Excellent Live Album

Emmylou Harris released SPYBOY, a live album, in the summer of 1998. It was songs that comprised her WRECKING BALL tour. There's a lot of variety here, from the songs from her 1995 WRECKING BALL album, to old favorites. Spyboy is the name of her band. The name is a Mardi Gras term for th person who goes ahead of the parade; a street entertainer, jester, troublemaker, scout. The band is made up of Brady Black, who contributes vocals, drums and percussion; Buddy Miller, who gives his vocals, lead electric, 12-string and mado guitar; Daryl Johnson, vocals, bass, guitar, percussion and djembe. And then of course Emmylou's warm, unique vocals.

Some old favorites she sings here include "My Songbird", "Born To Run", "Boulder To Birmingham", "Tulsa Queen" (my personal favorite), "Love Hurts", "I Ain't Living Long Like This", "Calling My Children Home", and more. Some newer cuts from the WRECKING BALL sessions include "Deeper Well", "Where Will I Be", "All My Tears". The album closes with a stunning cover of Daniel Lanois' "The Maker".

You won't be disapointed with this live recording!

shouldn't have been released

This was recorded on an off night, and Emmylou's voice is not in peak condition. Also, because "Wrecking Ball" -- the album that got me interested in current Emmylou -- was recorded for another label, many of those songs could not be released on this album as planned.



Around this time Harris with the Spyboy band were doing really smoking renditions of the Wrecking Ball material. If you can find a copy of her Tonight Show appearance where they did "All My Tears", and compare it with the recording of that same song here, you'll get an idea of what an amazing live album might have been made under more fortunate circumstances. Hopefully better material from this period will be bootlegged. In more recent performances this band (still called Spyboy?) have become considerably tamer.



I don't think this album would work for fans of "more traditional" country either, but I lean too "alt" to confidently recommend for people with such tastes.



N.B. "Born To Run" is not the Bruce Springsteen song.

Soulful and uplifting

From the tremulous opening notes of the first track, Songbird, I knew this was going to be another Emmylou classic. Spyboy definitely is that but also much more. Every single song on this magnificent album is a treasure, from Songbird to The Maker. The band is perfectly in synch with Harris' voice, and so is the audience. All together these elements create a magical ambience that sticks in the mind.



My favorites on this breathtaking work includes her compelling live version of Green Pastures (with lovely male backing vocal), the most moving Calling My Children Home, done a capella with just male backing vocal (a devotional song of great power), the achingly beautiful Prayer in Open D where she sings solo, Boulder To Birmingham and her almost jazzy version of Daniel Lanois' The Maker with its complex arrangement.



As someone who as a rule do not like live albums, I can assure the prospective listener that Spyboy is a heavenly blend of beautiful songs and atmospherics to which the audience definitely contributes. The applause adds to the mood while her short introductions are just right. This is the closest I'll come to seeing her in concert, and it is a proper consolation. The CD quality and sound clarity are faultless.



I rate this album right up there with Emmylou's very best like Wrecking Ball, Red Dirt Girl, Roses In The Snow and A Cowgirl's Prayer. There is plenty of variety, from bluegrass gospel to the awesome droning rock guitars of Deeper Well and the straight country Tulsa Queen to the jazzy excursion on the Lanois song. I cannot recommend this album highly enough; it has given me hours of listening pleasure and has an uplifting effect on the spirit.