It's about time Emmylou Harris got back to singing her own songs. After the wonderful "Wrecking Ball" (where she sang everything from Bob Dylan to Lucinda Williams to Jimi Hendrix to the McGarrigles), much touring, "Spyboy" and several collaborative efforts, now it's just Emmylou singing her own material, playing her own songs, and sounding amazing.

Last year's album with Linda Ronstadt contained a few gems penned by Harris, and once she got on a roll, it must've been hard to stop. 11 of the 12 songs on "Red Dirt Girl" are by Harris, and they capture a range of emotions, from the dark and the loving to a sense of loss that is carried through so poingnantly with her voice (which I feel has gotten better with age, thank you very much).

And the fact that Daniel Lanois was too busy with U2's new record didn't harm things either -- while his magic touch was all over "Wrecking Ball" and more or less made the album "The Joshua Tree, Part II" (this is not a bad thing), his absence leaves his protege Malcolm Burn room to experiment further in his own directions. Like on "Wrecking Ball," Burn is credited with special treatments, but this time moves into the producer chair (previously having worked with Blue Rodeo, Sinead Lohan, Midnight Oil, Indigo Girls and others). He also plays drums, guitar, bass and omnichord on many tracks, along with Buddy Miller and Daryl Johnson -- Harris' regular live backups these days. Also present on most tracks is Ethan Johns (son of famous producer Glyn Johns), a multi-instrumentalist who also worked with Harris on the Ronstadt album, and Harris regulars Julie Miller and Kate McGarrigle. Jill Cunniff also makes an appearance on guitar and harmonies, as does Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews and Patti Scialfa.

Malcolm Burn takes the "Wrecking Ball" sound and pushes it further -- building each song into a dense wall of sound, blending the instruments into one another to create ONE BIG NOTE rather than a loose jangling of separate sounds. Mood is the key here, and it's very autumnal. Harris reflects on loss, transition and loneliness, and the instrumentation compliments her to a T.

The while album starts off strong with "The Pearl," the standout tracks (for me) come towards the end -- with the beautiful closing trio of "Hour of Gold," "My Antonia" and the sad but funny "Boy from Tupelo."

A masterpiece she should be proud to call her own.

It's unfortunate that this is going to get stuck in the country section of the music store, because like it's predecesor "Wrecking Ball" (one of the few undisputed GREAT albums of the 90s), Emmy's new music is beyond any classifications. Is it rock? Is it folk? Is it tribal? Is it country? None of the above, but all at once, really.

After flexing her songwriting muscles again with "The Western Wall" album with Linda Ronstadt (a skill which had more or less remained dormant for over a decade), Emmylou manages to come up with 11 new songs of her own for this release, and they don't pale beside the great tunes she recorded on "Wrecking Ball." In fact, it makes it even more poignant that these words are coming FROM her rather than just THROUGH her like last time around, and on previous 90s outings.

While Daniel Lanois provided a rejuvination in Emmylou's creativity, he's absent her -- stuck somewhere in the studio with U2 far far away, a band that takes a notoriously long time to finish an album. His "Wrecking Ball" partner in crime, Malcolm Burn, takes over instead -- and pushes the sound they were going for last time even further. And while some complain that the Lanois sound is muddy or difficult to wade through, I say "Too bad for you!" Lanois has coaxed some of the best work out of artists as wide ranging as Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, U2, the Neville Brothers, Robbie Robertson and many others.

Burn, who participated on many of those artists albums, had a few of his own tricks as well. He seems to have learned quite a few things from Lanois and the latter's sometimes-partner Brian Eno. "Bang the Drum Slowly" features a beautiful Eno-esque soundscape. "I Don't Want to Talk About it Now" is a mean wall-of-sound groove featuring looping polyrythms and telephone answering machines. Background vocals from Kate McGarrigle, Julie Miller, Bruce Springsteen and others are layered into the mix to make everything blend together into a harmonious blend rather than isolated parts. The results are magnificent.

The playing of Daryl Johnson, Ethan Johns and Burns is magificent, and accents from Buddy Miller and others only add to a rich mix.

While she might not be selling millions of records any more, I'm glad Emmylou Harris is being brave enough to make the music she wants to make, regardless of commercial appeal.

The only song on this album which could remotely work on radio is the closer "Boy from Tupelo," but even that one presents an audio challenge as the mix isn't quite a straightforward as conventional radio would like.

"Your last chance Texaco, your sweetheart of the rodeo, a Juliet to your Romeo, the border your cross into Mexico . . ." Emmy, you can be all those things to me.

Emmylou Harris's first solo CD in five years is a beautiful, thought-provoking and emotional CD. That said, it is certainly does her and her fans a disservice to call it "country." This CD while appealing to fans of "alternative country" might be better labeled, if you want to put a label on it at all, as "folk rock" appealing to those who like Sarah MacLachlan rather than those who like Faith Hill.

Emmylou wrote or co-wrote 11 of the 12 cuts on this CD and one can't help but think they are at least partially autobiographical. Particularly poignant is "Bang the Drum Slowly" which is about her father and includes the line, "were you deceived by the likes of me" suggesting perhaps that her father didn't exactly support her choice of careers or perhaps to her political views. With "My Baby Needs a Shepherd" she continues on her poignant journey of the soul. The arrangement of the duet with Dave Matthews, "My Antonia" is as good as any she's ever done. The background vocals of "The Boss" (Bruce Springsteen) on "Tragedy" add to its emotional message. Also enjoyable are the background vocals of the understated but oh so beautiful voice of Julie Miller on several of the cuts.

I love this CD and can't stop listening to it nearly a week after its release. In fact, I like it more and more with each listen. It's highly recommended by this long time (25+ years) Emmylou fan.

I didn't think Emmylou could come up with another album as haunting and captivating as "Wrecking Ball." Of course, I was wrong. "Red Dirt Girl" shows Emmylou again at her best, with wonderful songs, melodies and lyrics that highlight her other-worldy voice. From the opening beats of 'The Pearl,' I was totally hooked. So much of the music is totally hers, very distinctly Emmylou. She does an intriguing cover of Patty Griffin's 'One Big Love' and makes it her own. There's also a terrific duet with Dave Matthews as well that is, as is so much of her music, hauntingly beautiful.

I used to say that I hated country music. Well, Emmylou was one of the first to reveal to me the depth and breadth of 'country' and she is now among my all-time favorites. And this is a remarkable album from a great artist, one that will appeal to anyone who simply likes good music. I highly recommend it to everyone, even those who think they don't like country - Emmylou's music defies all characterization except that it's wonderfully unique.

Unlike the purists, I loved the new sound that Emmylou Harris picked up from Daniel Lanois. It just fits. I wont't write a full-fledged summary of the album. You can read some of the longer customer reviews for this. I will unabashedly sell this album, ... .)

Where else can you get such a beautiful country voice? It's here.

Where else can you get songwriting that's evocative and spiritual? It's here.

Where else can you find a sound that's so traditional and yet so alternative? It's here.

Where else can you find a pop artist willing to break new ground, when the rest of the industry is playing it safe? It's here.

Is she really country? Alternative? Pop? I'll let the musicologist figure out what category this album ought to fall in. It's clear that this album (and Wrecking Ball) fall into a class by themselves.

Buy this album.