Perhaps inspired by the triumphs of TRIO and TRIO II, whichthey recorded with Dolly Parton, Linda Rondstadt and Emmylou Harris went into a makeshift studio to record an album as a duo.
The results are superb. Rondstadt leaves her slick Hollywood pop sound behind and delivers some of her most unadorned and heartfelt singing since the early ’70s.
Harris is Harris: her voice is as delicate as a butterfly and as strongas steel.
The songs on WESTERN WALL are varied, each vividly telling a story. ˝1917˝ is a chilling chronicle of an affair cast amid the brutality of WW I.
˝Sweet Spot˝ is an eerie declaration of devotion, with a spare, Laurie Anderson-like use of electronics, written by Harris and Luscious Jackson’s Jill Cunniff.
Rondstadt shines on a straightforward, proud version of Jackson Browne’s ˝For a Dancer˝. Other song choices include Bruce Springsteen’s ˝Across the Border˝ and Leonard Cohen’s ˝Sisters of Mercy˝. Excellent.