First, the best. Next week, the rest. This week, I’m presenting my top nugget from ’06. If you missed this gem when it came out in April, give it a look.
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris: All the Roadrunning
When the soaring title song from “All the Roadrunning” was released on a Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler compilation last year, fans got a taste of the magic this duo was capable of. The main course, a full length CD released in April, is as tasty as the appetiser. This is my early candidate for best-in-show — the most consistently satisfying release of the year.
Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris aren’t married, but on record you could mistake them for George and Tammy. Knopfler, born in Glascow, and Harris, Alabama, should be worlds apart, but, musically, they’re a perfect match. His subdued baritone and her sweet soprano ring in sympathy — not mathematically congruent, but perfect complements.
This is quintessential roots music, combining country, folk, bluegrass, and celtic styles to wonderful effect. The CD features 12 quality, original compositions — ten by Knopfler, two by Harris — that are lighthearted on the surface, but lyrically cut much deeper. Emmylou Harris and Kimmie Rhodes contribute the beautiful “Love and Happiness,” a moving prayer for a child; and Knopfler flaunts his introspective side, his characters given to examining their lives in songs like “Donkey Town,” “Rollin’ On,” and “All the Roadrunning.” The artists’ collective life experiences pour from the grooves.
Other cuts vividly portray the blissful highs of newfound love (“This Is Us,” “Beyond My Wildest Dreams,” “Belle Starr”) and the pain of parting (“Beachcombing,” “Right Now,” “If This is Goodbye”). The haunting melancholy of “If This is Goodbye” is deepened when you learn it was inspired by 911 victims’ last phone calls from the towers.
If you like Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball, this is a worthy companion; if you like Mark Knopfler’s trademark fingerpicking, you’ll find it here; if you want the best CD of the year, this is it (so far).
This album lives up to the hype.
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