Wrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album)


Wrecking Ball is the eighteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 26, 1995 through Elektra Records. Moving away from her traditional acoustic sound, Harris collaborated with producer Daniel Lanois and engineer Mark Howard. The album has been noted for atmospheric feel, and featured guest performances by Steve Earle, Larry Mullen, Jr., Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Lucinda Williams and Neil Young, who wrote the title song.

Background

Though her choice of songs had always been eclectic, the album was regarded as a departure. Harris, at the age of 48, had become something of an elder stateswoman in country music. The album received nearly universal acclaim, making many critics' year-end "best of" lists, and pointed Harris' career in a somewhat different direction where she would incorporate a harder edge. As a career-redefining album, Wrecking Ball was compared to Marianne Faithfull's 1979 Broken English album and Johnny Cash's American Recordings. Wrecking Ball won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording.

Content

Harris covered Neil Young's song "Wrecking Ball", and the track includes harmonies by Young. Although the song was released by Harris as a 2-track CD single with Lucinda Williams' "Sweet Old World", reviewers did not consider the title track the high point on the album.

Track listing

Personnel

Album
YearChartPosition
1995Billboard 20094
1995UK Albums Chart46