Personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals, guitar); Buddy Miller (vocals, electric & 12-string guitar, mando guitar); Daryl Johnson (vocals, djembe, bass, bass pedals, percussion); Brady Blade (vocals, drums, percussion).
Engineers: Dean Norman, Doug Dawson, Buddy Miller.
SPYBOY was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals); Emmylou Harris (guitar); Buddy Miller (vocals, guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Darryl Johnson (vocals, guitar, bass guitar, djembe, percussion); Rev. Brady Blade (vocals, drums, percussion).
Audio Mixers: Buddy Miller; Greg Droman.
Photographer: Matthew Barnes.
Arranger: Brian Ahern.
The mark of a true legend is the refusal to accept the status quo. From Willie Nelson to Paul Simon to Tom Waits, truly brilliant artists keep on evolving and progressing throughout their career. Emmylou Harris undoubtedly falls into this camp. Through the decades, she's consistently challenged herself, both in terms of material and production, never playing it safe. Nothing exemplifies this more than WRECKING BALL her genre-defying collaboration with producer Daniel Lanois. Focusing on the progressive approach of that album, SPYBOY (also the name of Harris' touring band) presents the singer in a live situation, where her vocal gifts really shine.
Her small-but-powerful band is made up of some killer musicians. Guitarist Buddy Miller is a fine country singer-songwriter in his own right, with some great solo albums to his credit. His atmospheric, reverb-heavy guitar sound helps to define SPYBOY. The propulsive drumming of Brady Blade (brother of jazz drumming legend Brian Blade) is also key to the proceedings. What comes through most, naturally, is Harris' commitment to the material, and the enormous spiritual well upon which she draws to put her message across. minimize