Emmylou Harris Hard Bargain

Legendary country songstress Emmylou Harris is a busy woman. Her storied career has seen collaborations with artists from Willie Nelson and Gram Parsons to Ryan Adams and Bright Eyes. Emmylou’s back with her 21^st solo album Hard Bargain, which was recorded relatively quickly by the skeleton crew of Emmylou, multi-instrumentalist/producer Jay Joyce, and drummer/percussionist Giles Reaves. Hard Bargain is notable for mostly consisting of Harris’s own compositions, bolstered by covers of songs written by Ron Sexsmith, who penned the title track, and Jay Joyce, who contributed an original composition. Harris is the first to admit that handling the bulk of the songwriting wasn’t easy, but she found inspiration in all kinds of sources, from pets to historical figures to the host of colorful characters she’s met in her travels.

Abstract by Craig Jenkins