Spyboy (album)
Encyclopedia
Spyboy is a 1998 live album
by Emmylou Harris
and her backing band, Spyboy, which she formed for a tour to perform songs from her 1995 career-redefining album, Wrecking Ball
. Taking a stripped-down approach, Harris is backed by a power trio
comprising country singer-songwriter Buddy Miller
on guitar and New Orleans musicians Daryl Johnson on bass and Brady Blade
on drums. Along with songs from Wrecking Ball, such as "Where Will I Be" and "Deeper Well", Harris performs other songs from earlier in her career, such as "Love Hurts
", which she first performed with Gram Parsons
, "I Ain't Living Long Like This" from Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
and her ode to Parsons, "Boulder to Birmingham", from her 1975 debut album, Pieces of the Sky
.
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
and her backing band, Spyboy, which she formed for a tour to perform songs from her 1995 career-redefining album, Wrecking Ball
Wrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album)
Wrecking Ball is a 1995 album by Emmylou Harris in which she moves away from the traditional acoustic sound for which she had become known, to team up with rock producer Daniel Lanois and engineer Mark Howard...
. Taking a stripped-down approach, Harris is backed by a power trio
Power trio
A power trio is a rock and roll band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar, bass and drums, leaving out the rhythm guitar or keyboard that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords...
comprising country singer-songwriter Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller is a country singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee...
on guitar and New Orleans musicians Daryl Johnson on bass and Brady Blade
Brady Blade
Brady L Blade Jr. is an American rock, pop and country drummer, record producer and composer, who currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden....
on drums. Along with songs from Wrecking Ball, such as "Where Will I Be" and "Deeper Well", Harris performs other songs from earlier in her career, such as "Love Hurts
Love Hurts
"Love Hurts" is the name of a song, written and composed by Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is also well known from a 1975 international hit version by the rock band Nazareth and in the UK by a top 5 hit in 1975 by Jim Capaldi.The song was introduced...
", which she first performed with Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, "I Ain't Living Long Like This" from Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town was a #3 country album for Emmylou Harris on the Billboard charts, with three charting singles: "To Daddy" at #3, "Two More Bottles of Wine" at #1 , and "Easy from Now On" at #12...
and her ode to Parsons, "Boulder to Birmingham", from her 1975 debut album, Pieces of the Sky
Pieces of the Sky
Pieces of the Sky is an album by Emmylou Harris, released in February 1975. It was effectively her debut.Although she had released the obscure folk-styled Gliding Bird five years earlier, Pieces of the Sky was the album that really launched the career of Emmylou Harris, and is widely considered to...
.
Track listing
- "My Songbird" (Jesse WinchesterJesse WinchesterJesse Winchester is a musician and songwriter who was born and raised in the southern United States. To avoid the Vietnam War draft he moved to Canada in 1967, which is where and when he began his career as a solo artist. His highest charting recordings were of his own tunes, "Yankee Lady" in 1970...
) – 3:30- Studio version on Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent TownQuarter Moon in a Ten Cent TownQuarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town was a #3 country album for Emmylou Harris on the Billboard charts, with three charting singles: "To Daddy" at #3, "Two More Bottles of Wine" at #1 , and "Easy from Now On" at #12...
- Studio version on Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
- "Where Will I Be" (Daniel LanoisDaniel LanoisDaniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
) – 4:21- From Wrecking BallWrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album)Wrecking Ball is a 1995 album by Emmylou Harris in which she moves away from the traditional acoustic sound for which she had become known, to team up with rock producer Daniel Lanois and engineer Mark Howard...
- From Wrecking Ball
- "I Ain't Living Long Like This" (Rodney CrowellRodney CrowellRodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
) – 4:20- Studio version on Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
- "Love HurtsLove Hurts"Love Hurts" is the name of a song, written and composed by Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is also well known from a 1975 international hit version by the rock band Nazareth and in the UK by a top 5 hit in 1975 by Jim Capaldi.The song was introduced...
" (Boudleaux Bryant) – 2:55- First performed by Harris with Gram ParsonsGram ParsonsGram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
on Grievous AngelGrievous AngelGrievous Angel was the second solo album by Gram Parsons, compiled from 1973 sessions and released four months after his death. It received great critical acclaim upon release, but failed to find commercial success, a fate shared with his previous efforts solo and with The Flying Burrito Brothers....
- First performed by Harris with Gram Parsons
- "Green Pastures" (Traditional) – 3:05
- First performed by Harris on Roses in the SnowRoses in the SnowRoses in the Snow was a 1980 album by Emmylou Harris. While Harris' previous release, 1979's Blue Kentucky Girl featured traditional, straight-ahead country , Roses in the Snow found Harris performing Bluegrass-inspired music, with material by Flatt and Scruggs, Paul Simon, The Carter Family, and...
- First performed by Harris on Roses in the Snow
- "Deeper Well" (Harris, Lanois, David OlneyDavid OlneyDavid Charles Olney is an American folk singer/songwriter. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but did not graduate, instead joining Bland Simpson's band Simpson in the early 1970s...
) – 7:16- From Wrecking Ball
- "Prayer in Open D" (Harris) – 4:01
- From Cowgirl's PrayerCowgirl's PrayerCowgirl's Prayer is a 1993 Emmylou Harris album. Coming immediately after 1992's live acoustic At the Ryman album, Cowgirl's Prayer was a collection of similarly subdued material . Released at a time when older artists Cowgirl's Prayer is a 1993 Emmylou Harris album. Coming immediately after...
- From Cowgirl's Prayer
- "Calling My Children Home" (Doyle LawsonDoyle LawsonDoyle Lawson is an American bluegrass and gospel musician. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.-Biography:...
, Charles Waller, Robert Yates) – 3:02- First performed by Harris with the Nash Ramblers on At the RymanAt the RymanAt the Ryman is a 1992 live album by Emmylou Harris and her then-newly formed acoustic backing band, The Nash Ramblers, recorded at the Ryman Auditorium, most famously known as the one-time home of the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee. Harris had by this point disbanded her legendary Hot...
- First performed by Harris with the Nash Ramblers on At the Ryman
- "Tulsa Queen" (Crowell, Harris) – 4:30
- From Luxury LinerLuxury Liner (album)Luxury Liner was the second successive #1 country album for Emmylou Harris on the Billboard Music Charts, although, unlike the preceding Elite Hotel, there were no #1 hits from this album...
- From Luxury Liner
- "Wheels" (Chris HillmanChris HillmanChristopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
, Gram ParsonsGram ParsonsGram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
) – 3:04- A Flying Burrito BrothersThe Flying Burrito BrothersThe Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
' song, Harris first recorded it for Elite HotelElite HotelElite Hotel was Emmylou Harris's second album to be released in 1975, following the widely acclaimed success of Pieces of the Sky, and surpassed it on the Billboard Music Charts, becoming her first #1 country album...
- A Flying Burrito Brothers
- "Born to Run" (Paul KennerleyPaul KennerleyPaul Kennerley is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer working in the American contemporary country music industry. His works include the concept albums, White Mansions and The Legend of Jesse James...
) – 4:44- From CimarronCimarron (Emmylou Harris album)Cimarron was a 1981 Emmylou Harris album that, like its predecessor, Evangeline, was composed mostly of outtakes from other recording sessions that hadn't fit into any of Harris' other albums. As a result, critics at the time complained that the album was "choppy" and lacked a unifying sound. ...
- From Cimarron
- "Boulder to Birmingham" (Bill DanoffBill DanoffBill Danoff is an American songwriter and singer. His best known song as a performer is "Afternoon Delight", which Danoff performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band...
, Harris) 3:21- First recorded on Pieces of the SkyPieces of the SkyPieces of the Sky is an album by Emmylou Harris, released in February 1975. It was effectively her debut.Although she had released the obscure folk-styled Gliding Bird five years earlier, Pieces of the Sky was the album that really launched the career of Emmylou Harris, and is widely considered to...
- First recorded on Pieces of the Sky
- "All My Tears (Be Washed Away)" (Julie MillerJulie MillerJulie Miller is a songwriter, singer, and recording artist currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981...
) – 5:06- From Wrecking Ball
- "The Maker" (Lanois) – 8:40
- Also recorded with Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
on Teatro
- Also recorded with Willie Nelson
Spyboy
- Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
- lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound... - Buddy MillerBuddy MillerBuddy Miller is a country singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee...
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, backing vocals - Daryl Johnson - electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, bass pedalsBass pedalsBass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packaged together as a unit...
, djembeDjembeA djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
, percussion, backing vocals - Brady BladeBrady BladeBrady L Blade Jr. is an American rock, pop and country drummer, record producer and composer, who currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden....
- drum kitDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion, backing vocals
Chart performance
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 27 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 180 |