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Stumble into Grace

 
Album Review: Stumble into Grace

  • Artist: Emmylou Harris
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: September 23, 2003
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Country

Review

There's something just the slightest bit comic about calling an Emmylou Harris album Stumble into Grace. While Harris has always sounded as if both earthly and spiritual grace were created with her in mind, when she sings, it seems she can no more stumble than a dolphin can be taught to walk on dry land. Stumble into Grace finds Harris following in the same creative path she began to pursue with Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl, which is to say that the influence of her country-influenced material is more felt than heard as she dips her toes into the spectral and atmospheric accents of folk, indie pop, and world music. While Harris has long been just as interested in nuance and blank spaces as the notes of her songs, producer Malcolm Burn (who also collaborated with her on Red Dirt Girl) knows what to make of the purposefully spare surfaces of these new songs (which, again, like Red Dirt Girl, were, for the most part, written by Harris herself), and the results are splendid. Part of the revelation of Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl was hearing Harris moving in a startling new direction, and while Stumble into Grace seems less novel in the context of its immediate predecessors, the bitter clarity of "Time in Babylon," the gentle but energetic textures of "Little Bird," and the funky shuffle of "Jupiter Rising" confirm that she hasn't run out of new avenues to explore. After three decades as a world-class talent, what's most heartening is that Harris is not only making some of the finest music of her career at a time when many artists would be treading water, but she's delightfully confounding expectations at the same time. Stumble into Grace shows she's still playing at the top of her game. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Here I Am (Lyrics) Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (3:48)
I Will Dream (Lyrics) Anna McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Kate McGarrigle Emmylou Harris (5:02)
Little Bird (Lyrics) Kate McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Anna McGarrigle Emmylou Harris (3:14)
Time in Babylon (Lyrics) Jill Cunniff, Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (4:37)
Can You Hear Me Now (Lyrics) Emmylou Harris, Malcolm Burn Emmylou Harris (5:36)
Strong Hand (Just One Miracle) Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (3:16)
Jupiter Rising (Lyrics) Paul Kennerley, Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (3:03)
O Evangeline (Lyrics) Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (5:41)
Plaisir d'Amour (Lyrics) Traditional Emmylou Harris (2:22)
Lost Unto This World (Lyrics) Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (4:36)
Cup of Kindness (Lyrics) Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (3:55)

Credits

Malcolm Burn (Churango), Malcolm Burn (Vocals (Background)), Dean Norman (Assistant Engineer), Daniel Lanois (Pedal Steel), Malcolm Burn (Fender Rhodes), Emmylou Harris (Arranger), Malcolm Burn (Percussion), Veronique Rolland (Photography), Darryl Johnson (Drums), Buddy Miller (Guitar (Electric)), Malcolm Burn (Harmonica), Malcolm Burn (Mixing), Rev. Brady Blade (Vocals (Background)), Ethan Johns (Guitar (Electric)), Kathi Whitley (Production Coordination), Gillian Welch (Vocals (Background)), Kate McGarrigle (Accordion), Todd Vos (Engineer), Kate McGarrigle (Arranger), Malcolm Burn (Arranger), Darryl Johnson (Bass), Kate McGarrigle (Violin), Darryl Johnson (Vocals (Background)), Kate McGarrigle (Guitar (Acoustic)), Josh Muncy (Engineer), Malcolm Burn (Liner Notes), Malcolm Burn (Producer), Julie Miller (Vocals (Background)), Maria Verel (Hair Stylist), Josh Muncy (Mixing), Linda Ronstadt (Vocals (Background)), Dean Norman (Documentation), Anna McGarrigle (Vocals (Background)), Rev. Brady Blade (Percussion), Emmylou Harris (6-String Bass), Malcolm Burn (Whistle (Human)), Ethan Johns (Drums), Emmylou Harris (Vocals), Jane Siberry (Vocals (Background)), Chris Scherbak (Assistant), Malcolm Burn (Instrumentation), Colin Linden (Guitar (Electric)), Emmylou Harris (Guitar (Acoustic)), Emmylou Harris (Vocals (Background)), Malcolm Burn (Bass), Bernie Leadon (Guitar (Electric)), Greg Calbi (Mastering), Kevin Salem (Guitar (Electric)), Tina Zelinski (Stylist), Malcolm Burn (Guitar (Electric)), Darryl Johnson (Percussion), Barbara de Wilde (Design), Joe West (Engineer), Kate McGarrigle (Vocals (Background)), Malcolm Burn (Organ (Hammond)), Brando Marius (Assistant), Bert Meadows (Photo Assistance), Daniel Lanois (Orchestra), Buddy Miller (Guitar (Acoustic)), Anna McGarrigle (Arranger), Rev. Brady Blade (Drums), Malcolm Burn (Piano), Daniel Lanois (Vocals (Background)), Rob Clark (Assistant)
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Wikipedia: Stumble into Grace
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Stumble into Grace
Studio album by Emmylou Harris
Released September 23, 2003
Recorded February-June 2003, Kingston, NY and Nashville, TN
Genre Country, Pop
Length 45:16
Label Nonesuch Records
Producer Malcolm Burn
Professional reviews
Emmylou Harris chronology
Red Dirt Girl
(2000)
Stumble into Grace
(2003)
All the Roadrunning
(2006)

Stumble into Grace is the 20th major label studio album from Emmylou Harris, which peaked at #6 on the Billboard country albums chart.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Emmylou Harris; except where indicated

  1. "Here I Am" – 3:47
  2. "I Will Dream" (Harris, Kate McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle) – 5:00
  3. "Little Bird" (Harris, Kate McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle) – 3:14
  4. "Time in Babylon" (Harris, Jill Cunniff) – 4:37
  5. "Can You Hear Me Now" (Harris, Malcolm Burn) – 5:37
  6. "Strong Hand" – 3:16
  7. "Jupiter Rising" (Harris, Paul Kennerley) – 3:03
  8. "O Evangeline" – 5:41
  9. "Plaisir d'Amour" (Traditional) – 2:22
  10. "Lost Unto This World" (Harris, Daniel Lanois) – 4:34
  11. "Cup of Kindness" – 3:55

Personnel


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Stumble into Grace" Read more