Harris bluegrass a mixed success
by Steve Webb, The Knickerbocker News, July 29, 1980
Emmylou Harris’s bluegrass-oriented show Monday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center deserves applause from the outset because the singer is willing to make such a radical departure from her previous concerts.
Her backing band performed wholly on acoustic instruments, with microphones rather than direct-line pickups and an oversized acoustic bass guitar rather than a standup bass. Miking a seven-piece band, plus five voices, means taking a chance on feedback, and the band was plagued by this several times during the 1 1/2 hour set.
The show wouldn’t fairly acquaint a newcomer to the country and rock singer, as it was consciously focused on bluegrass and other traditional string-band style material. This aspect of her music comes out on such recordings as the Carter family’s “Hello Stranger,” Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors,” and all of her latest album, “Roses in the Snow.”
Likewise, these songs received fine treatment by Ms. Harris and her band, including violin-guitarist Ricky Skaggs, mandolinist Buck White, lead guitarist Frank Reckard, dobro guitarist Jerry Douglas, bassist Michael Bowden, drummer John Ware, and vocalists Cheryl Warren and Sharon Hicks.
The group also attempted bluegrass-oriented adaptations of other songs in her repertoire. In some cases, such as Charles and Ira Louvin’s “If I Could Only Win Your Love” and the Drifters’ “Save the Last Dance for Me,” this worked especially well, with a vocal blend that Ms. Harris has always been proud of and tuneful instrumentals.
In some cases, the adaptation didn’t work, most notably on her song “Amarillo,” co-written with Rodney Crowell for the “Elite Hotel” album. It seemed speeded up beyond its lyric’s coherence, to no particular purpose.
Her first and latest singles, “If I Could Only Win Your Love” and “Wayfaring Stranger,” offered the first highlights of the evening. The next came with a gospel tune, “Children Go Where I Send Thee,” sung and played solely by Skaggs, White and White’s daughters Ms. Warren and Ms. Hicks. An almost swing-like number, “How High the Moon,” had the best vocal blend of the evening by Ms. Harris, Ms. Warren and Ms. White.
For encores, the group dipped outside its acoustic repertoire — again taking chances — and delivered a soulful version of the late Gram Parsons “Hickory Wind” and a rousing one of Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya.” Two more bluegrass-oriented numbers closed the show, “Sorrow in the Wind” and the gospel piece “I’m Ready.”
The Knickerbocker News, August 4, 1980
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