Stumble into Grace (CD - 2003)

Personnel includes: Emmylou Harris (vocals, guitar, 6-string bass guitar); Kate McGarrigle (acoustic guitar, accordion, background vocals); Tony Hall (acoustic guitar, bass); Malcolm Burn (electric guitar, harmonica, whistles, piano, Fender Rhodes, piano, bass, percussion); Ethan Johns, Buddy Miller (electric guitar); Daniel Lanois (pedal steel guitar, background vocals); Brady Blade (drums, percussion, background vocals); Daryl Johnson (percussion, background vocals); Julie Miller, Linda Ronstadt, Jane Siberry, Anna McGarrigle, Gillian Welch, Jill Cunniff (background vocals).

Recorded at Le Maison Bleu Studio, Kingston, New York; Masterlink Studio, Sound Emporium and Ocean Way Studio, Nashville, Tennessee between February and June 2003.

STUMBLE INTO GRACE was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar, 6-string bass, background vocals); Malcolm Burn (whistling, electric guitar, harmonica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, percussion, background vocals); Buddy Miller (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Kate McGarrigle (acoustic guitar, violin, accordion, background vocals); Ethan Johns (electric guitar, drums); Colin Linden, Kevin Salem, Bernie Leadon (electric guitar); Darryl Johnson , Rev. Brady Blade (drums, percussion, background vocals); Daniel Lanois, Gillian Welch, Jane Siberry, Julie Miller, Anna McGarrigle, Linda Ronstadt (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Josh Muncy; Malcolm Burn.

Liner Note Author: Malcolm Burn.

Recording information: Le Maison BLeu Studio, Kingston, NY (02/2003-06/2003); Masterlink Studio (02/2003-06/2003); Ocean Way Studios, Nashville, TN (02/2003-06/2003); Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN (02/2003-06/2003).

Photographer: Veronique Rolland.

Arrangers: Emmylou Harris; Kate McGarrigle; Malcolm Burn; Anna McGarrigle.

There's something just the slightest bit comic about calling an Emmylou Harris album Stumble into Grace. While Harris has always sounded as if both earthly and spiritual grace were created with her in mind, when she sings, it seems she can no more stumble than a dolphin can be taught to walk on dry land. Stumble into Grace finds Harris following in the same creative path she began to pursue with Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl, which is to say that the influence of her country-influenced material is more felt than heard as she dips her toes into the spectral and atmospheric accents of folk, indie pop, and world music. While Harris has long been just as interested in nuance and blank spaces as the notes of her songs, producer Malcolm Burn (who also collaborated with her on Red Dirt Girl) knows what to make of the purposefully spare surfaces of these new songs (which, again, like Red Dirt Girl, were, for the most part, written by Harris herself), and the results are splendid. Part of the revelation of Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl was hearing Harris moving in a startling new direction, and while Stumble into Grace seems less novel in the context of its immediate predecessors, the bitter clarity of "Time in Babylon," the gentle but energetic textures of "Little Bird," and the funky shuffle of "Jupiter Rising" confirm that she hasn't run out of new avenues to explore. After three decades as a world-class talent, what's most heartening is that Harris is not only making some of the finest music of her career at a time when many artists would be treading water, but she's delightfully confounding expectations at the same time. Stumble into Grace shows she's still playing at the top of her game. ~ Mark Deming

Over three decades into a highly successful career as an interpreter of other writers' material, Emmylou Harris beats the odds by releasing her second consecutive album of original compositions. She's had plenty of time to learn from the best, and the lessons gained from digging into the work of writers like Gram Parsons, Leonard Cohen, and Townes Van Zandt can be felt here, even if she can't be expected to equal their mastery. She works again with members of the Spyboy band that helped reinvent Harris's sound on WRECKING BALL, but as on RED DIRT GIRL, the churning, rhythmic feel of the former is underplayed in favor of a gentler, more folkish approach.

Years ago, few could have guessed that one of Harris's most valuable songwriting partners would be a former member of NYC funk-rockers Luscious Jackson, but Jill Cunniff is a worthy weapon in STUMBLE INTO GRACE's arsenal, co-writing the trenchant "Time in Babylon." Other esteemed writing partners include Daniel Lanois, ex-husband Paul Kennerly, and Kate & Anna McGarrigle, but this ultimately feels like a very personal statement straight from the heart of this seasoned artist. minimize