album rating: ★★★★☆
a) Genre
Country rock / Country / Folk country / Americana. Pieces of the Sky is Emmylou Harris's second studio album and her major-label debut, and is widely regarded as the album that both launched her career and established the artistic template she would follow through her peak years. It is an eclectic selection of covers spanning bluegrass and country (the Louvin Brothers' 'If I Could Only Win Your Love'; Merle Haggard's 'The Bottle Let Me Down'; Boudleaux and Felice Bryant's 'Sleepless Nights'), pop ('For No One' by Lennon and McCartney; Shel Silverstein's 'Queen of the Silver Dollar'), contemporary country (Dolly Parton's 'Coat of Many Colors'; Billy Sherrill's 'Too Far Gone'), and the album's only original composition: Harris's achingly beautiful 'Boulder to Birmingham', a tribute to her recently deceased mentor Gram Parsons, co-written with Bill Danoff.
b) Release
Original US release: Reprise Records (7 February 1975; catalogue MS-2213 / MSK-2284, stereo LP), phonographic copyright Warner Bros. Records Inc. A UK edition was also released on Reprise. A Canadian edition was pressed by WEA Music of Canada. A 2004 remastered CD edition (Rhino/Warner Bros.) presented the original ten tracks in remastered form with two previously unreleased bonus tracks from the original sessions: 'Hank and Lefty' and 'California Cottonfields'. The album was originally issued as Reprise MS-2213 at catalogue release, then reissued as MSK-2284. Track credits from the Sessiondays/Discogs sources: track 2 ('Too Far Gone') was also issued as Reprise single RPS-1326 (edit/remix, 26 February 1975), which reached number 73 on the Country chart; reissued as Warner Bros. WBS-8732 (10 January 1979), which reached number 13. Track 3 ('If I Could Only Win Your Love') was issued as Reprise single RPS-1332 (4 June 1975), reaching number 4 on the Country chart and number 58 pop. String arrangements: Glen Hardin (track 2) and Nick DeCaro (tracks 4 and 9). Design and photography by Tom Wilkes; illustrations by Lisa Phillips. The album is included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
c) Production
Produced and engineered by Brian Ahern. Ahern (born 1946, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) was a Canadian musician and producer who had previously built his production reputation with Anne Murray's country-pop recordings. He was assigned to the Harris project by Reprise A&R executive Mary Martin, and it was the first collaboration between them; their partnership would produce eleven albums in total and result in their marriage in 1977 (they divorced in 1984). Ahern's production style for Harris emphasised her voice's crystalline purity above all else, deploying the musicians — including some of the finest session players in the US — with restraint and precision. He also brought Rodney Crowell into the Harris creative circle, having recently signed Crowell to a publishing deal, and it was through Ahern's tape of potential tracks that Harris first heard Crowell's 'Bluebird Wine', the album's opening song. Additional engineering: Chris Skene, Fran Tate, Paul Skene, Stuart Taylor. Key musicians: James Burton (guitar — Elvis Presley's TCB Band lead guitarist), Glen D. Hardin (piano — another TCB Band member), Bernie Leadon (banjo — then a founding member of the Eagles), Byron Berline (fiddle), Herb Pedersen (harmony vocals on 'If I Could Only Win Your Love'), and Linda Ronstadt (harmony vocals on 'Queen of the Silver Dollar').
d) Recording
Recorded and mixed in the Enactron Truck — Ahern's private mobile recording studio — parked at a location in Beverly Hills, California, USA (the Sessiondays credit reads 'Recorded & Mixed in The Enactron Truck, Beverly Hills, CA'). One track — 'Queen of the Silver Dollar' (track 10) — was recorded separately at Track Recorders, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
e) Reception
Pieces of the Sky was Emmylou Harris's commercial and artistic breakthrough. It rose to number 7 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 45 on the Billboard 200, and was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA — making it her most commercially successful solo album by units sold over the long term (the Americana-uk.com review notes it 'has gone on to receive two platinum discs for record sales'). Its first single, 'Too Far Gone' (number 73 Country), had a modest chart performance; 'If I Could Only Win Your Love' was an immediate top-10 country hit, reaching number 4. The duet single with Herb Pedersen on 'If I Could Only Win Your Love' was nominated for the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 18th Grammy Awards (1976). AllMusic's Mark Deming awarded it 4.5 out of 5 stars in a 2004 review, calling it 'a cornerstone of country-rock' that 'established the blueprint for her future albums.' Robert Christgau awarded a B+ in his Village Voice consumer guide, praising its 'elegant simplicity' and Harris's 'tasteful selection of material'. Modern critics have consistently emphasised the album's historical significance in advancing women's voices in country music and its role as a forerunner of the Americana genre. A Discogs reviewer captures the spirit: 'Brian Ahern parked his Enactron Truck in the driveway and decided to record the sound of a heart breaking in the most expensive way possible.' The album is included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and was cited in the 2015 all-star tribute concert The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born 2 April 1947, Birmingham, Alabama, USA) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and activist, one of the most celebrated and influential figures in the history of country and Americana music. She grew up on military bases (her father was a Marine officer) across the Eastern United States and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in drama. She moved to New York to pursue a folk singing career, then to Washington D.C., where she was performing locally when she was discovered by Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman, who recommended her to Gram Parsons. Her 1971–1973 collaboration with Parsons transformed her musical direction toward country and Cosmic American Music; she sang on his two solo albums GP (1973) and Grievous Angel (1974). Parsons's death in September 1973 was a profound loss that shaped her earliest solo work, including the album-opening 'Boulder to Birmingham'. Reprise Records signed her to their roster — Parsons's own label — and assigned Brian Ahern as her producer. Pieces of the Sky (1975) launched her career; Elite Hotel (1975) reached number 1 on the country chart. She assembled a celebrated road band known as the Hot Band (including at various times James Burton, Rodney Crowell, Ricky Skaggs, and Albert Lee). She has since released over 30 studio albums, including the Trio albums with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton (Grammy winners), Wrecking Ball (1995, produced by Daniel Lanois; Grammy winner), Red Dirt Girl (2000; Grammy winner), and Old Yellow Moon (2013, with Rodney Crowell; Grammy winner). She has received 14 Grammy Awards in total. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. She has been a passionate advocate for prison reform, veterans' welfare, and the prevention of landmines. She co-founded Bonaparte's Retreat, a dog rescue organisation in Nashville.
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