Emmylou Harris Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town CD

Includes two previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Emmylou Harris & The Hot Band: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Rodney Crowell (acoustic guitar); Albert Lee (electric guitar); Hank DeVito (pedal steel guitar); Glen D. Hardin (piano); Emory Gordy (bass); John Ware (drums).
Additional personnel: Willie Nelson (vocals); Brian Ahern, James Burton (guitar); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Ricky Skaggs (fiddle, viola); Rick Danko (fiddle); Garth Hudson (baritone saxophone, accordion); Fayssoux Starling, Nicolette Larson, Diane Brooks (background vocals).
Recorded at the Enactron Truck, Beverly Hills, California. Originally released on Warner Bros. (3141).
Personnel: Emmylou Harris (acoustic guitar); Albert Lee (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, piano); Rodney Crowell (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Brian Ahern (acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, gut-string guitar, percussion); James Burton, Frank Reckard (electric guitar); Steve Fishell (steel guitar); Ricky Skaggs (fiddle, viola); Rick Danko (fiddle, background vocals); Wayne Goodwin (fiddle); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Garth Hudson (accordion, baritone saxophone); Barry Tashian (accordion, background vocals); Glen D. Hardin (piano, electric piano); John Ware (drums, percussion); Dianne Brooks, Nicolette Larson (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Doug Beal; Brian Ahern.
Recording information: Enactron Truck, Beverly Hills, CA (1978).
Photographers: Ed Thrasher; Alan Messer.
Arranger: Brian Ahern.
Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town is a transitional effort that bridges the curveballs of Emmylou Harris' earliest solo work with the more traditional country albums that comprise the bulk of the second phase of her career. For the first time, she covers no Gram Parsons tunes or pop music chestnuts, relying instead on newly exited Hot Band member Rodney Crowell for two songs ("Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" and "I Ain't Living Long Like This") and Dolly Parton for another (the devastating "To Daddy"); the highlight is a gorgeous cover of Jesse Winchester's "Defying Gravity." ~ Jason Ankeny
All of Emmylou Harris' albums from the '70s and early '80s are flawless gems. But if there is one that rises above the others, then QUARTER MOON IN A TEN CENT TOWN is that album. From song selection to performance and production, MOON is the perfect distillation of Harris' remarkable work during this period. A wonderful duet with Willie Nelson ("One Paper Kid") and guest appearances from Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and harmonica wizard Mickey Raphael are what puts this album over the top.
At the time of MOON's release, Harris sat atop the country world. She was the genre's most widely respected artist and one of its most popular personalities. Not surprisingly, MOON yielded three hits: Delbert McClinton's rocking "Two More Bottles of Wine," Carlene Carter's "Easy from Now On," and "To Daddy," Dolly Parton's chilling evocation of a loveless marriage. Other standout tracks include "Defying Gravity," "Green Rolling Hills," and the Cajun-inflected "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight." But every track on this 1978 classic is a hands-down winner.
1978's Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town was Emmylou Harris' first deliberate swing for the country music charts -- though she had been there steadily since 1975. Unlike her previous outings, she left pop songs off the record, and for the first time, she released an album without any songs by Gram Parsons in the deck. There are no left turns at all, but that hardly matters because as far as consistency goes, this one delivers in spades, and it's a knockout. Rodney Crowell had left the Hot Band by this time, but he nonetheless contributes two solid cuts here: in the now-classic "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" and his anthem, "I Ain't Living Long Like This." Harris also covers Delbert McClinton's roadhouse standard "Two More Bottles of Wine," Dolly Parton's classic weeper "To Daddy," and a pair oEntertainment Weekly (2/27/04, p.99) - "[Transcends] distinctions between traditional and pop country music..." - Rating: B+
Uncut (4/04, p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[A]rguably the closest assimilation of Gram's country/soul idyll..."