You know, I did fall in love with Emmy Lou around 27 years ago when I spun records for a living at a small radio station in Cottonwood, Arizona. How could I help falling for her when listening to her "Sweet Dreams", "Making Believe, and "Easy From Now On." These are all romantic classics in her unmistakable style. Listening to her rendition of Buck Owens' "Together Again"...well, you know between her and Buck which one I'd choose to be together with. LOL All her early favorites are here such as Dolly Parton's "To Daddy", "If I Could Only Win Your Love," "Too Far Gone", and "Boulder to Birmingham. All here and jusst as fresh as when they were first recorded between 1974-1977. By the way, there's a really terrific fiddler backing her on "You Never Can Tell") "C'est' La Vie", "Making Believe", and "Hello Stranger". Fellow by the name of Ricky Scaggs. All in all, what you have here are Emmy Lou's earliest hits. She was among the top country gals of the time, and of course, has surpassed herself since. But these songs were among the best of country, a style of music you don't hear on today's country music stations.

This album was my first introduction to Emmylou Harris and I played it on 33 1/3 rpm vinyl til there was nothing left but scratches. I replaced it with the CD (It was one of the first 5 CDs I ever purchased) and I am now in a state of mourning because time and carelessness have rendered it nonfunctional. So I am thrilled to be able to replace it through Amazon. This is music for the heart, whether you are in love, in pain, lonely as hell, or disgusted with the universe. Like an old friend, I may go for months without listening to it, but when I need to hear it I need to hear it. This is a collection of music I never want to be separate from.

For anyone who wants to know what all the fuss was about when Emmylou Harris burst on the country scene three decades ago, it's all here in this compilation, which brings together twelve of her greatest early tracks. Her distinctive voice, part reed, part silver, full of emotion, and her interpretive range--she could convince in the most soulful ballad as well as the most rollicking of rockabilly--are in plentiful evidence.

Harris also had impeccable taste in material, and this CD is also illustrative as a retrospective of the best of country that stretches all the way back to its origins with the Carter Family's "Hello Stranger." Other highlights are the strongly feminist "One of These Days," and sweet covers of Patsy Cline's "Sweet Dreams" and Kitty Wells' "Making Believe," but there really isn't a dud in the bunch. Highly recommended for all of us who need to remember what country music was like at its best.

Emmylou Harris has become one of the most vital and talented artists in music history. PROFILE: THE BEST OF EMMYLOU HARRIS is a remarkable collection of the recordings that launched her into acclaim. Harris has impeccable taste in chosing her material as these twelve songs prove. Her gorgeous voice makes these songs unforgettable moments. With three tracks from each of her first four albums (made after her work with Gram Parsons); PROFILE offers a terrific sampler of Harris' early work. "If I Could Only Win Your Love" (a #4 hit), "Too Far Gone" (her first single), and the inspirational "Boulder To Birmingham" (Harris' self-penned tribute to Parsons) come from her extraordinary debut PIECES OF THE SKY. From her outstanding ELITE HOTEL come some of this album's most successful songs: "Together Again" and "Sweet Dreams" were both #1 hits, and "One Of These Days" peaked at #3. LUXURY LINER is Harris' best selling album to date, an essential classic of American music. "C'est La Vie" was a #6 hit and "Making Believe" was a #8; also "Hello Stranger" a marvelous cover comes from that great album. Harris' third #1 hit was "Two More Bottles Of Wine", "To Daddy" was a #3 hit, and the amazing "Easy From Now On" peaked at #12 from 1978's QUARTER MOON IN A TEN CENT TOWN. Some of Harris' best uptempo numbers, "Two More Bottles Of Wine", and Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie" as well as some of her most elegent slow songs "Sweet Dreams", "Boulder To Birmingham", and "Making Believe", are found here. This collection is remarkable because it is a complete set for the period it covers. All of her solo singles from 1975-1978 are here. It was a concise quality that wasn't repeated when her next hits collection PROFILE II was issued. That collection missed several of her big singles from 1979-1984. (One could have been issued MUCH earlier). While many of her albums are essential listening; and her artistry is at a high point on those original recordings. PROFILE remains an exceptional introduction to one of the greatest talents in music history. For those familiar with these songs, its still an incredible listen. The music on this collection is infinitely superior to the formatted releases coming out of Nashville today.

This compilation includes three tracks from each of her first four albums, when her style was country-rock - very different from her music of the nineties and beyond. Apart from Hello stranger, all these tracks are available on the more recent double CD titled Anthology, which covers her whole career with Warner Reprise.

During these years (1975 to 1978), Emmylou had many hits on the American country charts including three solo number one hits, all cover versions and all included here. They were Together again (Buck Owens), Sweet dreams (Patsy Cline) and Two more bottles of wine (Delbert McClinton). Emmylou had many other big country hits with cover versions, including If I could only win your love (Louvin brothers) and You never can tell C'Est la vie (Chuck Berry).

Dolly Parton wrote To Daddy and recorded it for her 1976 album All I can do, but Emmylou heard it and recorded it herself. When Dolly heard Emmylou's version, she substituted another song for her own album, although Dolly's version was eventually released on a compilation CD many years later. Thus, Emmylou's version, included here, is the first one the public heard.

This is a great introduction to Emmylou's early music.