Thank goodness and thanks to Eminent Records for having the intelligence to release this outstanding Emmylou Harris album on CD. CIMARRON is one of my favorite Emmylou Harris albums, and it isn't had to understand why each time I listen to these ten magnificent songs. Emmylou Harris' vocals are exceptional, as usual. The packaging on this reissue is superb: excellent linear notes, lyrics, and quotes from Hot Band members. The music is what makes CIMARRON exceptional. The guitar intro to "Rose Of Cimarron" starts the album off with spirit, it's a remarkable interpretation of the Poco hit. The traditional "Spanish Is A Loving Tongue" is gorgeous. Emmylou and Don Williams are perfect vocal partners on "If I Needed You". These marvelous duet was a #3 hit. "Another Lonesome Morning" is one of my favorites on this album. "The Last Cheater's Waltz" is brilliant. "Born To Run" the first Paul Kennerley song on one of Harris' regular albums (Kennerley would contribute many songs to her albums later, as well as co-write THE BALLAD OF SALLY ROSE with Harris). She would also cover many Bruce Springsteen songs in the future, but "The Price You Pay" was the awesome first. Chip Taylor, who also penned "Wild Thing" and "Angel Of The Morning", wrote about Emmylou Harris' cover of "Son Of A Rotten Gambler". It's a fabulous version. Harris brings new life to the classic "Tennessee Waltz". Former Hot Band member Hank DeVito co-wrote "Tennessee Rose", the albums outstanding closing song, a #9 hit. The Crowell penned bonus track "Colors Of Your Heart" is excellent. CIMARRON was a Grammy-nominated album, and was a high-charting release for over 42 weeks. It represents how Emmylou Harris is an extraordinary artist, lightyears ahead of the rest of the music business in talent, creativity, and intelligence. Be sure to check out the equally outstanding reissue of the classic LAST DATE. Hopefully Eminent will also apply their terrific reissue format to EVANGELINE and THIRTEEN, to give those incredible releases a CD hearing.

A lot of people are lamenting the sorry state of country music today, with it making more and more concessions to popular tastes. While I admit to being one of those naysayers, I go for country music that takes risks, but still has enough twang to truly be called country. And sure enough, Emmylou Harris can best be called one of the first country artists to venture outside the confines of the genre, and still be accepted as one of country's own. A protege of the legendary country-rock godfather Gram Parsons, Emmylou has been bringing her distinctive style to just about every song from country to folk to straightahead rock. Thanks to that, some of the most unlikely songs have become country standards in spite of their non-country pedigrees. By 1981's CIMARRON, Emmylou had been making music for well over a decade (although her first album PIECES OF THE SKY was released in 1975). As a hitmaker, her days were coming to an end, but as an innovator, she hadn't yet begun to quit. Emmylou can take even the most well-worn country standards, and make them sound as if they were written yesterday like that old warhorse "Tennessee Waltz", a short 2:30 song in an album filled with numerous 4-minute tunes (which is near-epic-length for country music). I'm sure every country singer worth their salt has attempted "Tennesee Waltz" at one time or another, but Emmylou does what she has done numerous times before, making it sound like it was written for her all along. Other country greats given a new lease on life by Emmylou include "The Last Cheater's Waltz" (originally a hit for T.G. Sheppard), which is a much longer version so as to showcase the excellent musicianship of her band, "Son Of A Rotten Gambler" (written by Chip Taylor, who also penned such disparate ditties as "Wild Thing" and "Angel Of The Morning"), and the traditional "Spanish Is A Loving Tongue". But to prove that Emmylou was more risk-taking than her fellow country-ites, CIMARRON has its share of more modern, contemporary numbers. "Rose Of Cimarron" was originally a hit song for the country-rock band Poco; "If I Needed You" (a duet with country great Don Williams) was written by legendary folk singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt; "The Price You Pay" originally appeared on Bruce Springsteen's double album THE RIVER (1980). All of these are given enough country sound to make one forget the fact they were written by people far from the country radar as possible. The other songs on CIMARRON were probably written especially for the album: "Another Lonely Morning" is a great song just looking for someone to cover it (even if it may not be better than Emmylou's); "Born To Run" (NOT the Bruce Springsteen classic) was written by Paul Kennerley, who would later become Emmylou's third husband; "Tennessee Rose" was written by Emmylou band member Hank DeVito. With all those wonderful songs, CIMARRON was a wonderful album already, but because it has been released on CD for the very first time, the deal is made even sweeter with the inclusion of a rare song called "Colors Of Your Heart", written by former Emmylou bandmate Rodney Crowell. While he had long went solo from her, this song proves why Crowell is one of Emmylou's favorite songwriters, and also a fellow "modern traditionalist" like her. After CIMARRON would come the live album LAST DATE, which was unique in the fact that it contained songs Emmylou had not yet recorded in the studio. Unfortunately, that would be her last truly successful album on the charts. But that allowed Emmylou to experiment even more with her music, resulting in such uncategorizable masterpieces like WRECKING BALL (1995) and RED DIRT GIRL (2000). For those who were introduced to Emmylou Harris courtesy of those classics, earlier albums like CIMARRON will help show that she's had it in her for more than 3 decades, and hopefully, is not thinking of slowing down any time soon.

CIMARRON was not especially well-received by critics, when it was released in 1981 (and to be fair, several of Emmylous's other recordings were indeed superior to this one), but it has aged remarkably well. Much more "produced" than most of her prior efforts, the album was comprised of outtakes from other sessons that hadn't fit into any of her other projects, yet the mood is remarkably consistent througout. Two of these songs, "Born to Run" (not the Springsteen tune) and "If I Needed You" were top-ten country singles, and Emmy's vocals on Chip Taylor's "Son of a Rotten Gambler" are achingly beautiful. And the sound quality of this recording is excellent.

The ridiculous marketplace prices for this item beg for an official re-issue of this CD, one of Harris's best. I love all of her stuff, even the first album she is embarrassed to claim (it's an amateur effort, but shows promise of what was to come, clearly). I can't afford to pay through the nose for this though, to ensure I get it from a good seller, so please, whoever, re-release this gem! And while you're at it, how about Thirteen and Evangeline?

Best service I've had. Seller contacted me to inform that my disk a some used but very little damage. The sincerty of this seller was amazing. The CD was in great condition (litmited and rare 2000 mastered) with perfect case and liner notes never opened. I will be a regular without hesitation.

JR Nashville