All I Intended to Be

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Manufacturer: Nonesuch

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On her second Nonesuch disc, Emmylou Harris assembles an extraordinary cast of veteran musicians and fellow singers, all of them longtime friends, for a set that indeed showcases this Nashville icon, and 2008 CMA Hall of Fame inductee, as all she has intended to be - a singularly expressive vocalist, a brilliant interpreter of other people's songs, a graceful and confident songwriter. In particular, the album displays Harris's ability to bring new life to songs that may have been overlooked, forgotten or lost along the way. Some of the most affecting material here may be the least well-known - though not for long: John Wesley Routh's celtic/country "Shores Of White Sands" and trucker-poet Mark Germino's heartrending story-song, "Broken Man's Lament." Harris has chosen these songs with conceptual care. Like much of the gently uplifting All I Intended To Be, the stories may be bittersweet, the characters may be downtrodden, but somehow a sense of redemption always vanquishes regret. The shared history of all the artists involved deepens the feeling of hard-won wisdom that informs All I Intended To Be. Producer Brian Ahern was behind the boards for such early Harris classics as Elite Hotel, Pieces of the Sky and Blue Kentucky Girl. The players and guest stars are not only a veritable who's-who from the worlds of country, bluegrass and folk, but they have each intersected with Harris throughout her four-decade career as a recording artist. They include Dolly Parton, singers Pam Rose and Maryann Kennedy, dobro player (and longtime Seldom Scene member) Mike Auldredge, keyboardists Glenn D. Hardin (of Harris's Hot Band and Elvis Presley's legendary TCB combo) and Bill Payne (of Little Feat). Two songs - the June Carter tribute, "How She Could Sing The Wildwood Flower" and the breathtakingly beautiful "Sailing Round the Room" - were co-written by and performed with Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Singer-songwriter Karen Brooks, whose own eighties-era version of "Shores of White Sands" was the inspiration and thematic jumping-off point for this entire album, contributes backing vocals throughout; Randy Sharp, Brooks' singing partner, did the vocal arranging. (Harris won a 2005 Best Country Vocal Performance Grammy for her rendition of Sharp's "The Connection.") Harris's own songs, like the heartache ballad "Gold" and the elegiac "Not Enough," blend seamlessly with work by Patty Griffin ("Moon Song"), Merle Haggard ("Kern River") and Billy Joe Shaver ("Old Five and Dimers," from which the album title is taken). Harris revives what is arguably Tracy Chapman's most eloquent song, "Fast Car" notwithstanding - "All That You Have Is Your Soul," a cautionary tale with a simple but profound prayer of a chorus. Displaying the maturity, elegance and ease that distinguished All The Road Running, her best-selling 2006 collaboration with Mark Knopfler. Harris has created a riveting emotional and spiritual journey. All That I Intended To Be is everything a listener and fan could hope for.

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This contrasts nicely with the rock ballad Hold On where slide electric & electric guitars call the tune. Then Emmylou's vocals rise a register or two for Take That Ride with its impressive electric guitars.Atmospheric accordion & mandolin accompany the duet with Mike Auldridge called Old Five and Dimers Like Me, a track as good as any on her Duets album whilst Kern River, written by Merle Haggard, sounds vaguely familiar in theme, tune & structure to some other country or folk song. The opening number Shores of White Sand, defiant and life-affirming, is given a wistful air by a recorder flute. 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 Malcolm Burn. With the exception of the aforementioned Chapman interpretation, I would say Ms Harris' own compositions outshine the covers. The magic intensifies through a striking interpretation of Tracy Chapman's All That You Have Is Your Soul, one of the album's highlights.

Sonically, the twang puts it firmly in the country camp.With their voices, a banjo & guitar, Canada's talented McGarrigle sisters add magic to the second Harris composition How She Could Sing The Wildwood Flower.

Patti Griffin's Moon Song has stirring mandolin and accordion whilst Mark Germino's Broken Man's Lament is a springsteenesque tale of resignation with references to Patsy Cline and the 1960s Procol Harum classic A Whiter Shade of Pale.

In its regret and nostalgia, the Harris composition Not Enough recalls Dolly Parton's old hit Just Someone I Used To Know whilst Sailing Round the Room with its spectral backing vocals was co-written with Anna & Kate McGarrigle.

It's not a return to her earlier style either, despite the production of Brian Ahern who was responsible for masterpieces like Luxury Liner, Elite Hotel and Blue Kentucky Girl.Most tracks appear to be in the mournful ballad mould; they may be melancholic on the surface but there's a subversive undertone of hope.

Dobro and fiddle add that special element that imprints it on one's soul.

Then suddenly there's soul.

Emmylou's own Gold, on which Dolly Parton and Vince Gill provide harmony vocals, is pure poetry.

The devotional Beyond the Great Divide is unapologetically country in sentiment & sound with aching male backing vocals that resemble those on the live album Spyboy.The CD booklet contains all the lyrics, the credits, a message from M Lou and some lovely full-color photographs of her and various contributors.

Songs like Gold, Wildwood Flower, Not Enough and Beyond the Great Divide will soon be reckoned amongst her most beloved songs.

This in not one of her best by a long shot. I am not really happy with the collection and the CD will probably spend most of its time in the case.

The self penned tunes are easily the best. However that is not the case. From the title of this CD I was really hoping for a somewhat autobiographical vein to it, like Sally Rose was. Emmylou does herself a disservice by most of the covers she included. I have been a fan from the start and the production has a somewhat nostalgic flair with Brian Ahern at the helm. But that only made me want to here a more introspective take all the more. It is overall a very good CD, but it only leaves me yearning for what it could have been. CRW

I can't get enough of this wonderful artist. I must have played " I could never be gold " a dozen times in a row. There are many other great cuts on this CD. I enjoyed them all.Grab one of these if there are any left.

I ordered the cd for my sister for her birthday. It arrived quickly in perfect condition. I was pleased with the transaction.

All I Intended to Be

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