What’s truly beautiful about country music is that the musicians don’t hold the same negative stigma towards performing and recording others’ songs that is so often associated with popular music.
Songs become like stories passed down from one generation to the next, each time reinvented and reinterpreted by those whom it was passed onto.
Doing exactly that, the new collaborative album from legendary country singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris and Grammy Award winning Rodney Crowell, Old Yellow Moon, features a collection of original and cover pieces.
Opening tracks, including Hank Devito’s ‘Hanging Up My Heart’ and Roger Miller’s ‘Invitation To The Blues,’ begin the record with typically delightful and melodic country songs. Gently pacing guitars strumming along to modest chord structures are met with the occasional cheeky twang of a steel guitar and amorous vocals.
Even though the record sources its material from such a varied collection of songwriters, one could easily be mislead into thinking that the entire album would simply be a compilation of similar-sounding country tracks. It’s a pleasant surprise to then hear that the following two tracks on the record feature a 1950s blues and rock’n’roll sort of vibe.
Still retaining the established country aesthetic, ‘Chase The Feeling’ and ‘Black Caffeine’ introduce blues bar progression into the mix. Driven drums and devilish guitars square off with piano lines that dance right up the wall.
The real highlights of the album arrive in the final tracks of the record. ‘Dreaming My Dreams’ and ‘Back When We Were Beautiful’ are both beautifully lamenting ballads reminiscing about distant memories and lost opportunity.
Consistently alluring whilst remaining refreshingly varied, Old Yellow Moon is a fine display of both Harris and Crowell’s proven abilities as interpreters and reinventors.
The record’s ability to not become stagnated by one style, and Harris and Crowell’s continuing display of unmatched vocal talents, makes for an album of simple charms and beautifully modest performances.
