With records like Jessica Lea Mayfield’s Tell Me declaring that a few young guns may be out to update what angel-faced country singing sounds like these days, it’s no wonder Ms. Emmylou Harris seems like she’s in a rush to release her second album in less than three years.
Titled Hard Bargain, and due for release on April 26th (via Nonesuch), the 13-track effort features production by industry-lifer, Jay Joyce, and came together in a snapshot moment in Harris’ life. As she explained in an issued statement: “I had all of the material written beforehand. We did the whole record in about a month, which is quite unusual for me.”
Most famous for his work on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack, Joyce most recently had his hands on Cage The Elephant’s Thank You Happy Birthday and the Country Strong soundtrack, on which he played guitar. e also played multiple instruments on Bargain, which Harris claims only took three musicians to lay down the tracks. “It’s not a stripped down record,” she insists, “[but] we did the whole thing with just three musicians – Me being one of them.”
No word on how she’ll recreate the songs in the live setting, but if you’re close to Austin, you’ll get your chance to find out on March 17th at South by Southwest’s Americana Music night. More shows are in the works, but you can peep Harris’ itinerary — as well as Hard Bargain‘s tracklist — below. Tickets for select dates are available at SeatGeek.com. Preorder the album here.
Hard Bargain tracklist:
01. The Road
02. Home Sweet Home
03. My Name Is Emmett Till
04. Goodnight Old World
05. New Orleans
06. Big Black Dog
07. Lonely Girl
08. Hard Bargain
09. Six White Cadillacs
10. The Ship On His Arm
11. Darlin’ Kate
12. Nobody
13. Cross Yourself
Emmylou Harris 2011 Tour Dates:
03/04 – Birmingham, AL @ BJCC Concert Hall *
03/05 – Hunstville, AL @ Von Braun Center Concert Hall *
03/12 – Toronto, ON @ Fairmont Royal York Concert Hall
03/14 – Lexington, KY @ Lexington Opera Hall
03/17 – Austin, TX @ SXSW at Antone’s
04/09 – Chicago, IL @ Maurer Concert Hall
04/30 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
05/01 – Bgergen, NO @ Bergenfest
05/12 – New York, NY @ The Town Hall
05/13 – New York, NY @ The Town Hall
