Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris Go West
Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris shine in first full-length show
Just a few months after releasing the Trio II album with Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris are on the road supporting "Duo I," or, more properly, Western Wall, The Tucson Sessions. Too much too soon? Not at all. The studio-only Trio aggregation proffers safe, pleasant country-flavored music. Without Parton, Ronstadt and Harris stomp their way through a cross section of modern pop that feels familiar without sounding redundant.
These two fifty-something songstresses have sung together in one form or another for nearly half their lives. Many of their contemporaries are still putting out different versions of the same album or reuniting to play the old stuff again, while the less fortunate finish up another season of playing the State Fairs. But Ronstadt and Harris are still at the top of their game. Few older performers could get away with playing a two-hour concert that emphasizes the new, especially when many so-called hits remain unplayed.
This night, at Portland, Oregon's Washington Park Rose Garden, was the band's first full-length show after a series of showcases and TV appearances; there were few complaints or requests from the crowd, no insistent screams for "You're No Good" or "Boulder to Birmingham." Perhaps this is because the new music is not completely unlike the old, yet different enough (the infectious "Sweet Spot") to jog the imagination. On songs made famous by one, the other would hold back for awhile, and then supply the right touch of harmony to drive it into a subtle, special realm.
As Ronstadt and Harris have grown, they have grown into fashion. They are not known as songwriters, and were anomalies in a time when it was better to write a bad song than cover a good one. Ronstadt's song selection was generally predictable until she took a left turn into a three-album collaboration with bandleader Nelson Riddle and another into Spanish music. If she lost a few fans along the way, she emerged as a far stronger singer -- evidenced tonight by her ability to hold the power notes.
Harris is an active musicologist who scours the planet for songs that can enhance her graceful, reedy voice. Her originals, though, are outstanding. "Raise the Dead," interesting enough on record, was propelled into another sphere by Buddy Miller's tambourine/bass drum attack and Ethan Johns' slide-driven squeals pushed out of an ancient Gibson Firebird. Here, Miller and Johns were playing each other's primary instruments. The other three band members -- Eagles founder Bernie Leadon, Greg Leisz and Wix ("He's so cool, he only needs one name," said Harris) -- swapped and switched about twenty-five different guitars, basses and mandolins, rarely holding the same lineup for two consecutive songs.
Near the end of the show's second half Ronstadt left the stage, allowing Harris to tear through a pair of her older songs. It was like letting a racehorse out of the gate for a few fast laps around the track. The encore was a soothing "High Sierra," a Trio II song that was not lacking without a third prominent voice. Though this dynamic duo may show their age visibly, they maintain a fresh outlook, rather than winding down, resting on their laurels and preparing for retirement. Ronstadt and Harris are in for the count, and sharing their sojourn on this particular peak is a treat.
CHARLES BERMANT