Two great voices, one terrific show

Longtime friends Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris collaborate amid the roses tonight

Monday, September 6, 1999

By John Foyston of The Oregonian staff

You probably know that Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt are great singers, but you'll be amazed anew by the unearthly purity and warmth of their voices combined on "Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions," and tonight at the Washington Park Rose Garden Amphitheater.

The sound of those voices in perfect unison on the last verses of "Loving the Highwayman" is likely to raise a fine crop of goosebumps, as will the exuberant harmonies of Emmylou's "Raise the Dead" or Jackson Browne's "For a Dancer." Each singer essays a couple of signature tunes -- glossy SoCal pop in Ronstadt's case, country laments in Emmylou's -- but neither stops at her perceived boundaries. Instead they collaborate on songs such as Sinead O'Connor's "This to Mother You," "Sisters of Mercy" by Leonard Cohen and Paul Kennerly's bittersweet waltz, "1917."

"Linda and I made the first 'Trio' record in 1993 with Dolly Parton," Emmylou Harris said in a recent telephone interview, "but we realized we could never handle the logistics and scheduling needed to get all three of us on the road touring together. Linda and I talked about recording and touring when I was working with Spyboy over the last couple of years. We talked about a duet record, though we both loved the trio -- that sound is so precious and beautiful and perfect for the traditional songs that we all love, but material is more limited. With two voices, we can delve into more eclectic material."

Their only limitation, in fact, was that both singers had to really like each song.

"I love working with Linda," Harris said, "because we get off on the some material -- I just can't get too weird for her. Maybe there was one song that I wanted to do that she thought could be misinterpreted. And I could see her point. We were both right in our own way, but we weren't going to put it out unless we both agreed -- there are just too many songs in the world that we both love."

That fact, coupled with their long friendship -- they met in 1973 at a little club in Houston and have been best friends ever since -- makes this album a low-key joy. It's a production, certainly -- this isn't Emmylou and Linda strumming guitars on the back porch -- but the album is refreshingly accessible. That's due in part to some tremendous players, such as guitarists Bernie Leadon, Andy Fairweather Low and Greg Leisz, Ethan Johns on drums and to guest stars such as Kate and Anna McGarrigle and Neil Young.

Legendary producer and engineer Glyn Johns is perhaps the major architect of the album's welcoming sound. "He's so wonderful to work with," she says. "He doesn't let you obsess about little mistakes because he believes in the sanctity of the live vocal. You could maybe convince him to let you re-record a line, but even then he wouldn't erase the first take, he'd just leave the original next to the new fixed track and mix it down a bit. And he mixes all by himself on an unautomated board -- it's like watching a mad scientist, or maybe a painter with his paints."

And what a rosy picture they've painted: Two artists who've continued to grow over long, respected careers and who feel no need to stick with something safer, such as greatest hits packages.

"We're not going away," Harris said. "We're lucky because the music was always first with us -- we never depended on being sex symbols, and luckily the voice is the last thing to go -- the voice and the legs, and we've still got both."

You can reach John Foyston at 503-221-8368 or by e-mail at johnfoyston@news.oregonian.com.