Emmylou Harris?s astonishing Hot Band from the 1970s almost rides again in Hanging Up My Heart, the kickoff track on her first duet album with old bandmate Rodney Crowell. The warm, nostalgic collaboration, written by the band?s original steel guitar player Hank De Vito and featuring several alumni, sets the bar high with an instantly gratifying melody, exquisite harmony and a loose, unforced performance worthy of the A-list professionals trading licks here.
While the rest of the album doesn?t quite reach that level of perfection, most of it is in the ballpark. The honky-tonk desolation of Roger Miller?s Invitation to the Blues, the gorgeous, almost George Harrison-esque ballad Open Season On My Heart and a touching version of the evergreen Dreaming My Dreams all find Harris and Crowell shadowing each other as their voices intertwine like the Everly Brothers.
There?s a second-half dip in the momentum that includes a remake of Crowell?s Hot Band-era Bluebird Wine, the near-maudlin Back When We Were Beautiful and the less distinguished Here We Are. But even those tracks feature that comfortable interplay between these two blue-chip performers, making you thankful for the whole project.
RATING: *** and ?
Podworthy: Hanging Up My Heart
Old Yellow Moon will be available Feb. 26. Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell discuss the album here:
Bernard Perusse
Twitter: @bernieperusse
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