The Emmylou Harris Anthology: The Warner/Reprise Years (Rhino, 2001)

Emmylou Harris is around to make sure her late '60's "Gliding Bird" album is never represented on any anthology. That album was a throw-everything-against-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks mess made by people who couldn't even find the wall. Her first Reprise album, "Pieces Of The Sky," still showed a woman in search of her style. The stint with Parsons had given her credibility with hipsters, but did nothing to move her towards mainstream country stardom. Musical history might have been rewritten had Harris' first hit been the pop cut "Here, There and Everywhere" instead of the stone country "If I Could Only Win Your Love," on which Herb Pedersen performed a better sung version of Parsons' duet role. Harris went on to be a country queen and to nurture a new generation of talents like Rodney Crowell and Ricky Skaggs. This set includes all her hits, including a bunch left off the Portraits box, as well as a few B-sides and hard to find tracks. This set, with detailed liner notes added in, makes for excellent introduction.