The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches & Highways (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Emmylou Harris; Buddy Miller (vocals, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Darryl Johnson (vocals, bass guitar, djembe, percussion); Rev. Brady Blade (vocals, drums, percussion); Barry Tashian (vocals); Tony Hall (guitar, drums); Rodney Crowell (guitar, background vocals); Frank Reckard (guitar); Albert Lee (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, piano); Herb Pedersen (acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, banjo, background vocals); Al Perkins (acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, dobro, banjo); Ricky Skaggs (acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle, background vocals); Jon Randall Stewart (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Randy Sharp (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Trevor Veitch, Rick Cunha, Tony Rice, Rick Cuhna (acoustic guitar); Ethan Johns (electric guitar, drums); Gerry McGee (electric guitar); Ben Keith (pedal steel guitar); Jerry Douglas , Mike Auldridge (dobro); Daniel Lanois (dulcimer, mandolin); David Lindley, Byron Berline (mandolin); Jim Hoke, Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Wayne Goodwin (tenor saxophone); Bill Payne (piano); Donald Johnson (electric piano); Emory Gordy (bass instrument); Kenny Edwards (acoustic bass); Roy Huskey Jr. (double bass, upright bass, background vocals); Larry Atamanuik (drums, percussion); Ed Greene, Russ Kunkel, John Ware (drums); Malcolm Burn (tambourine); Steve Fishell (percussion); Dianne Brooks, Fayssoux Starling McLean, Julie Miller (background vocals); Gram Parsons (vocals, acoustic guitar); Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Linda Ronstadt (vocals); James Burton (electric guitar); Sam Bush (mandolin, fiddle); Glen D. Hardin (piano, electric piano); Jai Winding (piano); Ronnie Tutt (drums).

Liner Note Author: Robert K. Oermann.

Photographers: David Gahr; Michael Putland; Annie Leibovitz; Henry Diltz; Michael "Mick" Wilson; Richard McCaffrey.

HEARTACHES & HIGHWAYS is partly a single-disc distillation of

ANTHOLOGY, a two-CD collection of Emmylou Harris's Warner Brothers

recordings. While it contains many tracks found on ANTHOLOGY, HEARTACHES ventures further to include material from Harris's later

work on Elektra, thus providing a more all-encompassing career overview.

Harris is the first lady of progressive country, and has done more to advance the concept's cause over the decades than anyone. HEARTACHES follows her trail from early, pioneering country-rock duets with Gram Parsons to her own updates of classic country tunes. Harris's perennial knack for catching on to rising songwriting luminaries is made plain with prescient covers of songs by Townes Van Zandt and Gillian Welch (Harris's attention helped the careers of both troubadours). The Elektra material finds Harris pushing the envelope ever further, venturing-- with the help of visionary producer Daniel Lanois--into moody, atmospheric territory far from honky-tonk confines. HEARTACHES & HIGHWAYS is the most comprehensive single-CD collection of Harris's work on the market. minimize