All I Intended to Be [CD]

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

Belatedly inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last month, Harris is on fine form for this, her first solo album in five years. It's been a quarter of a century since she last worked with ex-husband Brian Ahern, but according to her, the two get along just fine these days.

Harris's last two albums; the overrated Red Dirt Girl (2000) and the underwhelming Stumble Into Grace (2003), both suffered from an over-reliance on her song-writing skills, but All I Intended To Be finds a comfortable balance. Mixing well chosen covers and original material, Harris includes two pieces co-written with long-term collaborators Kate and Anna McGarrigle.

It's her most consistent effort since Wrecking Ball (1995), but has little in common with that album's rocked-up, grainily atmospheric sound. Instead, Ahern's warm, unaffected production often harks back to classic 1970s

country, albeit far closer to, say, Guy Clark's Old Number One than any string-laden Nashville schlock.

Harris has a wonderful knack for making others' songs sound like they were written for her, and Jack Wesley Routh's anthemic, Celtic-flavoured opener Shores of White Sand is a good example. In the case of Tracey Chapman's All That You Have Is Your Soul and Merle Haggard's drowning ballad Kern River, Harris actually improves on the originals. Billy Joe Shaver's Old Five And Dimers Like Me is done as fine duet with John Starling, with stirling backing vocals and dobro from Mike Auldridge, one of the record's most outstanding supporting musicians. Also worth a mention is Phil Madeira's shimmering accordion on Patti Griffin's lovely Moon Song.

Although there's no obvious filler, the originals can't quite match the high standard of the covers they sit beside. Of the better Harris-penned tracks, Gold features an unmistakeable harmony vocal by Dolly Parton, while How She Could Sing The Wild Wood Flower is gilded by the McGarrigles' sibling harmonies.

At 61, Harris copes admirably with her changing vocal chords by retreating into breathless whispers on some high notes - something of a trademark in recent years - and shows that having a great voice and being a great singer are not the same thing. --Jon Lusk

Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window

Harris is as proud, painful, and plaintive as ever here, dripping with life and dealing in dire certainties.'
* * * * (stars)

The eternal rose of Nashville proffers beauty, fragrance and thorns.' * * * * (stars)