Red Dirt Girl

Whoa, this is our second from Emmylou Harris, released 25 years after the other we reviewed which is crazy, talk about longevity. This album is notable for being the first where she actually wrote or co-wrote most of the songs, as opposed to doing covers. Wild that it took decades into her career to release her own stuff like that, I admire the commitment to keeping a hidden talent hidden. That said, I can't say I found too much that jumped out at me, nor much reason to return to this one. A consistent sound achieved, but it's not all that interesting amid so many singer-songwriter albums that we've reviewed to this point. It's alright. Favorite tracks: Tragedy, One Big Love. Album art: What exactly is this shot? Artistic for sure, but Emmylou is off to the side in some space, maybe a tour bus? No idea. But it's a fine cover. 3/5

I like her voice and this was a nice listen - though probably not something I'd come back to. I'm used to hearing her sing covers so I definitely give her kudos for her songwriting

Solid country of a more modern slant. Though thoroughly competent, a touch monotonous musically.

Plus points are a great voice, original songs and, I think, a largely successful attempt to update the traditional country formula with production that adds a modern sheen (often hitting a sweet spot between epic and chilled). My main complaint is that it goes on too long and, although there are subtle attempts to vary the tempo, it became quite samey for me. I suppose my other complaint is the suspicion that this is not an 'essential' album in terms of either content or context. All considered: 2.5 / 3 stars

Yeah okay have preferred her other albums more

ahoooo girrrrrrrrr

Cat: Absolutely beautiful. So much emotion and melancholy that it makes me feel sad without even knowing what she’s saying. I know she has to be a major influence on Brandi Carlile. AJ: She’s good.

Lovely, well-crafted songs. Surprisingly strong, affecting songwriting from Emmylou Harris, who up to that point wasn't generally known as a songwriter. Harris is also in excellent voice, as she always is. The pace can drag a bit at points, but it grows on you as the album progresses. Fave Songs: Bang the Drum Slowly, J'Ai Fait Tout, My Antonia, Boy from Tupelo, Michelangelo, Red Dirt Girl

been familiar with her name for years but not much beyond very superficial knowledge of who she was. never would have selected this album on my own - really beautiful.

Even though I generally concur with the review currently topping this section (stating that Dimery's list sometimes focuses on late-career releases from artists who were probably way more iconic when they were younger, therefore taking a spot that could have been used by new blood), I have to admit there were some touching or heartfelt moments in this album. I don't know much about Emylou Harris' output before this 2000 release, but taken out of that context, a lot of those songs still have something endearing and/or memorable to them. Besides, the mere fact that this is the first LP where Harris wrote most of the tunes in it makes it interesting to listen to... Too bad a lot of those ballads are a little too long, however, and that their production values are somewhat unobtrusive and safe. This here is far from the bold statements "late" abums by Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen or Johnny Cash were. In comparison, the sound of *Red Dirt Girl* follows the sort of MOR template that was typical of the early naughts: a little drum programming here, some clean, echo-laden guitars there.. And consequently, some parts of this work didn't age that well... I'll probably revisit this one later on, though, just to get a better hang of the compositions (but *when*? Gosh, it's hard to keep the pace with this thing sometimes, lol). In the meantime... Number of albums left to review: 572 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 206 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 100 (including this one, even though I doubt there will be enough room left for it) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 126

C’était chill mais un peu plate, je lui donnerais un 2.5 si s’était possible

Solid. 3/5

Nice vocals and music but lacked intimacy

I don't really like much country, but this is the kind I do like! Harris has an incredible voice, very detailed with a lot of subtleties. I was also surprised at some of the instrumental parts on this record: there were spacious, reverb-heavy guitars, driving rhythm-led songs, and even a track that bordered on psych rock. All in all a very solid and pleasantly surprising album.

I get it, probably will not revisit tho

Not my jam

Ritmo tranquilo para una voz muy femenina y relajada. Canciones un tanto planas y sin muchos acompañamientos.

A hair gospel-y, but actually really enjoyed it. 3.5

26th January 2023 Listened in bits and pieces across today and the 27th. Worked in London and headed home to see work been done by builders. Watched the menu. Crystal clear vocals and classic country sound. 3.5 if I could.

Låter nästan som en julskiva. Helt okej!

I really tried to like this but I feel like the genre and aesthetics just really aren’t for me still some of these tracks had surprisingly impressive production and Harris’ voice really shines on many of these songs definitely not a bad album but not really for me

The mix sounds like she's softly serenading me in a gym toilet. More of a background music album, Sort of feels like a proto Lana del ray. Very nice voice just didn't catch my ear. Favourite track - I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now and Tragedy (loved the harmonies)

Not bad, but not something I'd choose to listen to - 3 stars

som de qualidade, calmo e pa, mas não fez tanto a cabeça

Good album, although I do think it runs a bit long considering how similar many songs are.

Classic Harris

More folk than country, but that type of American folk that is right between the two. Good, but not great, with no songs that will live long in the memory. Perfectly pleasant though.

I like Emmylou but am maybe a bigger fan of her older work and her collaborations.

Favorite tune "J'Ai Fait Tout". There’s some good storytelling in Red Dirt Girl. I enjoyed listening to this throughout. Not really what I expected at all. More folk than country. Cool textures and percussion throughout. Lots of mood and vibe but I maybe would want some more dynamics. Interesting vocal performance. It is so nice when the vocals on these albums are actually from a real singer.

This was pleasant

This is a good album by Emmylou Harris but not a great one. Not sure why it is on this list. She has many other albums that are better.

Emmylou Harris has a great voice, but most of the songs are overly similar and unremarkable. The only thing that saves this album from being a 2 is her voice, which is amazing. 3/5

A real gem of an album.

Frankly another one I didn't really expect to like. Emmylou has a nice voice, and the songs are quite pleasant. Can definitely see this having been an influence on a lot of the modern folk-ish stuff that I listened to a lot in college/immediately after/still occasionally today. Surprised how many songs I added to my playlists/my standouts. Standouts: I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now, Red Dirt Girl, Bang the Drum Slowly, J'ai fait tout, One Big Love, Boy from Tupelo

Przerwa opisowa spowodowana brakiem palca, ale sluchane nadal bedzie

Decent singer-songwriter album. 3 stars.

Love her voice! It’s not completely my style, still I enjoyed this album. It’s good as a whole and has some nice songs on it. Favourite song: - One big love

Nice. Now this is good country music. Standouts: I Don't Wanna Talk About It Others: The Pearl, Michelangelo, Tragedy, Red Dirt Girl, Bang the Drum Slowly, Hour of Gold,

New country amb una veu d'un altre món i uns arranjaments de molta qualitat. Els temes són molt personals i va suposar la posada al dia de l'artista amb la seva contemporaneitat. Malauradament no hi ha grans cançons que quedin gravades a la memòria

A solid album, but it simply does not make sense to pick an arbitrary EH album and put it in the list. Literally everyone knows that Wrecking Ball is the EH classic from her >90s material.

Nice voice and sound; lost attention in the second half.

3.1 - This record contains all the trappings of a late album by a fading rocker trying gracefully to hang onto some shred of relevance: 1) Mid-tempo songs of fond reflection, 2) an audio mix that places the vocals front-and-center to showcase the artist in a more “honest” light, 3) careful sound engineering with a younger studio band that gives a modern sheen, 4) references to classic Americana. Your mom will hear a few cuts off this record on an NPR segment in which it’s hailed as “bold” and “full of life.” She’ll decide (“what the heck?”) to buy it off iTunes using the gift card you all gave her last Christmas.

Good, I enjoyed it.

Pleasant enough, but nothing special. A little less country than I expected. Standard singer/songwriter material.

So. Country music, this album brought me to understand, is about storytelling. Problem is, I’m not a strong lyrics person. With, say, the artistic end or hip hop, this has never been a problem, since the best DJs create a collage of samples and soundscapes intricate enough to take up all my attention. Country tilts in a different direction, compositionally; since I don’t usually pay much attention to the lyrical content, I get bored even more quickly than usual. (This, of course, is entirely my problem. It’s like a Christian complaining about a Muslim/Jew because he doesn’t eat pork.) One or two tracks aside, I doubt that I’ll consciously revisit this album. I did, in a way, enjoy it, though.

Beautiful voice. The songs were pleasant enough, but there was nothing that I felt I had to listen to again.

Folk might just not be my thing.

The music was alright, I enjoyed it for the most part. I won't regularly listen to it, but it was a nice change of pace of what I usually enjoy musicwise.

Pretty folky and I generally don't care for folk. I mean it's alright and pleasant, just not my thing. Has a little bit of a Brandi Carlile sound, just not nearly as good as her. 6/10.

Really nice voice, enjoyed the vibe too.

Chill laid back album, a lot of the songs sounded similar, didn’t grab me

6/15/2022 - ALBUM #139 Today's Album: "Red Dirt Girl" by Emmylou Harris - This is an album I have been waiting to review for a little while because honestly, it was hard to work up the motivation to review this album after my preliminary research. The Wikipedia article for this album labels Harris as a beloved **country** artist, so I generally didn't want to give it a shot given my typical reaction to country music. However, this album taught me that there is an important distinction between the contemporary folk country that Harris presents on this album and the more stadium country I grew up despising in the 2000s. The former category contains artist like Harris, Carol King, and John Denver, who put an emphasis on folk songwriting while still setting a more country vibe overall. This album really rides the line of not sounding too country very well. There's some rather simplistic instrumentation and vocal-oriented lyrics, but the sound of this album is actually quite refreshing when compared to something like Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. This album explores a lot of different songwriting techniques and has a lot of different sonic styles, but still manages to stay really rooted in an authentic aesthetic. The song Red Dirt Girl is the most played on Spotify, and although I like the great backdrop the wailing electric guitar sets, I think the vocal delivery has a heavier than usual country twang and the songwriting has enough of those, "Hard-workin' life" clichés to make it pretty annoying to me. The track I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now stands out more to me as a track that stands the test of time, with this bouncy groove between the drums and a fuzzy, distorted electric guitar that is complimented by a really strong vocal performance and a lot of colorful piano flourishes. The track My Baby Needs A Shepard also feels really fresh to me, with a chilled out instrumental that turns this folk tune into more of a sea-shanty in a way and just feels like the perfect anthem for exploring the unknown or going on a long journey. The closing track, Boy From Tupelo, is a pretty fun closer to this album as well, putting to work that electric guitar that has been shining throughout the record and switching up the percussion with some really great marimba and wood-block work. Overall, there are plenty of songs on this album to dislike the aesthetic of, but the general songwriting ability is all there and when you look a little further than surface level, there ends up being a lot in this album to love. It may not be an album I plan on coming back to for a full listen anytime soon, but anyone that wants an example of a decent country act should look no further than miss Emmylou Harris. Highlights: I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now, My Baby Needs A Shepherd, Boy From Tupelo Score: 6.5/10 Folk-Country that shines when it's more folky than when it's country-y

I wish country had gone more this direction. Pretty good, drags a little at the end.

Genre: Alt-Country 3/5 Emmylou Harris, a legendary country musician, whose contemporaries include Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, has been active since the early 70s purely as a songbird. She never wrote too much of her own material, but her voice was one of the most wanted in the country music biz, and she stayed busy throughout her career, winning 14 Grammy's amongst other accolades. This album, Red Dirt Girl, dropped in 2000, changes the Emmylou mold a bit. Harris is writing a lot of her own material on this, and the music itself has a much more new-age, alt-rock flair to it, rather than a more straightforward country sound. As far as the album is concerned, regardless of how interesting a few of the production elements are here, it's a rather straightforward country album. The instrumentation is pretty lackluster, never growing above mezzo-forte and missing plenty of low end, but that's not necessarily why we're here. Harris' voice sounds very good, especially considering her age, and it helps to elevate a lot of the tracks here. I enjoyed the title track, Hour of Gold, and My Antonia the best, but I can't really tell you what differentiates them from the rest of the tracklist, except for some particular je ne sais quoi. Decent overall, with some interesting production, but fairly boring.

Very nice. Not my thing particularly, but would happily stick on a Sunday afternoon.

Emmylou Harris is lovely but the production is a bit too slick for me.

Niet meteen mijn favoriete muziek. Het klinkt denk ik wel aardig op een Amerikaans radiostation. ***

A pleasant but not particularly memorable album. It was a pretty effective hybrid of old-school country and modern pop sounds, and she has a beautiful voice but I was not really "wowed" at any point. The Dave Matthews duet and Bruce background vocals were nice surprises. It would probably be good to get a female perspective on this album and its lyrics.

Not bad not great. Like the voice a lot but songs left something to be desired.

Mér fannst þetta nú bara helvíti skemmtilegt!

Likes it more than I thought I would. Generally not a fan of country/contemporary folk, but the last few tracks reeled me back in. "Heart of Gold" is a great track, and loved the collaboration with Dave Matthews.

Opener Pearl sounds a lot like Boulder to Birmingham. Interesting to hear almost trip-hop elements to Emmylou's music. I like her voice, but very little in this collection is particularly noteworthy. Very low key. I probably prefer her more stripped back guitar picking albums/songs. A low 3.

It's pretty good as modern country goes. Not up to the '70s standard though

I do like her old stuff, but I found this a bit middle of the road…

Lovely voice. Eclectic mix of music. Went and listened to some Dolly Parton after this.

Not bad

Totally inoffensive and fine musically. But boring and not my scene.

Not much for country / folk, but this is pretty good.

Solid singer-songwriter album with some country twang and a few songs that nod towards Irish folk music. Favorite tracks: "I Don't Want to Talk About It Now," "Bang the Drum Slowly," "One Big Love."

3.75

Meh.

Ok, when I saw this come up I thought "ugh more country", but I played it anyway and I'm very glad I did. This is a decent album.

There are some super lovely tracks on here, like "The Pearl", and Emmylou's voice is quite nice—the album is just waaay too long, and it feels like it drags on forever by the time the last, like, 6 tracks come in. Cut this in half and it's easily an 8/10 for me, but the length and monotony of the tracks really drags the whole experience down.

Not my style

Emmylou falls into the "i know of her" category. I don't have any of her albums and couldn't tell you what her hits were, but she has performed with a laundry list of my favourite performers such as Steve Earl and Neil Young.  The song Red Dirt Girl is very powerful. She has a gift for writing lyrics and her singing is also very good. I just find her music doesn't grab me.  Perhaps it would if I had more time to listen to it.

Nice voice and atmosphere but ultimately the songs fail to impress or leave a lasting memory, all being rather similar and without highlights

Unexpectedly soothing...

6/10

Folk and country. Felt a bit like christian music. Wasn't my thing, but I cannot deny her talent and amazing voice.

I know this is country, but it's the kind I can deal with. She has a good voice and it doesn't make me think of a man in a flannel shirt banging his Chevy's tailpipe.

6/10

She really wants to be Sad Dolly. No doubt she's talented, great voice but the music is just so slow and a bit of a bummer. It's good on a technical level, but just not something I enjoy.

Nice atmosphere here reminiscent of Daniel Lanois' style of production. Songs all mellow and mild, though they're all so similar it's hard to tell one from another.

She has an absolutely great voice! Songs are nicely composed. Some are a bit too similar to each other.

Lovely country. Very nice, if a little cliche.

Jammer, ik vind dat Emmylou een prachtige stem heeft en mooie albums heeft gemaakt. Deze valt m echter wat tegen..

Aardig!

Ik had voorbereid op een country album, maar dit was erg goed te hebben!

Eerste nummer erg mooi. Rest ook best ok.

Country. Suave y melódico, pero muy aburrido.

Not exactly my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it more than I would have thought I would.

surprisingly not as bad as i thought it would be considering it’s country 😂 but nice voice just not my style completely.

Folksy country music with a beautiful singing voice. I couldn't enjoy the album because it's not my type of music, but it provided soothing background tracks while I worked.

Schwer zu bewerten. Eingängig nicht doof und echt nicht schlecht.

Ok for country

Goeie zangeres. Het album is voor het grootste deel wat te traag voor mij. Het Franstalige nummer vind ik niet zo goed

nice mellow country songs that tell a story

Somewhere between folk and softer rock. She has a great voice. Oddly bass-heavy mix. Reminds me of Christian contemporary music (with some Christian imagery in the lyrics too).

Un tres bon album avec une belle voix.

Most of this was unobjectionable but not particularly captivating. Really disliked that song with Dave Matthews. Not super familiar with her work but I have to believe that in her vast catalogue there are better albums.

Well not bad for what it is. She sounds quite talented. Definitely not a running album though. Hah.

I like the voice of Emmylou harris. I think I like country music as well. Clear and nice vocals makes it easy to listen to this album.

not too bad

Pretty voice

3/18 Country girl album. Standout Tracks: Michelangelo, Red Dirt Girl, Bang the Drum Slowly, J’ai fait tout, My Antonia

No fui fan

I became aware of Emmylou from the Graham Parsons solo albums. At some point I know I checked out her early albums because I love those Parsons albums but they didn’t stick. This album is just not for me. She has an amazing voice but the song writing doesn’t really stand out.

Not engaging enough for me to write at any great length.

Alt-Country/Americana/Singer-Songwriter/Country Folk Favorite Song: …well, I mean J’ai fait tout is at least the most pleasant song on the album Least Favorite Song: *Didn’t Record* I do not think I’m the target demographic for this album. Country to me is like water and oil. What I don’t like about country is the twang of it all, and part of me thinks this has to do with me not growing up in the southern culture. It’s due to this that I don’t think I can truly appreciate country as a whole. Now in defense for this album, it’s at least a pleasant sounding type of country than the typical ones that you would hear in today’s country charts. I would definitely recommend this to those who are genuine country fans. However, this album is not for me, and unfortunately the score is going to reflect that. 4/10

Ei oo miu

Quite different from what I had expected. Historically she is a great artist, but I really don’t know why this album is in the 1001 book. Just because it was released many years after her prime? I get bored pretty quickly

Last album from Emmylou was last week and released in 1975. I enjoyed that despite not liking country. I don't know what happened in the intervening 25 years but this is just dull on dull on dull.

Not much to like here

Nice enough vocals, but this was just slow country music with a bunch of reverb... ? I really have nothing to say about this besides I found it immensely boring.

country music with a warbling voice #50732

I thought her voice was really nice but I am not sure what the style was. It just ended up being a bit middle of the road. It was the sort of album the Grammy’s give awards to having ignored an artist for the rest of their (probably superior) career.

One of those albums that wasn’t necessarily offensive (the singing is decent enough) but I’ve come away from it feeling very little or that my life has been enriched at all having experienced it. The country twang grated a little towards the end but at least this is inspired more by the folk traditions of America rather than the modern faux country and western. This didn’t meet the same quality of Willie Nelson though as there just wasn’t the same storytelling that was captivating from his own album.

Country, not for me

This project has taught me that I don't hate all country music, but I still get that sinking feeling whenever I get a country album. It really didn't help matters when it became clear it was a religious country album. I'm a bit bemused how Emmylou Harris became such a big star without writing her own material until this album. Her voice is pleasant, but nothing special, and her sound is pretty generic to my ears. I'm not going to spend any time trying to work it out though.

Not a fan of the genre. Good production value the guitar work and drums came through clear in many spots. But overall boring and unrelatable to me. Listened while awaiting flight SLC to SAN. Not something I’d seek out in the future. 2/5

Normally I'm really not a fan of artists who don't have their own original music and make a career out of covers. I think this artist should have stuck to covers.

2 - not for me

4/10… country / folk / *2000

Not her best. But it was pretty good, couldn't understand where she went a little Enya but it wasn't bad.

I thought this might be good. 2000 and red dirt girl. Didn’t really strike a chord though.

Noun noun noun. Americana is like ordering nachos at a restaurant (the gambling man’s food). You either get an incredible feast or tomato sauce and partially-melted grated cheese on corn chips. There is no in between. Emmylou is closer to the partially melted side of the duality of nachos.

Not my fav E Harris album. Was too modern/electro background instrument sounding for my taste.

I looked the instrumental before the lyrics. Not into country at all

Beautiful voice. Thats about all I can offer to this album of pleasant background noise.

Random thoughts: * Another one for expanding the music I've listened to. * The first track had some interesting percussion which got kicked off on the right note. * For the most part most of the songs were meh. * Apparently this is Emmylou Harris' first album as the primary songwriter, which is the reason for its inclusion into 1001. * Red Dirt Girl, J'ai fait tout, and My Antonia (with Dave Matthews) were my favorite tracks. * Will I listen to this again. Very unlikely.

It's okay but I have been too nice to country music recently

Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Not really I mostly just don't want to think or write about this. Good for Emmylou for writing her own music, but yea, I still don't like Country.

I feel like some of these songs have something about them. They have some kind of depth of feeling to them, without being too corny or overly-sentimental. However so many of them also just irritate me and bore me immensely. It's such a long album considering so many of the songs sound the same. I didn't have a nice time and it dragged a lot.

2001 and I hink she's been put under pressure to "update" her sound. It sounds like a bit of do over in terms of production, lots of echo and big drums and strange fiddly bits at the intro to the tunes. She can help but be fabulous, cause she is, but this doesn't work.

Almost an hour of early 2000s Emmy Lou Harris? Why? Why not an album from when she was making good music or from a country artist that was relevant in the early 2000s?

Not for me, 2000s production makes these sort of songs feel very cheesy

I enjoy modern folk music, this I did not. Not saying that the music was bad. But it was incredibly boring. While I get that Alabama has red dirt too, I think a lot of fans of Red Dirt Music would agree that "Red Dirt Girl" does not capture that sound.

Just couldn’t get into this one. It’s well produced, the instrumentation is good, her voice is solid. Maybe it’s the subject matter I struggled with? It was also very slow. The titular song was good, but the rest just didn’t hold my interest and it was very samey all the way through.

Ei nää vieläkään lähe

Ei menty kuuhun tälläkään. Oiskohan kirjan tekijän pitäny tehdä 1001 albumin sijaan 101 albumin kooste... ei tarttis tämmöstä shittiä lisäillä.

Tää nyt menee tämmösestä lempeestä moternista kantrista. Ei ihan hirveesti tarjoo mitään semmosta, josta innostua. Ei kuitenkaan liiaks ärsytä.

Ihan kauniita biisejä, mutta kokonaisuus kyllä jäi aika vaffasti tylsän puolelle. Ei ihan semmosta musaa mitä itse tuppaan kuuntelemaan

This was a strange album in that it just didn’t quite work for me, despite the fact that Emmylou’s voice was great, and I also quite liked the general sound (which branched out a fair bit from what you’d typically expect on a country album, with drum machines and other electronic elements coming into play). But the songs made so little impression on me, I pretty much forgot about each track as soon as the next one started. As a result, I don’t really have any standout tracks one way or the other. Unfortunately, everything blurred into one indistinct sameness.

The singing is good, the lyrics are good. The music is just processed synth stuff. The drum machine they use sounds horrible. This isn’t folk and isn’t country. It’s bad pop with a kinda folky country “sounding” vocals. I didn’t like this record much at all. I talk a lot about "critics choice" records where they try to push "art-rock" or stuff that collectively, critics find "worthy" - they also do it with late-career albums of "worthy" artists. That's exactly what this is. Save some time, go to her early work that's critically acclaimed and skip this one.

2, not my thing, I love a lot of country music and her voice is sick. but there's not a single motive of any other instrument that I could place, just like her singing over bland background stuff

Too reverb-y and atmospherey. It looks like there are 18 albums before this one, maybe those are more interesting. But I feel like when someone says something like "I like all music except country", I'd imagine this is the sort of thing they're thinking of. It's not offensive, but it isn't all together that good either.

This is the music that I thought middle-aged forty something’s “liked” listening to when I was a young twenty-something when it came out in 2000. Now I’m a middle-aged forty-something and I find myself still listening to the same music I did when I was 20. All of that to say that apparently not all of us age into adult contemporary listeners. Emmylou Harris is a fine singer. Her voice is easy on the ears. I found this album, however, to lack any overall compelling force. “Bang The Drum Slowly,” which I read she wrote as an elegy for her father reached higher than the rest of the tracks around it. After it was a long stretch of easy listening that failed to achieve anything interesting of note. At least for me. My wife listened to part of the album with me and, even though noting it was music she should enjoy, had a harsher review than I did. I won’t repeat it, but she ultimately asked me to turn it off. So I did so. This is a 2/5.

Pretty vocals. Extremely boring songs.

Shes whining a lot and it's not really a vibe

Did not enjoy. I know she’s well known, I’ve heard the name but it didn’t blow my hair back.

like a number of albums from this list „red dirt girl” was simply fine but a bit boring - boring in less than an enjoyable way. my fav out of all songs would be „one big love” or „j’ai fait tout”. i don’t think that i’ll be coming back but i’m quite curious about harris’s earlier works!

Before saying anything bad about this album, I want to make an appreciation for the singers smooth voice and the modernized aspects about it, like the clear production, the very present use of reverb (specially in the atmospheric "Bang the Drum Slowly"), the rhythms in "Tragedy" and "One Big Love" feeling like they were taken from a trip hop song, and a bit of experimentation such as the use of Asian sounds in "My Baby Needs a Shepherd" and "J'ai fait Tout" being very detached from the country formula. Now comes the bad part. This album is incredibly boring. It is 55 minutes of very tedious country. Yes, it have some interesting aspects that I already pointed out, but they aren't enough to make the songs enjoyable. Country never fails to be an incredibly inoffensive, lame and uninspiring genre to me (with maybe some exceptions), even when the artists are trying to do new things.

Apple Music lists a whopping six of her albums as “Essentials”. This is not among them. I had several of her early albums and have never heard of this. Granted, it was her 27th release…

Just when I thought the album was getting good I realized it had autoplayed a different Emmylou Harris album

This is how I stared at strangers who were smoking to make them feel bad when I was a child

nothing special. background music

oke maar eigenlijk een beetje saai

Forgettable

Boring album with hints of okayness every now and then. Not something I'd choose to listen to but I quess I'd survive listening to a song. 1,5/5 stars that I round to two.

There wasn’t quite a standout track, but it was overall good vibes. Her voice reminded me of Stevie Nicks at times. I have some more exploring of here and the folk genre to do.

I found Harris’ voice to be rather nice at first, and I hoped the rest of the album would be as good as The Pearl. I was very upset to find how quickly the album devolved into that acoustic, uninspired slop that modern southern baptists call music. Seriously disappointing.

Harris mostly known through the Knophler collab mostly. Refreshing to have her solo material too, beautiful, amazing voice. Music itself, some tracks really good, like the opening one. But then some sounded more like little dull ABBA country covers. Sorry.

I think this would have been much better without the dated late 90s/early 2000s production. It sounds like they would have played songs from this on VH1 back in the day between Natalie Merchant and Sarah McClachlan videos.

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

Fine a bit too long, not a fan of the Dave Matthews feature or Dave Matthews in general

I'm struggling to see why we need to listen to the 19th album by ELH because she decided to write the songs this time? 2/5.

Not my type.

eh

No me gustó

I was excited for this one, but just could not get into it. Maybe a different mood would have been another story? But there was nothing to grab on to for me.

This felt like homework to me.

Emmylou is incredible but this album is sleepy and lacks production value.

Definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever heard but then again not something I would ever choose to listen to again so that’s not much of a recommendation I guess.

Please can they give me an interesting country album soon

I didn't like it at first but it kind of warmed up to me as the album went on. Not what I typically like and probably not something I would listen to again, but decent.

Chiant aussi

Puduku

not keen,

Eh, she sings. Bit twee for me.

Nearly fell asleep behind the wheel listening to this album. Almost turned me into red paste man.

Another legacy artist album that takes the spot of an artist that’s actually from that era.

I feel like I ought to like Emylou Harris more than I do. It's a pleasant enough country thing that drifts by without grabbing me.

Country and 70’s style mellow rock are two of my least favorite genres. This album combines them. So I did not like it.

No molesta, pero no me dice nada

Meh. 2.1

The Pearl - 2.5/5 Michelangelo - 3.5/5 I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now - 3/5 Tragedy - 2.5/5 Red Dirt Girl - 3/5 My Baby Needs a Shepherd - 3/5 Bang the Drum Slowly - 2.5/5 J'ai fait tout - 4/5 One Big Love - 3.5/5 Hour of Gold - 2.5/5 My Antonia - 3/5 Boy from Tupelo - 3/5

This is one of the most boring albums I've ever heard. She's a good singer, but it's the same boring "kill me now" song over and over again. I can respect the try to make a "modern sounding country album", but the end result is just so incredibly boring. 2/5

2.5 Some good songs here, but ultimately overlong like every album from this era and basically just music for your crunchy gramma.

One or two standouts and good lyrics throughout but not a lot of musical versatility. I'll give it a re-listen some time but I was a bit bored.

Meh

Not my bag at all but I can see why people like her!

A little better than the last one. So I will say 2.5 round down.

This is definitely one of the more interesting country albums I’ve listened to. But then again, most country music is as dull as ditchwater, so there’s not a very high bar to clear. Lots of typically ‘nice’ songs that for me play it a bit too safe, even though the artist is trying to go outside of their comfort zone by introducing some not so typical country instrumentation. I just don’t think this type of music is interesting enough to be uplifted by genre crossovers, no matter how good they are. 4.5/10

This is my first time listening or even recognizing Emmylou as a person. I was kind of excited, saw the album art and was expecting something that pairs well with Silent Hill or slasher films. BOY WAS I WRONG It's not even bad, it's just very Americana, very country-forward, definitely folk based. I hear this is her first effort where most of the songs are actually written by her. What can I say, I don't find the song-writing particularly mesmerizing. I think her voice is fair, there's talent and I could exist while someone plays this effort, but there's no chance I'll be putting it on for myself. I've heard it through three times, it's feeling empty. Pretty, not amazing. 1.9/5

Nice enough I guess.

Amazing voice but it all blends together a bit after a while. I think it would need a closer listen. Fav track: I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now

FUa, qué rápido que me cansé. El country no es para mi

Lidt flad..

Der er noget Big Thief over mange af numrene. Særligt hendes vokal minder om Adrianne Lenker. Dog mangler det bid og kant som gør Big Thief interessant.

ehh 2

moins pire que l'autre que j'ai écouté mais bon

um dos poucos do site que não tankei ouvir inteiro mas me irritou bem menos que o kings of leon de ontem. a voz eh bonita e tem umas até que ok. mas no mais, é bem chato

If this was my sort of thing I could see it being a three or four. Very pleasant, thoughtful album that I can’t fault, but I’ll never relisten probably. If my wife put it on, I’m not having a bad time. Maybe a 2 is harsh, but whatever

Can’t make a country boy outta this city slicker

Didn't we do this one a few months ago?

yee-haw

Tedious and uninteresting. Her voice is a bit squawky for my taste. She should be called Meh-mmylou Harris.

Sad

Quite pretty all the time, I can appreciate that it's country but it tries to deviate to other genres. However I can't really stand country and her voice and I found it boring it was repetitive 2.5/5

2.5 stars. Enjoy her as a songwriter and her singing voice but this album isn't her best. Brings in too much early 00's drum loops and layering sounds as opposed to just being pure country/folk. Has some depressing stories, especially title track and "Bang the Drum Slowly".

2/5. A perfectly fine country rock pop album. Solid musicianship, mostly standard country rock arrangement with some curveballs thrown every now and then. Emmylou has a regal voice, and she uses it well. There are some really pretty songs on here: "Tragedy" and "J'ai fait tout" come to mind, but as a whole the album doesn't really feel like anything special. Won't revisit a single song.

No es pot negar el talent però no es meu flow.

< the Beatles

That Dave Matthew's cameo surprised me. Overall, I'm just not a fan of this kind of music unfortunately.

Ehh not my thing

Wasn't feeling it

Kjedelig

Så dørge kjedelig.

Liker ikke musikken, liker ikke stemmen, liker ikke tekstene. Veldig tamme greier, alt i samme gir.

One of those albums you forget is still playing. It’s not terrible but my life is no richer for having heard it.

She's got a great voice but not my style of music at all. Definitely a voice focused album though, the music I feel is barely present for the most part and is only there to back up the vocals. Very whispy bluegrass kind of vibes though. The male vocal added in one of the very last songs kind of ruined the vibe of the album. If I were out in the back country wranglin I might just find myself listening to this.

Not my thing at all. I don't know if this album was particularly well-received at the time, it certainly doesn't seem to have been influential to 00's country music. Surprisingly the duet with Dave Matthews was my favorite song here. Key tracks: My Antonia

Country just doesn't do it for me. I'm not gonna say it's terrible or anything, but it's certainly not for me. This one also mixed in a bit more of a rock feel at times, which I did not care for.

A few standout faves but not my favourite

An unsurprisingly uninspiring and uncreative hour of music from someone who built their career by covering other people's music. Harris expresses a lot of emotion and personal experience in this album's lyrics, but offers nothing interesting in the instrumental composition. Anyone who isn't already a fan of Emmylou Harris certainly has no interest in hearing this album.

Not for me, bit bland and boring

Snooze

Not a fan of country music but enjoyed J’ai fait tout and Boy from Tupelo.

Not my type of music but artistically I can understand its good

This was incredibly boring for me. Maybe it was just my headspace when listening, but I really was not enjoying this much at all. It felt like a chore to get through. There were a couple tracks I did enjoy a bit.

Production wise, it sounds fine. Like most albums of the time. Musically, it is so boring. Every song sounds the same. Good for her for making an album, but it doesn't hold a candle to her earlier works.

Bit boring

Did not finish

EH’s voice is impeccable. Her phrasing and delivery often lands like a teardrop or a longing look. But these songs aren’t great. The musical backing often sounds pre-programmed and the lyrics are a little too naive and simple for me. This is not Emmylou’s best work. A 2.

Tbh only listened to one song it was quite gospel vibes so I didn’t listen to the rest

07/12/2025 Country music just doesn't do it for me. No dice. Spotify listeners: 2.2 million

Wat ze met haar stem doet bij de track 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now' is absoluut ver-schrik-ke-lijk. Ik vind haar vibrato sowieso niet heel prettig maar bij die track gaat het echt mis. Nu lijk ik weer de vrouwenhatende mansplainer, maar ik beloof dat ik niks tegen zingende vrouwen heb. Als ik voor mezelf op mag komen wil ik officieel noteren dat ik net zo hard begin te blaffen bij het horen van Elvis Costello of Bob Dylan. Ik weet niet wat het precies is, maar dit album klopt ook niet helemaal voor m'n gevoel. Het album komt uit 2000 en ik heb een beetje het idee dat dat niet de beste tijd was om zo'n album te maken. Ik denk dat het toen enigszins modern klonk met die computerinvloeden, maar nu klinkt het juist wat armetierig. Het laagje moderne country helpt dan voor mij ook zeker niet mee, want ik vind dat vaak sowieso al wat goedkoop. Ik krijg ook enorme reli-rock kriebels bij dit album. Ik ga het nog wel 2 sterren geven, de titeltrack is best goed gedaan en zo zijn er nog wel wat meer oké momentjes te vinden. Daardoor zou een 1 net te streng voelen.

I really like Emmylou, just wasn't feeling anything significant from this one. 2.5/5

Not for me and I probably don't want to hang out with the type of person this is for.

zzzZZZzzz… Boomer mom shit.

No, just not into it other than the guest appearance by Dace Matthews

So I am a fan of 90s Americana. I am a fan of folk music. This wasn't for me though. Both dull and dramatic at the same time. Sounds like something horse girls would like.

I know Emmylou does it for a lot of people ... but she doesn't do much for me.

Singer songwriter country musik med en smule neo over det (lidt ligesom det der album med bruce springsteen) Kom ud i en tid hvor americana begyndte at blive populært igen. Omkring samme tid som feast of wire. Det her er dog lidt mere klart og rent på en eller anden måde. meget velproduceret. Hun er åbenbart populær country folk singer fra tidligere periode. sådan noget 70'erne og 80'erne. Det er åbenbart meget teksttungt og poetisk og inspireret af sydstatslitteratur. Så det belønner sikkert en for at lytte efter og dykke ned i teksterne. Det har jeg ikke overskuddet til i dag, så jeg giver det en 2'er for tilbagevenden. Men jeg synes sgu det var en god vibe og lød godt må jeg sige. Det er til et meget melankolsk og reflekterende humør.

I went in hoping for something that would surprise me, but Red Dirt Girl just didn’t land. I found it dull, full of familiar country tropes, and the storytelling was crap. Instead of feeling like I was on a country road, I mostly felt bored and disconnected. There must be a million better country albums than this?

Not for me

2 Stars (5/15)

Meh not great.

Country artist, first album she wrote the songs herself. Not quite it for me.

Not my thing

It’s not terrible just boring

Emmylou is an icon but country is my least favorite of what I consider the main genres. Couldn’t get into it.

yawn

She’s got a gorgeous voice but every song felt and sounded the same. This was similar to my experience listening to Leonard Cohen; at first the lyricism stood out, as did the uniqueness of her voice, but every song blended into one another for the worst.

Her nineteenth album. Country / Folk. It's a very nice album. Well written and put together I guess. I can't say anything bad about it but it doesn't really grab me either. It's a nice album. That's all I can say really.

Just not my kind of music.

Not forme

Found this pretty uninspiring. MOR country. Found the layering of vocals on a couple of tracks grating. Prefer Lucinda Williams. Unremarkable.

bit too dull for me

Muy folk para mi gusto

1,5

You know, I originally had this as my first 1 star, but the last couple of tracks on the album weren't that terrible. I want to save the 1 star rating for things I absolutely loathe. Because I know there are a few of those on this list.

It was ok.

Surprisingly bland

Cute, but nothing new. Country folk vibe, started off nice but got monotone midway. Did not want to finish it.

Aucun intérêt.

Title track is exactly what I want in a great country song. Emmylou’s voice is on point, lyrics so strong you can visualize the story she’s singing and excellent music to accompany the vocals, such a great track. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is lifeless and downright boring. The music is sounds more churchy than country and I didn’t care for it at all. 2 stars

Not my favorite I actually didn't get a chance to listen all the way through. A couple songs into the Emmylou album I found out it was the anniversary of Al Green's release of "I'm Still in Love with you" from 1972 so I basically listened to Al Green all day......

Did nothing for me

Lots of hallelujahs in that first song. I do appreciate EmmyLou's voice but I just could not get into this at all. Really liked Boy From Tulepo but not enough to bump it to a 3.

- gueti produktion - teilwiis schöni kläng - nid so agnähmi stimm

This album sounded repetitive and boring to me. She does have a nice voice. It isn't for me, though. 2

less honkin, more tonkin, Emmy.

Boring country music at it's core. She's got a nice voice and production wasn't half bad but this was a chore to get through. 2.50/5

Not really my thing. Country is seriously overrepresented in this list wtf

Folk cristiano y no especialmente bueno.

Honestly a good album

Poor Emmylou is just a reoccurring punching bag for me.... Her debut was on Gram Parson's Grievous Angel which is one of my lowest albums. She reappeared on Ryan Adam's Heartbreaker and I liked her a lot there. Now I get to experience her solo work. There is an undeniable level of poetry and craft but good lord I do not enjoy it! Nothing stuck out to me at all, nothing invited me for another listen.

It was okay. I’m just really not a big fan of Country music.

Not my cup of tea, the whole project comes off dull and forgettable to me. I found myself really wanting it to be over 3/4 into the album. Still Emmylou’s voice is uniquely beautiful and her storytelling is on point so not a 1 star. 3/10

ok but kinda boring 2

She kind of fell from grace. Once amazing, but now this is a slog to get through. A good ol’ country slog.

so boring

It’s 2.5 for me. Meanders along nicely, almost day dream like but ultimately forgettable

Might as well just give us a day off if it's to give us that kind of sleeping pill.

Not bad for a 70s country/folk singer which arrives in the 2000s, but it's really too long winded and uneventful to my taste.

Its a fine album not sure why it is one of the 1001 I must hear. There are a couple good songs but no reason I would relisten to this

Eh. Not my cup of tea

Oof. Another country album. Surprisingly, this one was not bad (most country albums have likely received a 2 as a rating from me). This one may as well, but one enjoyable song from what remains as I listen could get it a 3. I'm still listening, so we shall see...

instrumentalmente me gusta, si voz me gusta pero no sé no es para mí, se me hizo una escucha muy aburrida y monótona,

This was a very chill album, catching me on a not very chill day. I should probably give it another go, but after the first 2 or 3 tracks it felt samey...

This wasn’t for me, I found it a bit grating

Meticulously produced but feels bland to me.

Not bad, but not interesting 2.25

Boring unfortunately, not my favourite kind of country music

Not terrible, but not for me.

Okay the instrumentation got a little interesting in parts, but that didn’t outweigh the country

Sort of Dolly Parton meets Fleetwood meets early 2000s sound

Again, I just don’t care for Emmylou Harris! I’m sorry, and I feel terrible about it, but I just am not a fan.

it wasn't like anything I hadn't heard before, cool vocals and vibes though!!