Trio

Performer: Trio
Artist: Albert Lee; Ry Cooder; Mark O'Connor; David Lindley; Herb Pedersen
Producer: George Massenburg
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Albert Lee (acoustic guitar); Steve Fishell (pedal steel guitar); Ry Cooder (tremolo guitar); Herb Pedersen (banjo); David Lindley (mandolin); Mark O'Connor (viola); Bill Payne (piano); Kenny Edwards (bass); Russ Kunkel (drums). Recorded at The Complex, West Los Angeles, California between January & November 1986. Bringing together Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt for the album Trio was a truly inspired idea, and not simply because they were three of the finest voices in country and pop music at the time. While a gifted entertainer, Parton is also a business-savvy professional who will willingly set aside her gifts as a pure country singer if she thinks her audience would rather hear something like "Nine to Five." However, give her a stage for old-school country material, and she will always rise sublimely to the occasion. Similarly, some of Linda Ronstadt's finest work was on her early country-rock albums (especially Heart Like a Wheel), but she seems to operate best with strong collaborators; left to her own devices, she's just as likely to pick wrong-headed material in styles not comfortable to her, but in the right settings her gifts still dazzle. And while Emmylou Harris had as strong a track record as anyone in Nashville in the 1980s, it's obvious she loves to collaborate with others, and sings harmonies with the same rich and affecting beauty that she brings to her headlining gigs. So you take two gifted artists who need proper direction, team them up with an excellent collaborative artist, and the results should fall neatly into place. In truth, that's a formula as likely as not to fail, but on Trio the experiment works brilliantly. The three vocalists display an obvious affinity and respect for one another's talents, inspiring superb performances in one another, and while they all shine in their solo spots, some of the album's most pleasurable moments are when the three harmonize, with their distinct but equally impressive voices melding into a whole that's more than the sum of its parts. Harris, Parton, and Ronstadt also make the most of a set of fine songs (certainly a better program than Parton or Ronstadt had taken on in the studio in a while), and producer George Massenburg lined up a wonderfully subtle and intuitive backing group, with Ry Cooder, David Lindley, and Albert Lee picking gloriously without calling undue attention to themselves. In short, Trio is that rare example of an all-star collaborative effort that truly shows everyone involved to their best advantage, and it ranks with the best of all three headliners' work. ~ Mark Deming A classic modern country album, THE TRIO is as pretty as music gets. The ethereal harmony vocals of three of popular music's sweetest swingers, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, would be enough--their harmonies couldn't have been closer if they were triplets. But THE TRIO offers something more, gathering songs that not only utilize their natural singing talents but also bring out the emotional timbre of their collective voice. From the ultra-pretty Phil Spector pop classic "To Know Him Is To Love Him" to the hard-country Jimmie Rodgers song "Hobo's Meditation" and the high-lonesome "Memories Of You," THE TRIO brims with musicality. There are several traditional songs, a folk song written by Jean Ritchie, the spine-tingling gospel standard "Farther Along" and some strong Dolly Parton originals. On "Telling Me Lies," written by Linda Thompson, Linda Ronstadt delivers one of her most controlled performances ever.

Mojo (Publisher) (12/00, p.41) - "...The 3 first ladies of country settle on down-home musical virtues and songs of suffering womanhood..."

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