Roses in the Snow [Expanded] [Remaster]

Performer: Emmylou Harris
Artist: Dolly Parton; Willie Nelson; Jerry Douglas; Johnny Cash; Linda Ronstadt; Ricky Skaggs
Engineer: Donivan Cowart; Stuart Taylor; Brian Ahern
Producer: Brian Ahern
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Ricky Skaggs (vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle); Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Tony Rice (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Frank Reckard, Barry Tashian (acoustic guitar); Albert Lee (electric guitar, mandolin); Brian Ahern (guitar, synthesizer, bass, percussion); Willie Nelson (guitar); Steve Fishell (steel guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Wayne Goodwin (mandolin); Bryan Bowers (autoharp); Jim Horn (recorder, penny whistle); Buck White (piano, background vocals); Glen D. Hardin (Fender Rhodes piano); Emory Gordy, Jr. (bass); Keith Knudsen (drums); John Ware (percussion); Dolly Parton, Cheryl White, Sharon White (background vocals). Recorded in July 1979. Originally released on Warner Brothers (3422). Includes liner notes by Holly George Warren. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Ricky Skaggs (vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle); Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Brian Ahern (guitar, 12-string guitar, pipe, 6-string bass, fretless bass, percussion); Frank Reckard (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Tony Rice, Barry Tashian (acoustic guitar); Albert Lee (electric guitar, mandolin); Hank DeVito, Steve Fishell (steel guitar); Willie Nelson (gut-string guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Bryan Bowers (autoharp); Wayne Goodwin (mandolin); Jim Horn (pennywhistle, recorder); Glen D. Hardin (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); John Ware (drums, percussion); Keith Knudsen (drums). Audio Mixers: Donivan Cowart; Brian Ahern. Audio Remasterer: Denny Purcell. Recording information: Enactron Studio Two (07/1979). Photographer: Robert Matheu. Arranger: Brian Ahern. On her sixth country album, ROSES IN THE SNOW, Emmylou Harris decided to explore her growing interest in bluegrass music. It was a bold move: first, because bluegrass had traditionally been the exclusive domain of men (Hazel Dickens being the most notable exception to the rule), and second, because it meant breaking with a formula that had served her well on her five previous releases. Harris tilted the odds back in her favor by assembling an all-star supporting cast including Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, and the Whites, then selecting--with usual impeccable taste--10 great songs for inclusion on the album. As one would expect, Harris salutes the masters of bluegrass here, reworking numbers associated with Ralph Stanley ("The Darkest Hour is Just Before the Dawn"), Bill Monroe ("Wayfaring Stranger") and Flatt and Scruggs ("I'll Go Stepping Too"). Digging even further back, she also comes up with, and delivers on, A.P. Carter's "Gold Watch and Chain" and Bill Halley's "Miss the Mississippi and You," both vestiges of recorded music's earliest era. It's not all ancient history, however: ROSES also includes a hit version of Paul Simon's "The Boxer," miraculously recast as a bluegrass-friendly number. Combining acoustic bluegrass with traditional Appalachian melodies (and tossing one contemporary tune, Paul Simon's "The Boxer," into the mix), Roses in the Snow ranks among Emmylou Harris' riskiest -- and most satisfying -- gambits. [The 2002 reissue features two bonus tracks, "You're Gonna Change" and "Root Like a Rose."] ~ Jason Ankeny

Q (4/00, p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...an early classic....high lonesome melancholic as AP Carter intended, the uptempo title track both swings and seduces and 'Miss The Mississippi And You' receives its best treatment in years..." Mojo (Publisher) (12/00, p.41) - "...As green as an Appalachian mountain valley....a respectful yet imaginative bluegrass excursion..."

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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