Emmylou Harris - Brand New Dance

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. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Name Credits Allen Reynolds Producer Barry Tashian Vocal Harmony Bob Wray Bass Bobby Wood Keyboards, Piano, Piano (Electric), Organ Bruce Bouton Guitar (Steel) Carl Gorodetzky Strings Charles Cochran String Arrangements Chris Leuzinger Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Acoustic) Cindy Reynolds Wyatt Harp Claire Lynch Vocal Harmony Connie Ellisor Strings Dave Pomeroy Bass Davy Spillane Uillean Pipes, Whistle (Human) Dennis Molchan Strings Denny Purcell Mastering Emmylou Harris Guitar (Acoustic), Vocal Harmony, Vocals Garry Tallent Bass Gary VanOsdale Strings Glenn Worf Bass Harry Stinson Drums Iris DeMent Vocal Harmony James Hollihan, Jr. ?, Slide Guitar Jamie O'Hara Vocal Harmony Jim Grosjean Strings Jo-El Sonnier French Accordian, Triangle John Jarvis Piano Kathy Chiavola Vocal Harmony Kenny Malone Drums, Percussion Kieran Kane Vocal Harmony Kostas Vocal Harmony Kristin Wilkinson Strings Laura LiPuma Art Direction, Design Laura Molyneaux Strings Lee Larrison Strings Liam O'Flynn Whistle (Human), Uillean Pipes Mark Miller Mixing, Engineer Mark Tanner Strings Marshall Chapman Vocal Harmony Mary Black Vocal Harmony Melba Montgomery Vocal Harmony Milton Sledge Percussion, Drums Nashville String Machine Group, Strings Pamela Sixfin Strings Pete Wasner Piano Peter Gorisch Cello Peter Nash Photography Richard Bennett Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin, Producer, Tambourine, Guitar (Electric), 6-String Bass, Guitar, Bass Robert Mason Strings Roy M. "Junior" Husky Bass Stuart Duncan Mandolin, Fiddle Ted Madsen Strings Wayland Patton Vocal Harmony