Long-time friends and musical compadres Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell have finally got round to making a proper album together. Harris signed Crowell up as a member of her band in 1975 after hearing a demo. Together, they would go on to make some very influential country rock recordings in the 70s before Crowell began to make a name for himself as a songwriter.

This album certainly harks back to the sound of Californian country rock, with its acoustic rhythm guitar, pedal steel, fiddle and mandolin and, of course, Harris dueting with Crowell. This is a collection of tunes that gets better with every listen and features a skilful set of covers. It’s no surprise that the songs feature heartbreak and love-gone-wrong as themes.

The cover of Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Chase the Feeling’ and a bluesy take on ‘Black Caffeine’ by Hank DeVito and Donivan Cowart are stand-outs for me.

Paul Barr