Wrecking Ball Music Cd

Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball

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Wrecking Ball      Artist : Emmylou Harris      List Price : $11.98 USD        Your Price : $10.99 USD      ProductGroup: Music      Release Date : 1995-09-26      Studio : Asylum Records      Label : Asylum Records      Avg. Customer Rating : (117 reviews)

Reviews Customer Reviews for Wrecking Ball      Alternate country universe      Rating:      A towering achievement and also an immensely likeable record. Emmylou Harris, after spending the first half of the 90s playing and recording solid if traditionally-oriented country albums, in 1995 teams up with Daniel Lanois and engineer Malcolm Burn to make a surprisingly experimental, electronica-influenced, slow-burning gem of a modern country record that sounds nothing - absolutely nothing - like country music sounds in 1995 (or since, for that matter). She forges a completely unique path here, presenting material in a way that boldly proposes an alternate universe: one where country music does not sound like 80s mainstream rock (or bluegrass nostalgia). Instead of commercial sheen, the music here has grit, tape hiss, low and odd keyboard pads, loops and samples... and yet, there's Emmylou Harris' voice, invoking a true country idiom with every line she sings. There's much pain and sadness on this record, all of it worth hearing any number of times. A true artist statement, even though she only co-wrote one of the songs ("Waltz Across Texas Tonight," with Rodney Crowell), Wrecking Ball is a must-have, even if you don't like country as a rule. (As someone who was always a performer and never a writer, this album also marks the beginning of Emmylou Harris' journey into songwriting, culminating in later records that have a similar sound but songs mostly penned by her, which are also worth listening to.)     Customer Reviews for Wrecking Ball Cd      A Different and Difficult Album      Rating:      At first, this was the first Emmylou album I listened through. At first I was a little bit disappointed but even the next time I started to like it much more. It seemed like all the songs were opening. "All My Tears", "Orphan Girl", and "Where Will I Be" were the easiest ones. "Deeper Well" may sound a little bit strange but it's one of my favorites in this album. The title track opened for me in the 6th listening time. If you have listened only Emmylou's 70's albums, you may feel a little bit disappointed at first but give it a chance! It's a great album, a little bit slower than the first Emmylou albums but it has it moments. I have listen to it more than ten times, and the only song that sounds boring is "May This Be Love". Stars: All My Tears, Orphan Girl, Wrecking Ball Editorial Reviews for Wrecking Ball Audio Cd      Amazon.com essential recording      Emmylou Harris's formula has been to match a crack crew of left-of-center country players with an assortment of tasteful tunes and head into the studio with a nonintrusive producer. Now and then (most notably the 1980 bluegrass collection Roses in the Snow), she tampers with her basic blueprint and comes up with something exceptional. Wrecking Ball is one of those. Daniel Lanois's radiant production no longer seems as fresh as it did on albums by U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan, but here its hum enfolds Harris like an electric blanket. Lanois's usual recruits, including U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr., and New Orleans regulars Malcolm Burn, Brian Blade, and Daryl Johnson, lay down a solid base for Harris's weary vocals and Lanois's buzzing guitar. At its core, Wrecking Ball seems almost too finely calculated. Hot producer plus sought-after songwriters plus venerated performer frequently totals to deadly bore. Here, however, all that calculation adds up to something. --Steven Stolder