Cowgirl's Prayer

Performer: Emmylou Harris
Artist: Trisha Yearwood; Alison Krauss; Ashley Cleveland; Kieran Kane
Engineer: Mark Miller
Producer: Allen Reynolds; Richard Bennett
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Richard Bennett (guitar, mandocello, tambourine, percussion); Chris Leuzinger (guitar); Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar, dobro); Roy Huskey Jr. (dobro, acoustic bass); Sam Bush (fiddle); Connie Heard, Kris Wilkinson, Grace Bahng, Edgar Meyer (strings); Sam Levine (flute, clarinet); Bobby Wood (piano, organ); Dave Hoffner (Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Mike Brignardello, Bobby Wray (bass); Larry Atamanuik, Milton Sledge (drums, percussion); Lori Brooks, Kathy Chiavola, Suzanne Cox, Mary Ann Kennedy, Jana King, Pam Rose, Jon Randall Stewart, Hurshel Wiginton, Dennis Wilson, Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, Ashley Cleveland (background vocals). Recorded at Jack's Tracks Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee. You've got to know an album that opens with the line "I hear the clock a-tickin'" is going to demonstrate more than a passing interest in the process by which we grow older and, hopefully, wiser. COWGIRL'S PRAYER, Emmylou Harris' 17th studio album, presents its somber meditations on life and love in an appropriately lovely, quiet acoustic setting. The overall mood of this record is adult and reflective, but not melancholy. On the contrary, as she declares on the opening track, Harris adamantly and optimistically believes she still has "A Ways to Go." The album that follows amply supports her claim. As usual, Harris exploits her encyclopedic knowledge of American music to come up with 11 great numbers, including songs by Tony Joe White ("High Powered Love"), Lucinda Williams ("Crescent City," an homage to New Orleans), Leonard Cohen ("Ballad of a Runaway Horse") and Jesse Winchester ("Thanks to You"). Two standout tracks are among the disc's quietest: David Olney's "Jerusalem Tomorrow," a gospel narrative with a nifty twist, and "Prayer in Open D," a rare Harris original. Alison Krauss, Trisha Yearwood, Al Perkins, and Sam Bush are among the luminaries lending instrumental and vocal support.

Rolling Stone (11/11/93, p.73) - 3.5 Stars - Good Plus - "...[Emmylou] Harris sings with Wynnona-style earthiness--no mean feat for a luminous vocalist renowned for her bittersweet delicacy....Harris refuses to be bound by genre convention..." Entertainment Weekly (10/8/93, p.51) - "...[Emmylou Harris] has simply recorded the best music [on COWGIRL'S PRAYER] she could find..." - Rating: A+ Q (10/99, p.150) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...a very traditional set of laid-back, reflective songs as best exemplified by the 4am mood permeating 'Lovin' You Again'....an atmospheric set." Mojo (Publisher) (1/95, p.111) - "...her best in years....[Harris] tackle[s] cowboy and border tunes with restraint and vocal purity."

Emmylou Harris first came to public attention as Gram Parsons's singing partner, but her solo career took off after his passing. Throughout the 1970s and '80s, she was a major force in progressive country, championing the works of great songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Paul Siebel. By the '90s, the eclecticism that she'd always practiced came to full bloom in the hands of producer Daniel Lanois, especially on her milestone 1995 album, WRECKING BALL.

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