Hard Bargain (Emmylou Harris album)
2011 studio album by Emmylou Harris
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Hard Bargain is the twenty-sixth studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris, released on April 26, 2011,[12] and recorded at Tragedy/Tragedy, TN. The album is her fourth solo recording for Nonesuch Records.
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| Hard Bargain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 26, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | August 2010 | |||
| Genres | Country Folk, Americana | |||
| Length | 53:04 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | Jay Joyce | |||
| Emmylou Harris chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 69/100 [1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Billboard | (9/10) [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [4] |
| The Guardian | [5] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [6] |
| PopMatters | (8/10)[7] |
| Slant Magazine | [8] |
| The Independent | [9] |
| New Zealand Herald | [10] |
| Paste Magazine | (8/10)[11] |
With 17,000 copies sold in its first week, the album debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums,[13] Harris' highest entry since her bluegrass LP Roses in the Snow in 1980. At the same time it debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200,[14] displacing 1977's Luxury Liner as her most successful solo LP ever on that chart.
Album information
The songs which were to become the "Hard Bargain" album were, according to Emmylou, recorded within four weeks in August 2010. Only three people can be heard on the album, namely Harris herself, producer Jay Joyce, and Giles Reaves. In December 2010, six video clips were filmed at Laughing House Studios, Nashville, TN, directed by Jack Spencer.[15] These videos, with additional commentary, can be found on the bonus DVD of the album's deluxe release.
The opening number "The Road" is about the late Gram Parsons, her musical mentor who died in 1973 and is the first Harris-penned song to directly focus on his death since "Boulder to Birmingham", a track from her 1975 release Pieces of the Sky.
"My Name Is Emmett Till" tells the story of Emmett Till, an African-American boy who was killed in 1955.
"Darlin' Kate" is a tribute to the late Kate McGarrigle who died of cancer in 2010. Kate, and her sister Anna McGarrigle, collaborated with Harris on numerous occasions since the 1970s.
"New Orleans" makes references to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the city in 2005.
Critical reception
Hard Bargain was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 69, based on 19 reviews.[1]
Track listing
All tracks written by Emmylou Harris, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Road" | 5:31 | |
| 2. | "Home Sweet Home" | 3:45 | |
| 3. | "My Name Is Emmett Till" | 4:53 | |
| 4. | "Goodnight Old World" | Harris, Will Jennings | 3:55 |
| 5. | "New Orleans" | Harris, Jennings | 3:38 |
| 6. | "Big Black Dog" | 3:26 | |
| 7. | "Lonely Girl" | 4:44 | |
| 8. | "Hard Bargain" | Ron Sexsmith | 3:23 |
| 9. | "Six White Cadillacs" | Harris, Jennings | 3:22 |
| 10. | "The Ship on His Arm" | 4:46 | |
| 11. | "Darlin' Kate" | 3:08 | |
| 12. | "Nobody" | 5:04 | |
| 13. | "Cross Yourself" | Jay Joyce | 3:36 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "To Ohio" (with The Low Anthem) | Ben Knox Miller, Jeffrey Prystowsky | 3:27 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Six White Cadillacs" (video) | |
| 2. | "Goodnight Old World" (video) | |
| 3. | "Home Sweet Home" (video) | |
| 4. | "Darlin' Kate" (video) | |
| 5. | "Big Black Dog" (video) | |
| 6. | "The Road" (Acoustic Version) (video) |
Personnel
- Emmylou Harris – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Jay Joyce – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, omnichord, ganjo, mandolin
- Giles Reaves – drums, keyboards, percussion, piano, organ, vibraphone, marimbula
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] | 48 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] | 39 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] | 85 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] | 19 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] | 27 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 15 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] | 49 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[23] | 36 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] | 28 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] | 11 |
| Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[26] | 19 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[27] | 15 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] | 76 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[29] | 30 |
| UK Country Albums (Official Charts)[30] | 2 |
| US Billboard 200[31] | 18 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[32] | 18 |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[33] | 3 |
| US Americana/Folk Albums (Billboard)[34] | 3 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[35] | 6 |
| US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)[36] | 5 |