Thanks Barry for the background...I could listen all day to the stories you must have hidden in that brain of yours. (Ever thought of writing a book in that vein?) Now you've got me going! Consider this my last contribution for today (at least 'til I get home from work) for the Wednesday that is Harmony on FFL.
http://youtu.be/B9Ihxi6d1qw --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, laughinggull108 <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > Couldn't agree more Barry. I'm a huge fan of both artists. > > Enjoy this one as my contribution to the Harmony that is > > Wednesday on FFL: > > > > http://youtu.be/_xX5XY49dSU > > Lovely song, and lovely tribute to her mentor and > discoverer. Emmylou's talent, as commented on by so > many other artists she's worked with over the years, > such as Mark Knopfler, is that she's an "intuitive > harmonist." She doesn't need sheet music or a pre- > agreement about what type of harmony she's going to > add to a song, she just picks up the melody after > the first verse (even if she's never heard it before) > and adds the perfect harmony part. > > A number of musicians have this ability, including > David Crosby and Graham Nash and, supposedly, Art > Garfunkel, not to mention a number of Country stars. > I tend to respect this *spontaneous* ability to add > just the right harmony part more than I do the > ability to sit down and chart out the harmonies > in sheet music and then reproduce them vocally. > Maybe it's a facet of that area of the brain that > "lights up" when artists are improvising that I > posted some research about earlier. You can "feel" > it through the music. > > Gram was a hard-living dude whose lifestyle took > him out far too early. But his influence on pop > music was profound. He introduced the Byrds to his > brand of "high mountain harmonies," and then went > on to found the seminal country-rock band The Flying > Burrito Brothers, whose influence is still being felt. > When he met Emmylou in a club and heard her voice, he > knew immediately that he'd found his muse. > > I once owned an album -- very rare -- that Emmylou > put out on an obscure label before she ever met Gram, > and became famous in her own right. It was *terrible*. > What had happened was that some lame studio exec had > found her and tried to turn her into a Joni Mitchell > clone. <insert Ahnold's voice from "Predator" here> > "Bahd idea." > > If you love her voice, and harmony, if you don't know > her work with Mark Knopfler, or the two "Trio" albums > she did in conjunction with Dolly Parton and Linda > Ronstadt, you should. There are some magical moments > in all of them. Here are a couple from these pairings: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFdxvi2rlTw > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_FLLz4UN2Q > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > Not everybody's cuppa tea (or, given the singer, whiskey), > > > but definitely mine. As I said before, I'm a sucker for > > > what Gram Parsons used to call "high mountain harmony," > > > two or more voices taking old melodies and soaring into > > > the stratosphere with them. Few have ever done this as > > > well as Gram did on his album "Grievous Angel," singing > > > with the then-unknown Emmylou Harris. > > > > > > I'm a Roy Orbison fan, but even he admitted that this > > > is the best version of his song ever recorded: > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLUPWHTaceE&feature=fvsr > > > > > > The classic "road song,"...I just love Emmylou's rise > > > at the end: > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PytxPaU6k4 > > > > > > A prayer, of sorts...with the ultimate Prodigal Son > > > singing in the choir alongside the angel: > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERhhkjqDGsA&feature=BFa&list=AL94UKMTqg-9AndbSIHNuXsqW0DsVuIK3H > > > > > >