Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris: Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions
I don't know what Dolly Parton did wrong, but her two pals of Trio fame have gone it alone for this fine collection. Ronstadt, the pin-up country-rock star of the 1970s, has found it harder going in the 1990s. Harris, on the other hand, has settled into the role of alternative country's elder stateswoman. Thus, it is no great surprise that it is Harris who starts out the more confident, stretching her deep country twang on a range of fine rootsy performances, not least of which is her own Raise the Dead, a dark tribute to her heroes. However, Ronstadt finds her voice on tracks like Jackson Browne's To A Dancer and Springsteen's Across the Border, while their duets, setting Harris's emotional style against Ronstadt's more plaintive tones, produces many tingling moments.
Joe Breen
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals: Burn To Shine
Harper is an odd but colourful fish. This American singer-songwriter's always passionate music covers such a wide spectrum of styles - soul, reggae, blues, folk, hard-edged rock, even early jazz - and subjects - spirituality, love life - that he defies simple classification. On this album, however, there is one consistency: almost all 12 tracks, notwithstanding the variation in mood and style, are stunning. Yet there is no elaborate dressing. J.P. Plunier's understated production lets the music and the playing shine on their own merits. The drama comes from Harper's intense vocals, from a whisper to a scream, and he and his band's intuitive understanding of just what is right musically. He is at his weakest when he is at his most flippant, but it is good to know he can smile as well as produce complex gems.
Joe Breen