Though 1975′s Pieces Of The Sky was Emmylou Harris’ debut album, it was far from her introduction to fans of left-field country music. She’d spent the early part of the decade as Gram Parsons’ harmony singer and frequent duet partner in his Fallen Angels band; when Parsons died in 1973, it was only a matter of time until Harris rose to the fore as a solo artist in her own right. Ringers from the Southern California country-rock scene (including Herb Pedersen, the Eagles’ Bernie Leadon, and fellow singer Linda Ronstadt) helped comprise a top-shelf supporting cast, along with Elvis Presley band veterans James Burton and Glen D. Hardin. The result was a polished and professional country record, but one that pushed boundaries through the material Harris chose to record. She mixed contemporary fare from the likes of Dolly Parton (“Coat Of Many Colors”) and Merle Haggard (“Bottle Let Me Down”) with time-tested classics by the Louvin Brothers (“If I Could Only Win Your Love”) and Felice & Boudleaux Bryant (“Sleepless Nights”), a nod to Parsons’ influence (as was the poignant Harris/Bill Danoff co-write “Boulder To Birmingham”). She also introduced listeners to the songs of rising talents such as Rodney Crowell… read more »