The Quiet Turning Point: Emmylou Harris Made “All My Tears” the Soul of 1995’s Wrecking Ball
On Wrecking Ball, Emmylou Harris did more than record “All My Tears”; she found a...
Melody Era
The Smile You Don’t Expect: Emmylou Harris Lifts Jesse Winchester’s “Thanks to You” on Cowgirl’s Prayer
On Cowgirl’s Prayer, Emmylou Harris takes Jesse Winchester’s “Thanks to You” and gives gratitude a...
So Gentle It Almost Slips Past You: Emmylou Harris’s “Pledging My Love” on White Shoes Deserves Another Listen
On White Shoes, Emmylou Harris turned “Pledging My Love” into something hushed and luminous, carrying...
He Stripped It All Back: John Fogerty’s ‘Workin’ on a Building’ and the Roots Heart of The Blue Ridge Rangers
On ‘Workin’ on a Building’, John Fogerty stepped away from rock stardom and into older...
The Comeback Fire: Why John Fogerty’s “Blueboy” Still Defines Blue Moon Swamp
Released as the third single from John Fogerty’s hard-won 1997 return, “Blueboy” sounds like an...
The Quiet Turning Point: Why David Cassidy’s “Mae” on Dreams Are Nuthin’ More Than Wishes Feels So Personal
On Mae, David Cassidy sounds less like a phenomenon and more like a young artist...
Buried on Crossword Puzzle, The Partridge Family’s It’s A Long Way To Heaven Reveals a Wiser 1973 Sound
On a late Partridge Family album, It’s A Long Way To Heaven catches a bright...
When the Promise Grew Older, Linda Ronstadt’s If I Should Fall Behind on We Ran Hit With Quiet Force
On We Ran, Linda Ronstadt took Bruce Springsteen’s If I Should Fall Behind and made...
The Coolest Left Turn: Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Girls Talk’ on Mad Love Still Sounds Daring
On Mad Love, Linda Ronstadt found a harder, brighter shape for ‘Girls Talk’, turning an...
The Forgotten Flip Side: Neil Diamond’s Once in a While Made the 1977 Desiree Single Feel Deeper
Sometimes the song on the back of the single carries the quieter truth. Neil Diamond’s...
Before Disco Took Over, Bee Gees’ “Wind of Change” Revealed the Real 1975 Turn on Main Course
On Main Course, the Bee Gees stopped leaning on the past and let rhythm lead...
Hidden on Haywire Deluxe, Josh Turner’s Let’s Find a Church Brings His Traditional Side Home
On the deluxe edition of Haywire, Josh Turner slips in a song that sounds less...
Three Voices, One Deep Memory: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris Sing Lover’s Return on 1999’s Trio II
On Lover’s Return, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris do something rarer than showing...
Before Trio Had a Name, Emmylou Harris’ “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” Let Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt Drift In
Years before Trio became a formal landmark, Emmylou Harris was already finding that rare three-part...
She Didn’t Let the Dream Fade: Emmylou Harris’ “Ooh Las Vegas” and the Elite Hotel Charge That Carried Gram Parsons On
On Elite Hotel, Emmylou Harris made “Ooh Las Vegas” feel like more than a spirited...
The Moment Creedence Clearwater Revival Changed Shape: “Chameleon” and the Quiet Risk of Pendulum
On “Chameleon”, Creedence Clearwater Revival sound less like a bar-band force of nature and more...
When the Smile Turned Inward, David Cassidy’s “Breakin’ Down Again” Revealed the Real Weight of 1976’s Home Is Where the Heart Is
On David Cassidy’s 1976 RCA release Home Is Where the Heart Is, “Breakin’ Down Again”...
A Quiet Storm of a Vocal: Linda Ronstadt’s 1976 ‘Hasten Down the Wind’ Gave Warren Zevon’s Song Its Lasting Spell
On the 1976 title track Hasten Down the Wind, Linda Ronstadt found the still center...
The Quiet Power of Neil Diamond’s Leave a Little Room for God on Three Chord Opera
Sometimes the songs that last are the ones that never push their way forward. On...
The Sky Was the Story: Neil Diamond’s “Lonely Looking Sky” Gave Jonathan Livingston Seagull Its Quiet Soul
In “Lonely Looking Sky”, Neil Diamond turns a film about flight into something deeply human,...
Before the Falsetto Years, Bee Gees’ ‘Turn of the Century’ Opened Bee Gees’ 1st With a Time-Machine Dream
Long before the Bee Gees became pop royalty, Turn of the Century opened their 1967...
Before Melba Moore’s Disco Hit, Bee Gees’ “You Stepped Into My Life” Was the 1976 B-Side Hiding in Plain Sight
Long before Melba Moore turned it into a dance-floor statement, Bee Gees left “You Stepped...
Some Christmas Songs Need Stillness: Josh Turner’s “Angels We Have Heard on High” Finds It on King Size Manger
In Josh Turner’s hands, “Angels We Have Heard on High” stops being holiday background and...
The Stillest Moment on Punching Bag: Why Josh Turner’s ‘I Was There’ Hits So Deep
On an album built for modern country radio, Josh Turner left room for something quieter...
The Quiet Pull of Linda Ronstadt’s “Colorado” on Don’t Cry Now Still Feels Like a Long Goodbye
On Don’t Cry Now, Linda Ronstadt turns Rick Roberts’ “Colorado” into something larger than a...
She Didn’t Just Cover “Y Andale” — Linda Ronstadt Turned 1987’s Canciones de Mi Padre Into a Homecoming
On Canciones de Mi Padre, Linda Ronstadt sings “Y Andale” with the lift of celebration...
A Duet Full of Distance: Emmylou Harris and Waylon Jennings Made “Spanish Johnny” the Quiet Ache of 1981’s Evangeline
On Evangeline, “Spanish Johnny” places Emmylou Harris and Waylon Jennings in the same lonely frame,...
Where Their Voices Truly Meet: Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler’s ‘Love and Happiness’ on All the Roadrunning
In “Love and Happiness”, Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler turn a gentle phrase into something...
Like Open Country at Dusk, Emmylou Harris’s “Rose of Cimarron” Recast the Poco Classic
On Cimarron, Emmylou Harris turns “Rose of Cimarron” into a wide, glowing frontier ballad, preserving...
A Softer Goodbye: Emmylou Harris’s “For No One” Brought Country Heartache to a Beatles Classic on Pieces of the Sky
On Pieces of the Sky, Emmylou Harris found the stillness inside “For No One” and...