If I had to define the genre this CD belongs to, I'd call it late-80s impressionist country. Fortunately, I can't think of any other CDs that would belong to this genre - it definitely has its own sound. On a scale from warm and fuzzy to cold and sterile, the guitars are all the way on sterile side, with a cold, electrified strumming sound and not much resonance. There are lots of big, crashing drums, almost like timpanis, and dramatic cymbal crashes. You also hear a lot of twinkling pianos and the occasional austere-sounding synthesizer. The total effect is like what country music would sound like if they only played it in Death Valley.
But don't let that scare you away from this album. For all its melodramatic tendencies, the album really works (at least for me). There are some great songs on here. Sometimes Emmylou and her producer try too hard to wrench the emotion from your soul, but at least as often they are successful. And when you get to the last steel guitar solo which ends the last (incredible) song, you'll forget about any of the album's excesses. Seriously, it's so good it affects me physically and compels me to play air steel guitar and dance around. When it's over, I feel like my soul is filled up to the brim and I'm ready to die!
February 18, 2007I loved this "album" of Emmylou's since I bought it years ago on tape. I wore the tape out and just had to replace it. You can never go wrong with Emmylou Harris.
February 17, 2007Outstanding-the best of Emmylou Harris. Hauting melodies and wonderful lyrics beautifully sung. Amust for anyone who is a fan or who wants a great introduction to a great performer.
January 3, 2007 |  | The Sopranos led me to Bluebird... |  |
One of her songs played on the first episode of season five. I was hooked, I purchased the CD for the song "Heaven only Knows" and was not disappointed in the least. Instead, I gained a favorite new artist who's voice is beautiful- words cannot describe it and who's songs are utterly gorgeous, sometimes sad but always lovely. I plan to collect all of her albums and continue falling in love with Emmylou Harris's wonderful and unique style of music.
November 9, 2006If one were to ask most people, not to mention professional critics, what their favorite few Emmylou CD's were, I suspect this one would rarely make the list (I could be wrong, of course). But I were forced to take only one of them to a desert island with me, this one would no doubt be it. Why? Is it because its purely musical virtues surpass those of her other CD's? No, although I'd definitely say that it's the near equal of her best in that regard. What it's really about is an atmosphere, a spirit-- ethereal but with a breathing human heart-- that suffuses this body of songs from beginning to end, accompanied by a resonant fullness that echoes in one's depths long after the music has concluded.
Speaking of conclusions, the title track at the end of this CD, Butch Hancock's already fine "Bluebird", undergoes an outright musical and spiritual transsubstantiation in the hands of Emmylou and her band. Its instrumental coda is especially unforgettable, releasing the song and this entire body of music into blue infinity-- like a bird soaring into a desert mountain sky, crossing invisible thresholds and leaving the world of time and events far behind ...
April 29, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
