Call it a savvy late-career move executed brilliantly.
That's what the concert featuring Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, friends since 1974, seemed like Tuesday night at the State Theatre in Minneapolis.
After discussing doing a duets album for decades, the former country stars-turned-Americana heroes finally recorded "Old Yellow Moon" in 2013 and earned a Grammy for it. They followed it with this year's "The Traveling Kind" and now have mounted their first duo tour.
Surprisingly, though, instead of showcasing only material from their two collaborative albums, Harris and Crowell turned the nearly two-hour, 25-song concert into career retrospectives intertwined with a handful of their duets. The result was a double-scoop treat with a cherry on top.
Harris, 68, showed more verve and was in better voice than in her most recent Twin Cities appearance at the Minnesota Zoo in 2012 (though her voice wasn't loud enough on the first few selections). And Crowell, 65, was on top of his game but, since he was sharing the stage, didn't have to carry the show. Both singers benefited from the duo format.
And so did the fans. They got to hear duets that Harris did early in her career with country-rock god Gram Parsons, including "Love Hurts" and "Return of the Grievous Angel," the night's penetrating finale.
The 13-time Grammy winner also offered a healthy serving of her 1970s country favorites including "Boulder to Birmingham," "Bluebird Wine" and "Luxury Liner" as well as the more recent "Red Dirt Road," which acknowledged her exploration of atmospheric music.
As she explained early in the evening, Harris has been singing Crowell tunes since her 1975 Reprise Records solo debut and he was a member of her Hot Band in the '70s.
