In 1990, Emmylou Harris' run of superb mid-'70s albums was over, and she hadn't yet assembled the Nash Ramblers, the acoustic band that gave her music a heady kick-start prior to her first striking collaboration with Daniel Lanois, Wrecking Ball.
As a result, Brand New Dance captures Harris at the end of one cycle and just before the start of another, and the material and production suggest Harris was ready for some changes.
Emmylou Harris probably couldn't make a truly bad album if she tried, and as always, she's in lovely voice on Brand New Dance, but she doesn't always sound especially engaged with the material, most of which falls into the "good-but-not-great" category (notable exceptions -- a strong cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Tougher Than the Rest" and the title cut).
In addition, producer Allen Reynolds puts a shade too much pop-friendly gloss on the arrangements and mix for several of these tunes, and despite the presence of a truly impressive team of accompanists, this album never quite catches fire as in Harris' best work.
Brand New Dance is a strong and professional piece of work, but Harris' next few albums would remind fans she was capable of a lot more than that.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wheels of Love | Emmylou Harris | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Tougher Than the RestBruce Springsteen | Emmylou Harris | Play | 05:01 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | In His WorldKostas, Leigh Reynolds | Emmylou Harris | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Sweet Dreams of YouJohn David, Paul Kennerley | Emmylou Harris | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Easy for You to SayJack Routh, Randy Sharp | Emmylou Harris | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Rollin' and Ramblin' (The Death of Hank Williams)Jerome Clark, Lynda Williams, Robin Williams | Emmylou Harris | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Better Off Without YouFontaine Brown, Marshall Chapman, Dennis Walker | Emmylou Harris | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Never Be Anyone Else But YouBaker Knight | Emmylou Harris | Play | 02:21 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Brand New DancePaul Kennerley | Emmylou Harris | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Red Red RoseDavid Mallett | Emmylou Harris | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 37 mins | 86 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Bennett | 6-String Bass, Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandolin, Producer, Tambourine |
| 2 | Mary Black | Guest Artist, Vocal Harmony |
| 3 | Bruce Bouton | Guitar (Steel) |
| 4 | Fontaine Brown | Composer |
| 5 | Marshall Chapman | Composer, Vocal Harmony |
| 6 | Kathy Chiavola | Vocal Harmony |
| 7 | Jerome Clark | Composer |
| 8 | Charles Cochran | String Arrangements |
| 9 | John David | Composer |
| 10 | Iris DeMent | Guest Artist, Vocal Harmony |
| 11 | Stuart Duncan | Fiddle, Mandolin |
| 12 | Connie Ellisor | Strings |
| 13 | Peter Gorisch | Cello |
| 14 | Carl Gorodetzky | Strings |
| 15 | Jim Grosjean | Strings |
| 16 | Emmylou Harris | Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist, Vocal Harmony, Vocals |
| 17 | James Hollihan, Jr. | Slide Guitar |
| 18 | Roy M. "Junior" Husky | Bass |
| 19 | John Jarvis | Piano |
| 20 | Kieran Kane | Vocal Harmony |
| 21 | Paul Kennerley | Composer |
| 22 | Baker Knight | Composer |
| 23 | Kostas | Composer, Vocal Harmony |
| 24 | Lee Larrison | Strings |
| 25 | Chris Leuzinger | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 26 | Laura LiPuma | Art Direction, Design |
| 27 | Claire Lynch | Vocal Harmony |
| 28 | Ted Madsen | Strings |
| 29 | David Mallett | Composer |
| 30 | Kenny Malone | Drums, Percussion |
| 31 | Robert Mason | Strings |
| 32 | Mark Miller | Engineer, Mixing |
| 33 | Dennis Molchan | Strings |
| 34 | Laura Molyneaux | Strings |
| 35 | Melba Montgomery | Vocal Harmony |
| 36 | Peter Nash | Photography |
| 37 | The Nashville String Machine | Group, Guest Artist, Strings |
| 38 | Liam O'Flynn | Uillean Pipes, Whistle (Human) |
| 39 | Jamie O'Hara | Vocal Harmony |
| 40 | The O'Kanes | Guest Artist |
| 41 | Wayland Patton | Vocal Harmony |
| 42 | Dave Pomeroy | Bass |
| 43 | Denny Purcell | Mastering |
| 44 | Allen Reynolds | Producer |
| 45 | Leigh Reynolds | Composer |
| 46 | Jack Routh | Composer |
| 47 | Randy Sharp | Composer |
| 48 | Pamela Sixfin | Strings |
| 49 | Milton Sledge | Drums, Percussion |
| 50 | Jo-El Sonnier | French Accordian, Guest Artist, Triangle |
| 51 | Davy Spillane | Uillean Pipes, Whistle (Human) |
| 52 | Bruce Springsteen | Composer |
| 53 | Harry Stinson | Drums |
| 54 | Garry Tallent | Bass |
| 55 | Mark Tanner | Strings |
| 56 | Barry Tashian | Vocal Harmony |
| 57 | Gary VanOsdale | Strings |
| 58 | Dennis Walker | Composer |
| 59 | Pete Wasner | Piano |
| 60 | Kristin Wilkinson | Strings |
| 61 | Lynda Williams | Composer |
| 62 | Robin Williams | Composer |
| 63 | Bobby Wood | Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric) |
| 64 | Glenn Worf | Bass |
| 65 | Bob Wray | Bass |
| 66 | Cindy Reynolds Wyatt | Harp |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |