Live Review: Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

The Gold Coast may not be really synonymous with the Americana oeuvre but gambling and country music go together like peas in a pod, so it’s not that incongruous that we find ourselves in the midst of the lavish Jupiters at Broadbeach to see this special duet performance by the wonderful Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell.

The pair first crossed paths decades back but it took some 40 years to actually join forces musically, and now they’re making up for lost time and celebrating the recent release of their second album together, The Traveling Kind. They kick off proceedings tonight with one of the album’s numerous covers – their cruisy, upbeat take on Lucinda Williams’ I Just Wanted To See You So Bad – and their seven-piece band standout out as exceptional players from the get-go, while the voices of Harris and Crowell augment each other perfectly. Harris of course first came to global attention in the early ‘70s singing duet counterpoints for the legendary Gram Parsons, so it’s staggering when they move onto that late star’s gorgeous Return Of The Grievous Angel – Crowell doing a great job of handling Parsons’ role with perfect sincerity – before they carry on in a similar vein with The Flying Burrito Brothers’ Wheels (which was co-written by Parsons, a member of that band’s original incarnation in the late ‘60s).

It’s like a veritable masterclass of cosmic and outlaw country as they push forward with Harris taking the reins for a gorgeous take on Townes Van Zandt’s classic Pancho And Lefty, then recounting her memory of the first time she met Crowell and how taken she was with his song Til I Gain Control Again, which he naturally plays to help better paint the picture. They return to Townes town with the evergreen If I Needed You, then forge on with Roger Miller’s Invitation To The Blues and Harris’ own Red Dirt Girl. It’s a classy affair but there’s a lot of love and reverence in the room – punctuated occasionally by the excited shouts of one uber-fan towards the back who seemingly can’t contain his enthusiasm – and they share the joy perfectly by throwing in Crowell’s The Rock Of My Soul to level the playing field. Their respective music complements this duet treatment wonderfully and they seem to have a real affinity for each other’s material, their voices meshing for The Everly Brothers’ gorgeous Love Hurts (presented through the filter of Gram Parsons who used to play it a lot) and the relatively rollicking Luxury Liner (by The International Submarine Band, one of Parsons’ first vehicles).

The combination of double bass and pedal steel brings an air of both gravitas and authenticity, which suits the pair’s new material perfectly as they offer a suite from the new album – the beguiling title track, the upbeat honky-tonk of Bring It On Home To Memphis, the classic melancholy country duet You Can’t Say We Didn’t Try, the heartfelt and soaring Higher Mountains, the socially aware The Weight Of The World and the classic-sounding If You Lived Here You’d Be Home Now – during which time they introduce the band, including young Australian guitarist Jedd Hughes who has his no doubt proud parents in the audience to watch him perform with aplomb amidst such a world-class outfit.

Now it’s time to bring it all home with something of a country music history lesson as they thrown in an exquisite rendition of Waylon Jennings’ Dreaming My Dreams With You, their stripped-back cover of Matraca Berg’s poignant Back When We Were Beautiful and Harris’ own Tulsa Queen (which she co-wrote with Crowell back in the day). Her fondness for playing second fiddle and singing other people’s songs has found Harris lend her beautiful voice to many of Crowell’s tunes over the years and she draws a strong response for his Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight, before the band stretches out and flexes their considerable musical muscles as Crowell takes vocal rein for his I Ain’t Living Long Like This. They finish this amazing set with the cover track from their first album together – 2013’s Old Yellow Moon – and the extended band take a well deserved group bow to tumultuous applause, returning from a brief foray into the darkness to complete a spellbinding set with Crowell’s epic Stars On The Water and his Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, which Harris first made famous many moons ago (the pair helped tonight by the distinctive twangy tone of our own Harmony James, who had earlier opened proceedings).

A swag of amazing songs, some incredible chemistry and two of the finest voices in the history of the rich Americana lineage – a superb night that will be remembered by all in attendance for a long, long time indeed.