Emmylou Harris And The Nash Ramblers

★★★★

Ramble In Music City: The Lost Concert

NONESUCH. CD/DL/LP

Unearthed after 30 years, her first Nashville show with five-man bluegrass band. A year and a half before At The Ryman (1992) – their famed livein-Nashville double album – Emmylou and her new band played another Music City show, also recorded, but left to gather dust on a shelf. This Tennessee Performing Arts Centre show turns out to be as good if not better than the Grammywinning Ryman one – and with a longer and entirely different setlist. The 23 songs include churchy traditionals (Green Pastures), Outlaw Country (Even Cowgirls Get The Blues; If I Needed You) and pop and folk rock covers (Save The Last Dance For Me; The Boxer) filtered through spirited, road-honed, note-perfect bluegrass. There’s not a bad track here – unless you dislike flying-fingered instrumentals or prefer to hear Harris’s voice without a male harmony – and a slew of highlights like Sweet Dreams, heartbreaking Boulder To Birmingham and stunning Wayfaring Stranger, her voice both fragile and powerful.