our only hope is that we will continue to hear you for years to come. Thanks.
April 6, 2007

Stumbling Toward Ecstasy

Not convinced with her previous efforts [Wrecking Ball too spacey, Red Dirt Girl too art-house] why she doesn't stick to her goldmine inherencies [as the greatest backup singer of all time], she gets me this time - maybe I'm getting too old to fight off her earnestness - her erudite storytelling and ravishing and at-times flat vocals tell tales that never prove sententious, just authentic and unadulterated. My grade: B+
December 24, 2005

Stunning!

Emmylou Harris is staying true to herself. She doesn't take on anyone else's style or do anything artsy-fartsy. This album is just plain Emmylou.

Little Bird is the best track. I love the instrumentation.

Overall, the songs are uplifting and angelic, just like the beautiful cover art. People have been complaining about her vocal range and her songwriting. I personally don't see it. For a woman in her fifties, she has a beautiful highly textured voice. So what if she can't hit the high notes anymore! As for her songwriting abilities, I think it is refreshing to hear simple songs that aren't trashy and sexual like much of the music put out today.

Beautiful album by a beautiful woman! Promise me that you will stumble into grace and buy this album January 4, 2005

Pretty, but...

Emmylou Harris looks positively angelic on the cover, and that's a tip-off to the kind of music to be found here: angelic and pristine, but unfortunately, a bit short on passion. This is, to my knowledge, the first collection of songs she has done that have been almost exclusively written by her. However, judging from this effort, I would put her in the same category with artists like Judy Collins, Joan Baez and Bonnie Raitt: marvelous interpreters of others' songs who are so-so songwriters. The production by Malcolm Burn continues in the same vein of dreamy soundscaping that began with "Wrecking Ball". But Malcolm Burn is no Daniel Lanois, and that point is only emphasized in the standout track on this album, "Lost Unto This World", which was co-written and co-produced by Lanois. It only makes you yearn for a return to the sublime collaboration he and Harris found with "Wrecking Ball". She still has a wonderful voice, and there are other friends on hand to help out as well, especially Kate and Anna McGarrigle, along with Linda Ronstadt and Jane Siberry. I am reluctant to give less than top marks to one of my favorite artists, but this one just didn't quite live up to expectations. October 4, 2004

I stumbled onto Emmy Lou's album by grace

I am not a music critic. I listen to what speaks honestly about values and experiences in my own life. I liked Emmy Lou a lot in the beginning, lost interest, then came back to her in this album. I am glad I did, and I am glad this album was created.

I do not consider the lyrics depressing. They touch the wellsprings of love, loss, and understanding of the mysterious ways we connect. There is gentle soul here. There is depth. There is a light above the stories that illuminates the nuances of some of our most painful experiences in life.

"Can you hear me now" was my first favorite. In the beginning stanzas, it sounds like it will be another "lost love, you'll never find another like me song". But then it turns on a line, a "star," and we realize the singer is expressing what we might think of as soul love.

Emmy Lou's sweetness is perfect in this softer blend of music and insight. It gives me shivers. It gives me hope I will hear more songs like these. Don't stop writing Emmy Lou! Oh, how much we need your understanding that life truly is a stumbling, but we can transform that stumbling into Grace. August 15, 2004

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