Emmylou Harris’s catalog is eclectic, but some releases stand out for showcasing her unusual approach to reinvention. Her 1998 live album, Spyboy, is one of them. In 1995, Harris, a foundational figurehead in contemporary Americana and country, released Wrecking Ball. Her collaboration with producer Daniel Lanois, known for work with U2 and Bob Dylan, helped make the album the most lauded of Harris’ long career.
The next five years marked a kind of popular renaissance for Harris, with projects like a second Trio album with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, as well as an additional project with Ronstadt, leaving the public wanting more until her next proper album, 2000’s Red Dirt Girl.
During that period, her 1998 live LP, Spyboy, went largely unnoticed. Initially released on Eminent Records, Spyboy showcased brilliant work with its namesake, a rock-oriented band featuring guitarist Buddy Miller, drummer Brady Blade, and bassist and percussionist Daryl Johnson. A new reissue features the original album, plus five new live tracks, showcasing unusual shapes and textures in Emmylou Harris’ work.
With her louder, more muscular band, Harris sounds edgier as a singer, with more growling and snarling than on her previous efforts, especially on robust versions of “Deeper Well” and “I Ain’t Living Long Like This”. The group strengthens the album, as does an unusual set of songs. Spyboy is not a Harris greatest hits set, though there are a few perennials like “Boulder to Birmingham” and “Born to Run”.
The opener, “My Songbird”, is an especially luminous, tender rendition of Jesse Winchester’s classic song. Other acoustic-based performances that highlight the set are Harris’s “Prayer in Open D”, a fan favorite, and a particularly gorgeous and aching “Love Hurts”. However, Buddy Miller’s duet vocals sometimes overpower Harris. The atypical arrangements shimmer on tracks such as the traditional gospel song “Green Pastures”, adding much to Harris’s studio recordings. In addition, the louder runs through songs like “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” fit well into the collection.
At times, the group sound flashier than necessary, like on the slap bass that introduces the bonus track of bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe‘s “Get Up John”. Still, though it sounds strange, it does show a greater level of risk than many associate with Harris’ work, especially prior to Wrecking Ball. Overall, the band’s chemistry is striking, including on the bonus performances; their romp through Tom Petty’s “Thing About You” is joyous, as is the superb–even stunning–version of Bob Dylan’s “Every Grain of Sand”, which is unfortunately absent on the CD version of this reissue. While the closing version of Lucinda Williams‘ “Sweet Old World” is lovely, the studio version is more moving.
For a solid number of songs on Spyboy, however, that is not the case. When I hear “Love Hurts” on this recording, the version has a different kind of ache than the one Harris recorded with Gram Parsons in the early 1970s, with Harris’ aged voice conveying a distinct level of experience with the lyrics. Julie Miller’s “All My Tears” is another example that hauntingly improves on the studio version with its arrangement and extended outro.
In many ways, Spyboy was a transitional release after the more significant transition of Wrecking Ball. The latter, as noted, has gotten its due in past decades. However, with this reissue, Spyboy should receive its long-denied recognition. One of Harris’s most unusual releases, the album expands her catalog, offering many revelatory glimpses into a unique facet of Emmylou Harris’s artistry. The album and reissue deserve a wide hearing for fans of rock, country, Americana, and beyond.