Entertainment Weekly (2/27/04, p.99) - "[Harris] drew on [Gram Parsons's] earthy country eclecticism and blossomed." - Rating: A-
Q (4/04, p.132) - 3 stars out of 5 - "PIECES OF THE SKY brilliantly set out her career stall..."
Uncut (4/04, p.114) - 3 stars out of 5 - "With 1975's elegant-pure PIECES OF THE SKY, she seemed like a cut-glass decanter in a roomful of chipped tumblers."
Mojo (Publisher) (12/00, p.41) - "...[Her] fraught emotions are held back to breaking point by the discipline of stoic country traditions and the musicianship is proud yet stripped of egocentricity..."
Includes bonus two previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals, guitar); James Burton (guitar, dobro); Herb Pedersen (guitar, banjo, background vocals); Brian Ahern (guitar, bass); Bernie Leadon, Rick Cunha, Amos Garrett, Bruce Archer, Bernie Leadon (guitar); Ben Keith (pedal steel guitar); Byron Berline (mandolin); Ricky Skaggs (fiddle, viola); Richard Greene (fiddle); Danny Pendelton, Bill Payne, Glen D. Hardin (piano); Ray Pohlman, Tom Guidera, Duke Bardwell (bass); Ron Tutt, Mark Cuff (drums); Linda Ronstadt, Fayssoux Starling (background vocals).
Recorded at the Enactron Truck, Beverly Hills, California. Originally released on Reprise (2213).
Although Emmylou Harris recorded the GLIDING BIRD album in 1969 for the small Jubilee label, PIECES OF THE SKY is considered her "debut." Harris's pure soprano and excellent taste in material and backing musicians (over the years she has employed James Burton, Ricky Skaggs, Rodney Crowell and Albert Lee) have earned her tremendous respect in the country music world, and many top country hits.
Recovering from the shock of the 1973 death of Gram Parsons, her partner and mentor, Emmylou Harris formed her own band. PIECES OF THE SKY, released in 1975, had a top-10 country hit in her remake of the Louvin Brothers' "If I Could Only Win Your Love." It also contains a tribute to Parsons ("Boulder To Birmingham") and a version of the Beatles' "For No One."