Uncut (p.127) - 5 stars out of 5 - "The material covers the waterfront, from the Gram years to the post-Warners reinvention that began with 1995's WRECKING BALL."
Personnel include: Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Gram Parsons (vocals, acoustic guitar); Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Linda Ronstadt (vocals); Rodney Crowell (guitar); Ricky Skaggs (acoustic guitar, fiddle, background vocals); Herb Pedersen, Rick Cuhna (acoustic guitar); Albert Lee (electric guitar, mandolin); James Burton (electric guitar); Al Perkins, Ben Keith (pedal steel guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Sam Bush (mandolin); Glenn Hardin, Jai Winding (piano); Emory Gordy (bass instrument); Roy Huskey Jr. (double bass, background vocals); Ronnie Tutt (drums).
HEARTACHES & HIGHWAYS is partly a single-disc distillation of
ANTHOLOGY, a two-CD collection of Emmylou Harris's Warner Brothers
recordings. While it contains many tracks found on ANTHOLOGY, HEARTACHES ventures further to include material from Harris's later
work on Elektra, thus providing a more all-encompassing career overview.
Harris is the first lady of progressive country, and has done more to advance the concept's cause over the decades than anyone. HEARTACHES follows her trail from early, pioneering country-rock duets with Gram Parsons to her own updates of classic country tunes. Harris's perennial knack for catching on to rising songwriting luminaries is made plain with prescient covers of songs by Townes Van Zandt and Gillian Welch (Harris's attention helped the careers of both troubadours). The Elektra material finds Harris pushing the envelope ever further, venturing-- with the help of visionary producer Daniel Lanois--into moody, atmospheric territory far from honky-tonk confines. HEARTACHES & HIGHWAYS is the most comprehensive single-CD collection of Harris's work on the market.