Stumble into Grace

by Emmylou Harris

Overview

There's something just the slightest bit comic about calling an Emmylou Harris album Stumble into Grace. While Harris has always sounded as if both earthly and spiritual grace were created with her in mind, when she sings, it seems she can no more stumble than a dolphin can be taught to walk on dry land. Stumble into Grace finds Harris following in the same creative path she began to pursue with Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl, which is to say that the influence of her country-influenced material is more felt than heard as she dips her toes into the spectral and atmospheric accents of folk, indie pop, and world music. While Harris has long been just as interested in nuance and blank spaces as the notes of her songs, producer Malcolm Burn (who also collaborated with her on Red Dirt Girl) knows what to make of the purposefully spare surfaces of these new songs (which, again, like Red Dirt Girl, were, for the most part, written by Harris herself), and the results are splendid. Part of the revelation of Wrecking Ball and Red Dirt Girl was hearing Harris moving in a startling new direction, and while Stumble into Grace seems less novel in the context of its immediate predecessors, the bitter clarity of "Time in Babylon," the gentle but energetic textures of "Little Bird," and the funky shuffle of "Jupiter Rising" confirm that she hasn't run out of new avenues to explore. After three decades as a world-class talent, what's most heartening is that Harris is not only making some of the finest music of her career at a time when many artists would be treading water, but she's delightfully confounding expectations at the same time. Stumble into Grace shows she's still playing at the top of her game. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/12/2023
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597904925
Rank:	47320

Tracks

1. Here I Am
2. I Will Dream
3. Little Bird
4. Time in Babylon
5. Can You Hear Me Now
6. Strong Hand (For June)
7. Jupiter Rising
8. O Evangeline
9. Plaisir d'Amour
10. Lost Unto This World
11. Cup of Kindness

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Emmylou Harris   Primary Artist,Bass,Vocals,6-String Bass,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle   Guest Artist
Jane Siberry   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Daniel Lanois   Guest Artist,Orchestra,Pedal Steel,Vocals (Background)
Linda Ronstadt   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Bernie Leadon   Guitar (Electric)
Kevin Salem   Guitar (Electric)
Colin Linden   Guitar (Electric)
Ethan Johns   Drums,Guitar (Electric)
Julie Miller   Vocals (Background)
Kate McGarrigle   Violin,Accordion,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Jill Cunniff   Vocals (Background)
Anna McGarrigle   Accordion,Vocals (Background)
Gillian Welch   Vocals (Background)
Darryl Johnson   Bass,Drums,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Buddy Miller   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Malcolm Burn   Bass,Organ,Piano,Churango,Harmonica,Percussion,Fender Rhodes,Organ (Hammond),Whistle (Human),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Daryl Johnson   Bass,Drums,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Brady Blade   Bass,Drums,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Malcom Burn   Organ
Tony Hall   Bass,Guitar,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Traditional   Composer
Paul Kennerley   Composer
Emmylou Harris   Arranger,Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Joe West   Engineer
Kate McGarrigle   Arranger,Composer
Jill Cunniff   Composer
Anna McGarrigle   Arranger,Composer
Todd Vos   Engineer
Rob Clark   Assistant
Malcolm Burn   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Liner Notes,Instrumentation
Daniel Lanois   Composer
Dean Norman   Documentation,Assistant Engineer
Chris Scherbak   Assistant
Brando Marius   Assistant
Veronique Rolland   Photography
Kathi Whitley   Production Coordination
Maria Verel   Hair Stylist
Bert Meadows   Photo Assistance
Barbara de Wilde   Design
Josh Muncy   Mixing,Engineer
Tina Zelinski   Stylist
Paul Kennerly   Composer