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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Emmylou Harris has always had a way with woe. On All I Intended To Be, she seems more maudlin than ever as she sings her way through songs about loss, heartbreak, even the odd funeral. Of course, this is the kind of material Harris has always been comfortable with, but as her career and years advance gracefully, so her gliding soprano seems to breathe ever more refinement and soul into her material. All I Intended To Be has been produced by Brian Ahern, her former husband and the man behind her first 11 albums--another reason the album sounds so comfortable and accomplished. Joined by a virtuoso set of players including keyboardist Glen Hardin and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan, plus vocalists Vince Gill, Buddy Miller, and Dolly Parton, Harris blends a handpicked selection of cover versions with her own material. Tracy Chapman's "All That You Have Is Your Soul" gets a honeyed reworking, as does Merle Haggard's "Kern River" and Mark Germino's "Broken Man's Lament". Billy Joe Shaver's "Old Five" and "Dimers Like Me" both get respectfully and sublimely covered too. But her own songs - in particular "Sailing Round the Room" and "Gold" - stand up well to these evergreens. An eclectic and profound set, All I Intended To Be is also one of Harris’ best in recent years.--Danny McKenna
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
63 of 68 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
In 1995 Emmylou Harris cut "Wrecking Ball", the first of four ground breaking albums, that took her into new directions and defined a new musical genre, alternative country. Now, recording with producer (and ex husband) Brian Ahern for the first time in 25 years, Emmylou Harris looks back into the past on her own terms because her phrasing and the swirling sounds of those albums are much in evidence on this largely acoustic set.
Harris and Ahern have assembled a stellar cast of supporting musicians and singers for this production most of whom have recorded with her many times over her career. They include Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Glen D Hardin, Bill Payne and Buddy Miller.
The songs follow the themes of sorrow for love lost, death, low self esteem, growing old and, finally, the promise of redemption in "Beyond The Great Divide". There are some real gems in this collection, including "Gold" with Vince Gill and the most traditional country on offer, Patti Smith's exquisite "Moon Song", Billy Joe Shaver's "Old Five And Dimers Like Me" and her own "Sailing Around The Room" where, at the point of death, her spirit flies through the window to join with nature. Then, there is the Harris/McGarrigle song "How She Could Sing The Wildwood Flower" about the love that A P Carter had for his wife Sara - simply beautiful and not a dry eye in the house!
The production and musicianship are impeccable but the most memorable thing about this album is Emmylou's voice. Time has been kind to her glorious pipes which have come to define her as an icon of Americana and able to convey depths of emotions that most other artistes find impossible. Just listen to the despair in Gold when she sings "But though I flew on wings of angels/My feet were always made of clay."
Thus, with the simplest of materials, she has been able to transform them into carefully woven tapestries of gold and produce an album which ranks among her best.
Harris and Ahern have assembled a stellar cast of supporting musicians and singers for this production most of whom have recorded with her many times over her career. They include Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Glen D Hardin, Bill Payne and Buddy Miller.
The songs follow the themes of sorrow for love lost, death, low self esteem, growing old and, finally, the promise of redemption in "Beyond The Great Divide". There are some real gems in this collection, including "Gold" with Vince Gill and the most traditional country on offer, Patti Smith's exquisite "Moon Song", Billy Joe Shaver's "Old Five And Dimers Like Me" and her own "Sailing Around The Room" where, at the point of death, her spirit flies through the window to join with nature. Then, there is the Harris/McGarrigle song "How She Could Sing The Wildwood Flower" about the love that A P Carter had for his wife Sara - simply beautiful and not a dry eye in the house!
The production and musicianship are impeccable but the most memorable thing about this album is Emmylou's voice. Time has been kind to her glorious pipes which have come to define her as an icon of Americana and able to convey depths of emotions that most other artistes find impossible. Just listen to the despair in Gold when she sings "But though I flew on wings of angels/My feet were always made of clay."
Thus, with the simplest of materials, she has been able to transform them into carefully woven tapestries of gold and produce an album which ranks among her best.
32 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
All I Intended To Be sees Emmylou return to a more simple, acoustic style of music.
A mixture of both covers and self penned songs, it's more country flavoured than it's immediate predecessors. The tempo and subject matter are decidedly downbeat but no less beautiful for that. Her voice brings a haunting quality to everything she sings, and her choice of covers here is, as usual, excellent. Her own songs too, are up to the standard that we have recently come to expect.(By the way, on the liner notes she is mistakenly credited with writing Broken Man's Lament, in fact written by Mark Germino).
Throw into the mix a handful of legendary musicians and backing vocalists, sensitive arrangements and production and the result is a georgeous album that I think will stand the test of time.
A mixture of both covers and self penned songs, it's more country flavoured than it's immediate predecessors. The tempo and subject matter are decidedly downbeat but no less beautiful for that. Her voice brings a haunting quality to everything she sings, and her choice of covers here is, as usual, excellent. Her own songs too, are up to the standard that we have recently come to expect.(By the way, on the liner notes she is mistakenly credited with writing Broken Man's Lament, in fact written by Mark Germino).
Throw into the mix a handful of legendary musicians and backing vocalists, sensitive arrangements and production and the result is a georgeous album that I think will stand the test of time.
36 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The title : a fanfare, a declaration and a manifesto.
This collection of thirteen new recordings brings us
to some kind of pinnacle in Ms Harris's long career.
She must know this to be true. The evidence is there for us to hear.
After the dry, rasping austerity of 'Red Dirt Girl' (2000);
the warm, reassuring classicism of 'Stumble Into Grace' (2003)
and the uncomfortably eneven collaboration with Mr Knopfler,
'All The Road Running' (2006); 'All I Intended To Be' is a
trancendent epiphany. A true and perfect wonder.
Maturity of voice and musical vision; finely honed interpretive insight
and the ability to create a sense of intense gravitas from the simplest
ingredients are all marks of an artist functioning at the very
height of her remarkable powers.
A track by track deconstruction would seem somehow ignoble given
material of such consummate beauty.
Suffice to say that with the song 'All That You Have Is Your Soul'
the world seems to turn to face the sun. Music to warm the coldest spirit.
Either side of it twelve more wonderful examples of songs to raise
your hopes and break your heart.
Quintessential.
Inimitable.
Sublime.
This collection of thirteen new recordings brings us
to some kind of pinnacle in Ms Harris's long career.
She must know this to be true. The evidence is there for us to hear.
After the dry, rasping austerity of 'Red Dirt Girl' (2000);
the warm, reassuring classicism of 'Stumble Into Grace' (2003)
and the uncomfortably eneven collaboration with Mr Knopfler,
'All The Road Running' (2006); 'All I Intended To Be' is a
trancendent epiphany. A true and perfect wonder.
Maturity of voice and musical vision; finely honed interpretive insight
and the ability to create a sense of intense gravitas from the simplest
ingredients are all marks of an artist functioning at the very
height of her remarkable powers.
A track by track deconstruction would seem somehow ignoble given
material of such consummate beauty.
Suffice to say that with the song 'All That You Have Is Your Soul'
the world seems to turn to face the sun. Music to warm the coldest spirit.
Either side of it twelve more wonderful examples of songs to raise
your hopes and break your heart.
Quintessential.
Inimitable.
Sublime.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emmylou 's best untill so far
Owing almost all the LP's and CD's she ever made, I still consider this one as the best. Although mostly new productions it's the very recognisable voice of Emmylou who seems to... Read more
Published 11 days ago by hans
5.0 out of 5 stars
All I Wanted It To Be
Every track on the CD is a gem and would get five stars ... one of the best collections of melancholy available from Emmylou.
Published 1 month ago by jack denton cusworth
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Her Best
Harris has always been one of the great singers, not just in country music but in any genre. This is one of her best records, and that is quite saying something. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jeff Farlow
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine collection of slow reflective songs - no up-tempo tracks
The fact this is a one-paced collection of slow beatiful ballads is what appeals - as the mood is maintained throughout. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Martin P
5.0 out of 5 stars
ONE OF HER BEST ALBUMS
This is such a good album by the wonderful Emmylou Harris. About half of the songs are written by Emmylou herself alone or co-written with the McGarrigle sisters, the rest are... Read more
Published on 20 April 2011 by Ronny Søgård
5.0 out of 5 stars
Please try harder
This from the Amazon review:-
Billy Joe Shaver's "Old Five" and "Dimers Like Me" both get respectfully and sublimely covered too.
Both? Read more
Billy Joe Shaver's "Old Five" and "Dimers Like Me" both get respectfully and sublimely covered too.
Both? Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2010 by R. W. Graves
5.0 out of 5 stars
Always a quality offering
A superb album. I wasn't too sure as to what to expect, a return to old form or a further departure in the form of 'Stumble Into Grace' & 'Spy Boy' (Both good albums) This has not... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2009 by Michael Nicholl
4.0 out of 5 stars
Approaching the sublime
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... Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2009 by Pieter Uys
5.0 out of 5 stars
an excellent album
This is Emmylou Harris's best album for several years and marks a return to the melodic songs she produced on her first albums back in the seventies. Read more
Published on 18 May 2009 by C. J. Nutt
2.0 out of 5 stars
Was that what you intended?
What a shame. I'm a really big Emmylou fan and though I fully appreciate she's had some sad or melancholic songs over the years, somehow I've managed to tag along with them... Read more
Published on 11 May 2009 by P. Freeman
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