FFWD Weekly
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CD Reviews by Ian Chiclo EMMYLOU HARRIS Red Dirt Girl Nonesuch WILLIE NELSON Milk Cow Blues Island · Two country legends step out of the shadow of producer Daniel Lanois. Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson both employed Daniel Lanois to produce their last records (1995’s Wrecking Ball and 1998’s Teatro, respectively). At the time it appeared as though the Canadian producer – who shot to super stardom developing his lush, echoing spaces for the likes of U2 – had guided each of the legends to new heights. Both artists have since parted company with Lanois. Harris, who called on the services of Lanois’s longtime studio mate Malcolm Burn, has put together a record of mostly her own songs which, on the surface, sounds very much like Wrecking Ball. Nelson, on the other hand, covers classic songs from the American blues catalogue (including a few of his own) using slick producers and a house full of guests that include Keb Mo, Francine Reed, Dr. John and Johnny Lang. And in a textbook case of irony, both records stumble for opposite reasons. Red Dirt Girl is, simply put, a lesser collection of songs than Wrecking Ball. The production is great, Harris’s singing is fantastic, but the songs pale in comparison to the previous material. Nelson, whose selection of songs can’t be faulted, has created an enjoyable record produced by Freddy Fletcher and Derek O’Brien with medical gauze sterility – something that is best avoided when recording a blues record. In the end, one producer (Burn) saves some mediocre songs, while two others dilute some classics. 3/5

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