Harris offers her second consecutive album of original material and is joined by such guests as Linda Ronstadt, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Gillian Welch, and Jane Siberry. Newsweek declares, “Her stellar voice takes on new depth when tied to songs this personal.”
“Behind the air of fragility is the serene confidence of a singer who knows the power of reticence to draw a listener closer. Ms. Harris’s voice inhabits her songs like a wraith, intangible but omnipresent.” —New York Times
Eleven-time Grammy-winner and Billboard Century Award–recipient Emmylou Harris, long known for her legendary singing voice, is now emerging as a songwriter of distinction. Harris’s highly anticipated Stumble into Grace is her second consecutive record (and only the third in her celebrated career) composed almost entirely of songs she has written or co-written.
Stumble into Grace follows Harris’s critically acclaimed Nonesuch debut, Red Dirt Girl (2000), which won a Grammy Award and was the artist’s best-selling album in 20 years. That record was only the second one for which she had written the lion’s share of the songs (the first was 1985’s Ballad of Sally Rose).
Stumble into Grace was produced by Malcolm Burn, as was Red Dirt Girl. Like its predecessor and 1995’s Wrecking Ball, which was engineered and mixed by Burn, Stumble into Grace shows Harris working in a sonic landscape far removed from the more traditional sound of her 1970s and '80s recordings—with her sophisticated songwriting adding an additional dimension to the music. As Newsweek says, “Her stellar voice takes on new depth when tied to songs this personal.”
Harris’s personal history is inscribed in Stumble into Grace via the participation of female artists from within her vital musical community. Longtime collaborator and friend Linda Ronstadt sings on “Strong Hand,” which is dedicated to the late June Carter Cash. Kate and Anna McGarrigle co-wrote “Little Bird,” as well as the traditional “Plaisir d’Amour”—and also join in on both songs’ vocals—in a reciprocation of Harris’s contribution to their celebrated album, The McGarrigle Hour. “I Will Dream” features Jane Siberry, who also sings on “Lost Unto This World.” Julie Miller sang on “Here I Am,” and Jill Cuniff of Luscious Jackson co-wrote “Time in Babylon.”
Shortly after the release of Stumble into Grace, Emmylou Harris participated in a cross-venue Carnegie Hall festival, for which she curated four concerts in the new, intimate Zankel Hall. The Zankel performances featured Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Buddy and Julie Miller; the mini-festival culminated with Harris’s own performance in Carnegie's main stage, Stern Auditorium.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Malcolm Burn
Recorded by Josh Muncy, Joe West and Todd Vos with assistant engineering/documentation by Dean Norman
Recorded February-June 2003 at Le Maison Bleu Studio, Kingston, NY; Masterlink Studio, Sound Emporium and Ocean Way Studios, Nashville, TN
Assisted by Chris Scherbak and Brando Marius at Masterlink and Rob Clark at Ocean Way
Mixed by Malcolm Burn with Josh Muncy at Sound Emporium, except track 5 mixed in Freda’s house, Deep River, Ontario
Mastered by Greg Calbi, Sterling Sound, New York, NY (Greg, we trust your ears!!)
Production Coordination by Kathi Whitley
Design by Barbara deWilde
Photography by Veronique Rolland
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MUSICIANS
Emmylou Harris, vocals (1-11), backing vocals (1, 2, 6, 7, 11), acoustic guitar (1-5, 8-11), 6-string bass guitar (6)
Tony Hall, bass (1, 3-5, 7, 10, 11), guitar (1)
Brady Blade, drums (1, 3, 4, 7, 11), percussion (3, 7, 10), backing vocals (7)
Ethan Johns, electric guitar (4, 5), drums (1, 4, 5, 11)
Julie Miller, backing vocals (1, 7, 11)
Malcolm Burn, backing vocals (4, 5, 10) , electric guitar (2) , bass (2) , piano (2, 3) , B2 organ (10, 11), Fender Rhodes (5, 11) , percussion (5) , harmonica (5) ,whistling (3), churanga (3) , various (1, 7, 8), arrangement (6)
Jane Siberry, backing vocals (2, 4, 5, 10)
Buddy Miller, acoustic guitar (3, 11), electric guitar (3-5, 7, 11)
Kate McGarrigle, backing vocals (3, 9, 11), acoustic guitar (9), violin (9), accordion (3, 8)
Anna McGarrigle, backing vocals (3, 8, 9), accordion (9)
Daryl Johnson, backing vocals (5, 7), bass (5, 11), drums (7), percussion (4, 5)
Daniel Lanois, backing vocals (5, 7, 10), pedal steel guitar (5), electric orchestra (10)
Bernie Leadon, electric guitar (5)
Linda Ronstadt, backing vocals (6)
Kevin Salem, electric guitar (6, 10)
Colin Linden, electric guitar (7)
Gillian Welch, backing vocals, Tony Hall, backing vocals (7)
Jill Cunniff, backing vocals (8)