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| All I Intended to Be | 
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| Artist: Emmylou Harris
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $9.74
You Save: $9.24 (49%)
New (56) Used (11) from $8.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  85 reviews
Sales Rank: 114
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.7 x 0.2
MPN: 480444
UPC: 075597992854
EAN: 0075597992854
ASIN: B0017I1FNK
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED
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| Customer Reviews:
 Harris gives us heart and soul June 17, 2008
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
Though it may be unchivalrous to say so, "All I Intended to Be," Emmylou Harris' latest album, has all of the earmarks of a late-period work. Surely only an artist with as long and varied a career as Harris has had can adopt such a reflective stance on the experience of life. The thirteen songs mostly describe dark stages of their singers' lives: broken hearts, suicidal thoughts, failed relationships, and abandonment. Harris strives mightily, through the communicative power of her voice and the quality of the music and lyrics, not to make this album a downer.
I'm not sure she totally succeeds, but there's certainly a lot here that sticks in the heart and mind, especially as far as the songwriting is concerned. After the more eclectic sound explorations of her last few solo albums, Harris in "All I Intended to Be" comes full circle back to her roots, especially with work by "old five and dimers" such as Billy Joe Shaver and Merle Haggard included. "Broken Man's Lament," the tale of a man who pays the price for thwarting his wife's ambitions, has the inevitability of a classic folk ballad. "How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower," co-authored by Harris and the McGarrigles, similarly evokes the classic Carter Family tune and lyrics in describing another husband deserted by his neglected wife. Patty Griffin ("Moon Song"), Jude Johnstone ("Hold On"), Tracy Chapman and Jack Wesley Routh ("Shores of White Sand") contribute memorable tracks. "Don't be tempted by the shiny apple/Don't you eat of the bitter fruit...'Cause all that you have is your soul," admonishes Chapman in her song, and it seems Emmylou Harris has taken that advice to heart. Wherever she's gone with her music, it's been with her heart and soul.
 It's A New Emmylou Harris Album ! Any Questions? August 15, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I loved this CD.
As if there was any chance that I would not.
The reason that I gave it 4 stars
is because I am comparing it to her
other collections of songs released
over the decades, on the EH scale
if you will. Very few, if any, other
folk musicians can even qualify to
be rated on the EH scale.
I wasn't expecting a sort of return
to somewhat traditional Americanish
folk music,
but I'm not disappointed because
she is particularly good at that
whatever-you-call-it type music.
What am I saying ?!!! She's the best.
The truth is, after all this time,
one might as well call it
Emmylou Harris music. She owns it.
You will hear and like a number of songs
written by herself
and other great song writers.
And, as usual, she is accompanied
by the best of the best of musicians.
The cardboard packaging is pretty lame.
It's a new Emmylou Harris album!!!
Get it and listen to it alot!!!
Her "loss" is our gain June 18, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I've been an Emmylou fan since I was a young teen-ager and my mother bought me her Profiles I Best of album (yes, album). So I want to preface my review by stating upfront that I'm a fan and probably biased. That said, I do think this is a wonderful CD, well worth purchasing.
I do think that I personally prefer the production sound of her Wrecking Ball, Red Dirt Girl and Stumble in Grace CDs (what most reviewers have described as atmospheric, with world music influences, etc.) but that doesn't take away from the beauty and impact of the songs on this CD.
Yes, they are sad and full of regret and remorse. But this is Emmylou Harris folks. For my money, Emmylou's reputation as the "diva of loss" is our gain. No one sings these songs like she does. And nothing makes me happier than to listen to her sing them.
And as the Amazon reviewer said, despite darker subject matter (death, aging, loss, regrets) there is an uplifting feel to the CD. I think it's the paradox of the dark material in the hands of someone with such an angelic voice, but I also think there's a feeling of pulling up a chair and listening to someone older and wiser share hard-earned wisdom without self pity.
Is it country? Does it matter? Emmylou hasn't been welcome on country radio for a long time, even before Wrecking Ball. To be honest, I would like Emmylou to get airplay because I think she deserves it, but I wouldn't want her to change her style to get it.
It is more country, in my opinion, than the CDs I mentioned above, mainly for the production sound but also the material. Kern River still sounds as classic as it did in Merle Haggards' hands, and Emmylou's Gold and How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower both have a traditional flavor to them. Add Old Fiver and Dimers Like Me and Beyond the Great Divide and that's a lot for the tradionalists.
Personally, I don't care how you classify her music. I guess I'm one of those fans who likes whatever Emmylou does because I love her voice so much, and I respect her integrity.
Of her voice, one customer reviewer wrote that Emmylou was washed up and I felt compelled to respond to that before I even had received my CD. Now that I have, I can say without hesitation that she is not. This CD was recorded over a period of several years while she toured and did other projects. The fact that these songs are a bit gentler and delivered in a more delicate voice are a stylistic choice, it seems to me. If you've seen any of her recent youtube videos from performances as recent as last year or six months ago, you know that she can still exert some power on songs like Pancho and Lefty, Together Again and others when she needs to.
Has her voice changed? It would be a miracle if it hadn't. In my opinion though, the change in her voice is like the change in her appearance... maturity has only added a new element of beauty.
I know that there are times on this CD when her voice, described as cracked crystal by friend Linda Ronstadt, conveys emotion in a phrase or single word that I don't if anyone else could achieve, and that's only enhanced by the edgier sound that now complements the purity of her voice.
Her own song Not Enough is amazingly beautiful and moving to me, and it's a combination of her words and the aching delivery, especially on the refrain.
If I have any true critical remarks, it would be that the production seems a little heavy at times (slightly overshadowing the voices). On repeated listens, however, I have turned the volume up and found that does the trick. Also, I would somewhat agree with other reviewers who said the songs are all similar in tempo, but I disagree with the reviewer who said they all sound alike.
Those are two different things entirely. Similar in tempo yes, but Emmylou's delivery and the vocal and sound arrangements on the songs do vary. Shores of White Sound and Hold On have heavier production, while Moon Song, Not Enough and All That You Have is Your Soul are more spare.
To sum it up, I can't say that everyone will like this CD; some people seem to be either old Emmylou, or new Emmylou and this CD is a bit of a hybrid, not really either one. I guess when your tastes are as eclectic as Emmylou, you run the risk of not pleasing everyone.
Bottom line: the material is well-chosen and well-delivered and that's what makes it quintessential Emmylou. Turn the sound up and enjoy.
I love the voice of Emmy Lou Harris June 10, 2008
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is an excellent new album by EmmyLou Harris. My favorite track is "Kern River". This is a beautiful but sad song about the loss of a close friend in Kern River which is located in Bakersfield California. I also like the duet "Gold" with Dolly Parton. Those two voices sound so good together. "Old Five and Dimers Like Me" is another good duet. It features veteran country singer John Starling. This song is about standing by a loved one. The banjo playing by Kate McGarrigle is lovely here. "Hold On" is about the ups and downs in the course of a person's life. Vince Gill lends his talents singing back up vocals on this track. Emmylou's voice sounds so serene on the "Shores of White Sand". This is another one of my favorite tracks on this disc. "Sailing Around The Room" is a pretty song about the cycle of life and death. The acoustic guitar playing sounds so good on this track.
 Middle of the Road August 25, 2008
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
At least I can say it's not a bad album, but I'm not going so far to say it is a great disk either. It's no 'Wrecking Ball' or 'Red Dirt Girl'. Heck, it's not even a 'Cowgirl's Prayer'.
It seems when it was released a few months back, every reviewer heaped nothing but praise on it. That's hard to live up to. And in my opinion, it doesn't.
As expected, there is nothing wrong with Harris' voice - it is still crystalline and unique as always. And though it was recorded over a three year stretch with her ex-husband as producer, it still has decent flow and consistency. A little too much consistency, where to a point there seems to be little deviation in the song style.
Maybe it's the material. But whatever it is, it is just not firing on all cylinders for me.
That's not to say it is bad - as I said earlier. It's fine, but it doesn't have too many stand-outs and that is usually what I love about Emmylou - she has plenty of them. But compared to anything else out there, it's a very good disk, but compared to some of her other works, it is just very middle of the road.
As usual, I just purchased her without listening to it, as you usually get a quality disk. Technically it is - I was just expecting so much more.
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