Red Dirt Girl
Studio album by
Emmylou Harris
ReleasedSeptember 12, 2000 (2000-09-12)
RecordedMarch–April 2000
StudioClouet Street Studio, New Orleans
GenreCountry folk, Americana
Length55:59
LabelNonesuch
ProducerMalcolm Burn
Emmylou Harris chronology
Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions
(1999) 		Red Dirt Girl
(2000) 		Stumble into Grace
(2003)

Red Dirt Girl is the nineteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 12, 2000 by Nonesuch Records. The album was a significant departure for Harris, as eleven of the twelve tracks were written or co-written by her. At the time, she was best known for covering other songwriters' work. Prior to this album, only two of Harris' LPs had more than two of her own compositions (Gliding Bird in 1969, and The Ballad of Sally Rose in 1985). Her next album, Stumble into Grace, was also written by Harris. The album contains "Bang the Drum Slowly", a song Guy Clark helped Harris write as an elegy for her father.[1] The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard country album charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2001.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Independent[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
Q[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Spin4/10[9]
Uncut[10]
The Village VoiceC[11]

The album was very positively received, being declared "spellbinding" by The Guardian.,[12] while the New York Times wrote: "Miss Harris has found herself.[13]

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,[14] which describes it thus:

“drum loops and middle eastern melodies nestle in comfortably next to warm guitar work and Harris' gently wavering voice... a big departure from her rootsy '70s releases.”

Track listing

All tracks are written by Emmylou Harris, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Pearl" 5:02
2."Michelangelo" 5:15
3."I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now" 4:47
4."Tragedy"
4:25
5."Red Dirt Girl" 4:19
6."My Baby Needs a Shepherd" 4:40
7."Bang the Drum Slowly"
4:51
8."J'Ai Fait Tout"
5:32
9."One Big Love"
4:34
10."Hour of Gold" 5:01
11."My Antonia" 3:44
12."Boy from Tupelo" 3:49

Personnel

1. "The Pearl"

2. "Michelangelo"

3. "I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now"

4. "Tragedy"

5. "Red Dirt Girl"

6. "My Baby Needs A Shepherd"

7. "Bang The Drum Slowly"

8. "J'Ai Fait Tout"

9. "One Big Love"

10. "Hour Of Gold"

11. "My Antonia"

12. "Boy From Tupelo"

Charts

Release history

Release history and formats for Red Dirt Girl
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America September 12, 2000
  • CD
  • cassette
 Nonesuch Records [21]

References

  1. ^ a b Johnson, Zac. "Red Dirt Girl – Emmylou Harris". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  2. ^ "Red Dirt Girl by Emmylou Harris Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Johnson, Beth (September 15, 2000). "Music Review: 'Red Dirt Girl'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  4. ^ Sweeting, Adam (October 13, 2000). "Emmylou Harris: Red Dirt Girl (Grapevine)". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Perry, Tim (September 16, 2000). "Pop: Album Reviews". The Independent.
  6. ^ Hilburn, Robert (September 10, 2000). "Emmylou Harris, 'Red Dirt Girl,' Nonesuch". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ "Emmylou Harris: Red Dirt Girl". Q. No. 169. October 2000. p. 119.
  8. ^ Berger, Arion (September 28, 2000). "Emmylou Harris: Red Dirt Girl". Rolling Stone. No. 850. p. 56. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  9. ^ Smith, RJ (November 2000). "Emmylou Harris: Red Dirt Girl / Willie Nelson: Milk Cow Blues". Spin. Vol. 16, no. 11. p. 208. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  10. ^ Williamson, Nigel (October 2000). "Emmylou Harris: Red Dirt Girl". Uncut. No. 41. p. 90.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (November 28, 2000). "Turkey Shoot: Where the Action Isn't". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  12. ^ Sweeting, Adam (2000-11-22). "The prime of Miss Emmylou Harris". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  13. ^ "Emmylou Harris's Grammy-Winning Nonesuch Debut Album, "Red Dirt Girl," Now on Red Vinyl | Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records Official Website. 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  14. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  15. ^ Red Dirt Girl (liner notes). Emmylou Harris. Nonesuch. 2000.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 125.
  17. ^ "Emmylou Harris Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "Emmylou Harris Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  19. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  20. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  21. ^ Harris, Emmylou (September 12, 2000). "Red Dirt Girl (Liner Notes)". Nonesuch Records. 79616-2 (CD); 79616-4 (Cassette).
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