Unlike most recording artists, whose profit-taking live albums simply
repeat their best-known material, Emmylou Harris approached her first
concert album Last Date as her next regular release, including only songs
she had not previously recorded. This meant that Last Date was another
in Harris' series of tasteful song selections mixing covers of traditional
country fare with country-styled interpretations of pop songs. One exception
to the usual bill of fare was that there were no newly written songs.
In their place, Harris harked back to her legendary association with country-pop
singer/songwriter Gram Parsons, using former Parsons associate Barry Tashian
in his place on four Parsons-related numbers. Beyond her commitment to
Parsons, Harris seemed determined to present a catholic interpretation
of country music, embracing the Nashville sound and acknowledging the
Bakersfield sound, looking to traditional country, trying out rockabilly,
and reviving the Everly Brothers' country-pop sound. The choices underscored
Harris' position as a student of country music earnestly reproducing all
of its forms, rather than an adherent of any particular contemporary school,
and this was reinforced by her usual sprinkling of pop material. Though
Last Date was in many ways a typical Harris disc, the added excitement
of playing the material live with the Hot Band gave the album extra kick.
Like its predecessor Cimarron, Last Date reached the country Top Ten and
the Top 100 of the pop charts, but did not sell well enough to go gold.
It represented the end of Harris' reign as a consistently successful commercial
entity; thereafter, she would struggle to sell records in significant
numbers.
(by William Ruhlmann , AMG) |