Light of the Stable [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Emmylou Harris
Artist: Willie Nelson; Dolly Parton; Linda Ronstadt; Neil Young; Ricky Skaggs; Rodney Crowell
Engineer: Doug Beal; Brian Ahern
Producer: Brian Ahern; Brian Ahern
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Ricky Skaggs (banjo, mandolin); Albert Lee (mandolin); Emory Gordy, Jr. (bass); Willie Nelson (background vocals). Personnel: Emmylou Harris (acoustic guitar); Emmylou Harris (vocals); Brian Ahern (guitar, acoustic guitar, gut-string guitar, banjo, autoharp, acoustic bass guitar, 6-string bass, percussion); Kate McGarrigle (acoustic guitar, banjo); Hank DeVito (pedal steel guitar); Ricky Skaggs (banjo, mandolin, violin, fiddle, background vocals); Albert Lee (mandolin); Anna McGarrigle (accordion, keyboards); Tony Brown (Clavinet); Emory Gordy, Mike Bowden (bass instrument); Cheryl White, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, Sharon White, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt (background vocals); Nancy Ahern (vocals); Rodney Crowell (guitar, acoustic guitar); Frank Reckard (electric guitar); Brian Bowers (autoharp); Glen D. Hardin (piano, keyboards); John Ware (drums). Audio Mixers: Brian Ahern; Donivan Cowart; Doug Beal; Stuart Taylor. Liner Note Author: Rick Clark. Recording information: Easter Island Surround, Nashville, TN; Enactron Truck. Photographer: Rick Clark. Arrangers: Brian Ahern; Nancy Ahern; Jonathan E. Spillman; Kate McGarrigle; Anna McGarrigle. Emmylou Harris is an artist with the rare sort of voice that communicates an honest and firmly grounded humanity while possessing a crystalline purity that verges on the angelic. In short, she was a singer born to make a great Christmas album, and in 1979 she did just that with Light of the Stable, in which she fused the high-lonesome traditional sound she'd been exploring on Roses in the Snow and Blue Kentucky Girl with songs that honored the spiritual and emotional roots of the holiday season. The album's gestation began with a 1975 single of "Light of the Stable," with most of the material recorded years later, but Harris and producer Brian Ahern gave the project an admirably unified sound, which speaks of Christmas with a quiet dignity that's celebratory but reverent -- this is one of the few Christmas albums from a secular artist that scarcely mentions Santa Claus while focusing clearly on the birth of Christ. Harris and Ahern assembled a stellar cast for these sessions -- the pickers include Ricky Skaggs, James Burton, and Rodney Crowell, while Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Neil Young pitch in backing vocals -- but the results are a marvel of restraint, with precious little showboating and a handful of performances that rank with the performers' best work. If you're looking for a disc that will kick up your Christmas party a few notches, Light of the Stable isn't it, but if you want to hear music of quiet but compelling beauty which warmly resonates with the true meaning of the holidays, then you'll find this album is an experience to treasure. ~ Mark Deming One of country music's classic Christmas albums, LIGHT OF THE STABLE offers a satisfying mix of seasonal favorites and new compositions, all served up by the most compelling guardian of country music tradition, Emmylou Harris. On this 1979 release, Harris is joined by Ricky Skaggs, Albert Lee, Rodney Crowell, James Burton, and Willie Nelson. Needless to say, they provide the stellar support typical of all of Harris' efforts. On LIGHT OF THE STABLE, Harris somehow manages to put a new twist on Christmas standards like "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Away in a Manger," and "The First Noel," imbuing them with the sweet sadness of her quavering vocals and spare acoustic settings. Among newer material, Rodney Crowell's "Angel Eyes" stands out, as does the title track (which features backing vocals by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Young). Best of all, however, is the opener, a faithful cover of Tex Logan's bluegrass classic "Christmas Time's A-Coming." Because the record fits so seamlessly into the rest of Harris' recorded work of the era, LIGHT is one of those rare Christmas albums that sounds great all year round. Emmylou Harris is an artist with the rare sort of voice that communicates an honest and firmly grounded humanity while possessing a crystalline purity that verges on the angelic. In short, she was a singer born to make a great Christmas album, and in 1979 she did just that with Light of the Stable, in which she fused the high-lonesome traditional sound she'd been exploring on Roses in the Snow and Blue Kentucky Girl with songs that honored the spiritual and emotional roots of the holiday season. The album's gestation began with a 1975 single of "Light of the Stable," with most of the material recorded years later, but Harris and producer Brian Ahern gave the project an admirably unified sound, which speaks of Christmas with a quiet dignity that's celebratory but reverent -- this is one of the few Christmas albums from a secular artist that scarcely mentions Santa Claus while focusing clearly on the birth of Christ. Harris and Ahern assembled a stellar cast for these sessions -- the pickers include Ricky Skaggs, James Burton, and Rodney Crowell, while Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Neil Young pitch in backing vocals -- but the results are a marvel of restraint, with precious little showboating and a handful of performances that rank with the performers' best work. If you're looking for a disc that will kick up your Christmas party a few notches, Light of the Stable isn't it, but if you want to hear music of quiet but compelling beauty which warmly resonates with the true meaning of the holidays, then you'll find this album is an experience to treasure. [In the liner notes to Rhino's 2004 reissue of Light of the Stable, Harris jokes that "We used to affectionately call the album the best-kept secret in the music business...that is why we could put it out with a different cover every year." While she exaggerates a bit, the 2004 edition of the disc did indeed feature its third set of cover artwork, as well as three new songs recorded especially for this edition. While the new songs display traces of the more adventurous approach Harris embraced on Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl, they still fit comfortably with the album's original ten tracks, especially the lovely "There's a Light" and "Man Is an Island," while the new mastering makes the most of the album's crisp, warm sound -- if Harris didn't exactly improve a masterpiece, she certainly gave it a new finish that reinforces the qualities that make it so memorable in the first place.] ~ Mark Deming

Dirty Linen (p.65) - "As Harris likes to joke with some truth, it has been one of those best-kept-secret sort of albums..."

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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