All I Intended To Be

“All I Intended To Be” is Emmylou Harris’ first solo album since 2003’s “Stumble Into Grace”. Recorded over a four-year span primarily at producer Brian Ahern’s Easter Island Surround in Nashville, for the first time in 25 years, this album returns Harris to the producer she worked with for her first 11 albums. The album includes both original material as well as some of Harris’ favourite songs. Longtime friends Kate and Anna McGarrigle co-wrote and sing on two tracks, ‘How She Could Sing The Wildwood Flower’ and ‘Sailing Round The Room’, while Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and Buddy Miller also contribute vocals on the album.

The selected material ranges in tone from the intimate to the anthemic, united by Harris’s ability to channel the emotions of so many compelling characters. There’s grit, sadness, and just a touch of regret in tracks like Mark Germino’s ‘Broken Man’s Lament’ and Merle Haggard’s ‘Kern River’ that’s balanced by strength, wisdom and a healthy amount of hindsight on Tracy Chapman’s ‘All That You Have Is Your Soul’ and Jude Johnson’s ‘Hold On’. Harris’s own ‘Take That Ride’ is a forthright conversation with a God who may or may not be listening. By the time All I Intended To Be reaches a wistful but uplifting conclusion with ‘Beyond the Great Divide’, it’s tugging the soul as deeply as the heart.

A twelve-time Grammy winner and Billboard Century Award recipient, Emmylou Harris’ contribution as a singer and songwriter spans 40 years. She has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists’ recordings.