Emmylou Harris “Luxury Liner”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#205 in the Series) is Emmylou Harris, Luxury Liner.
This album was released during the peak of Emmylou’s ‘Hot Band’ era. They were Hank DeVito (pedal steel), James Burton (electric guitar), Rodney Crowell (acoustic + electric guitar), Emory Gordy, Jr. (bass), John Ware (drums) and one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Albert Lee (electric guitar).
All of those musicians went on to marvelous careers. I’ve made it a project to find some videos from this era to attach below. Be sure to give them some play.
The highest charting hit here was Emmylou’s rendition of Chuck Berry’s ‘You Never Can Tell (C’est la Vie).’ She also covered two songs either written or co-written by her old partner Gram Parsons. Those would be ‘She’ and the title cut, ‘Luxury Liner’.
Other highlights included the country classic, ‘Pancho and Lefty’ and two Rodney Crowell numbers, ‘You’re Supposed to Be Feeling Good’ and ‘Tulsa Queen’.
Luxury Liner, 1977, was produced by Brian Ahern. It peaked at #1 on The Billboard Country Album chart and #21 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart.
You Never Can Tell (C’est la Vie) peaked at #6 on the Billboard Country Singles chart.
OFFICIAL EMMYLOU HARRIS WEBSITE: www.emmylouharris.com
Track Listing
Side one
- “Luxury Liner” (Gram Parsons) – 3:41
- “Pancho and Lefty” (Townes Van Zandt) – 4:50
- “Making Believe” (Jimmy Work) – 3:37
- “You’re Supposed to Be Feeling Good” (Rodney Crowell) – 4:01
- “I’ll Be Your San Antone Rose” (Susanna Clark) – 3:43
Side two
- “(You Never Can Tell) C’est la Vie” (Chuck Berry) – 3:27
- “When I Stop Dreaming” (Ira Louvin/Charlie Louvin) – 3:15
- “Hello Stranger” [with Nicolette Larson] (A.P. Carter) – 3:59
- “She” (Gram Parsons/Chris Ethridge) – 3:15
- “Tulsa Queen” (Emmylou Harris/Rodney Crowell) – 4:47
Personnel
- Brian Ahern: Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Finger-Style Acoustic Guitar
- Mike Auldridge: Dobro
- Dianne Brooks: Backing Vocals
- James Burton: Electric Guitar
- Rodney Crowell: Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, High-Strung Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Rick Cunha: Acoustic Guitar
- Hank DeVito: Pedal Steel
- Emory Gordy, Jr.: Bass
- Glen D. Hardin: Piano, Electric Piano, String Arrangements
- Emmylou Harris: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
- Nicolette Larson: Duet Vocals
- Albert Lee: Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals
- Dolly Parton: Backing Vocals
- Herb Pedersen: Backing Vocals
- Mickey Raphael: Harmonica, Bass Harmonica
- Ricky Skaggs: Fiddle, Mandolin
- Fayssoux Starling: Backing Vocals
- John Ware: Drums
BONUS VIDEO: Elvis Costello joins Emmylou on her classic, ‘Love Hurts.’
I loved happening across this page. John Ware is now drumming for Reckless Red in Denver, and all these old videos just make me grin.
I had never been “into” any other artist until Emmylou; I first heard her in ’75. I had previously been a fan of lots of “folk/rock/some country” but Emmylou with Pieces of the Sky, Elite Hotel and then oh my gosh Lux Liner…that was it, I was a fan for life…our record store (Dingleberry’s in Centerville, Ohio) had a giant live size poster of Luxury Liner in the new section they built the year it came out, I guess it’s in some owner’s house I was told now….I saw her and met her the first time at the Palace Theatre downtown in Cinci, she was 6 months pregnant! But still rocking it out…Rodney Crowell and I swear, unless my mind is playing tricks on me, Ricky Skaggs was with her…Frank and John Ware and Albert Lee, but I don’t remember if Barry Tashian was there, I believe Emory Gordy Jr. was there….it’s funny to think back that far…there was a girl and she and I and our boyfrirends were standing at the back of the building…at a stage door waiting…she had recorded Emmylou with a cassette tape and just the 4 of us, waited…and then Brian Ahern appeared, and so did Emmylou…under this stark dim overhead back door light…I wanted her to sign my tickets, and Brian whips out a nice 8 x 10 glossy…and a pen…and Emmylou was abliged to christen the picture with her sig., she loaded into a gold mercedes…and away she went…dazzled us from begining to end…I’m really sorry to the guy whom she cancelled on…hope you got to see her again…know the feeling…not a good one…I’m sure left a bad taste all your life…Artists have such an influence on us…