''Wrecking Ball'' is the eighteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 26, 1995, through Elektra Records. Moving away from her traditional acoustic sound, Harris collaborated with producer

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...

and engineer Mark Howard. The album has been noted for atmospheric feel, and featured guest performances by Steve Earle,

Larry Mullen Jr. Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr. (; born 31 October 1961) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band U2. Mullen was born in Dublin, where he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School. In 1976, he co-founded U2 ...

Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010. Music ...

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

, who wrote the title song.

Background

Though her choice of songs had always been eclectic, the album was regarded as a departure. Harris, at the age of 48, had become something of an elder stateswoman in country music. The album received nearly universal acclaim, making many critics' year-end "best of" lists, and pointed Harris' career in a somewhat different direction where she would incorporate a harder edge. As a career-redefining album, ''Wrecking Ball'' was compared to

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

's 1979 '' Broken English'' album and Johnny Cash's '' American Recordings''. ''Wrecking Ball'' won the 1996

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Contemporary Folk Recording.

Content

Harris covered

's song "Wrecking Ball", and the track includes harmonies by Young. Although the song was released by Harris as a 2-track CD single with

' "Sweet Old World", one reviewer did not consider the title track the high point on the album.''CD Review'' Volume 12, Issues 1-9 - Page 13 1995 "Wrecking Ball peaks not with the Neil Young-penned title cut (with its author singing harmony), but in the one-two punch of Lucinda Williams' "Sweet Old World" followed by Jimi Hendrix's "May This Be Love.".

Track listing

Personnel

* Emmylou Harris – vocals, acoustic guitar on 3 5 7 10 11 12, harmony vocals on 10 *

– mandolin on 1 2 3 5 8 10 11 12, electric guitar on 1 2 3 4 6 8 9 11 12, acoustic guitar on 2 7 11, bass on 1 3,

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

on 10, duet vocals on 1 9, chant vocals on 3, percussion on 4, bass pedals on 8 *

Malcolm Burn Malcolm Burn (born October 4, 1960) is a Canadian-born music producer, recording engineer and musician. Emmylou Harris's ''Red Dirt Girl'', produced by Burn, won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 2001 Grammys. Biography Born in Cornwall, Ont ...

– piano on 2 4 8 11 12,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

on 4 10 11, vibes on 4, organ on 5 7, synthesizer on 5, keyboards on 6, slide guitar on 8 12, bass on 11, drums on 11, harmony vocals on 11 *

– drums on 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 12, cymbal on 4,

hand drum A hand drum is any type of drum that is typically played with the bare hand rather than a stick, mallet, hammer, or other type of beater. Types The following descriptions allude to traditional versions of the drums. Modern synthetic versions are a ...

on 10 *Tony Hall – percussion, bass on 2 4 6 7 12, stick drum on 10 * Daryl Johnson – high harmony vocals on 1, tom tom on 1, drum kit bass pedals on 5, backing vocals on 5, harmonic bass on 6, harmony vocals on 10

Additional personnel

* Brian Blade – drums on 1, Indian hand drum on 5 * Steve Earle – acoustic guitar on 2 7 8 *Sam O'Sullivan – roto wheel on 4 *

– harmony vocals on 4 8, harmonica on 8 *Kufaru Mouton – extra percussion on 5 *

– acoustic guitar on 8 * Richard Bennett – tremolo guitar on 8 *

Anna McGarrigle Anna McGarrigle, CM (born December 4, 1944) is a Canadian folk music singer and songwriter who recorded and performed with her sister, Kate McGarrigle, who died in 2010. Early life Anna McGarrigle studied at the École des beaux-arts de Montré ...

– harmony vocals on 12 *

Kate McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010)Obituary at CBC ...

– harmony vocals on 12

Charts

References

{{Authority control Emmylou Harris albums 1995 albums Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album Albums produced by Daniel Lanois Elektra Records albums Covers albums Country folk albums