Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell at Hammersmith Apollo

 
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
Hammersmith Apollo, 9 May 2013

"People ask me all the time what Emmylou Harris is like," a rather cool-looking Rodney Crowell, in his Dylaneqsue hat, tells us. "I just tell them she has the soul of a poet; the voice of an angel; she's damn good looking and she has the heart of a cowgirl." Emmylou gives an embarrassed grin and shakes her head and although the speech is obviously rehearsed it is clear there's great affection between these two legendary country stars.

Back in the 70s Crowell played guitar in Emmylou's Hot Band and they have been promising a duets album ever since then. The long-awaited Old Yellow Moon finally arrived earlier this year and for the first half of the show it seems like they have forgotten its existence. Starting off with a superb double helping of Gram Parsons (Return Of The Grievous Angel and Wheels) they then offer up a rather lovely rendition of the Townes Van Zandt song Pancho & Lefty (surely one of the best songs ever written). There's also a beautiful version of I'll Be Your San Antonio Rose dedicated to the late great Susanna Clark. Although this is great stuff it isn't until they perform the Crowell track Till I Gain Control Again, which Harris introduces as the first song she ever heard Rodney sing, that there's any reference to their past work together.

It isn't until the second half of the show (before which Emmy amusingly forgets there's to be an interval and starts calling for the stools to sit on for the acoustic portion of the set) that they really showcase their work as collaborators. First though Emmylou gives a heartbreakingly lovely performance of her song Darlin' Kate for her old friend Kate McGarrigle, who left this world a couple of years back, as she sits alone on the stage with just her beautiful acoustic guitar looking like the most glamourous 66-year-old in the world. At this moment it's easy to see just why Emmylou is so special and how she needs nothing but that unique voice of hers and her pure charm to keep an audience completely enthralled. But what is most fun about this show is the chemistry between her and Crowell: I've seen Harris live before but the presence of Crowell definitely makes Emmylou seem lighter, as if there's a lot less pressure with her old friend by her side. 

Singing songs from Old Yellow Moon the two beam at each other and the feeling is completely infectious. Highlights for me were many but I especially loved their cover of the Louvin Brothers' The Angels Rejoiced Last Night; Emmy's loving version of Patti Scialfa's Spanish Dancer (introduced as by "an underrated member of the E Street Band"), and the upbeat swing of Hanging Up My Heart. There was also rather beautiful piano ballad about lost youth called Back When We Were Beautiful ("nobody seems to write songs about getting old" she laments) which left the audience spellbound.

I could go on and on about Emmylou, at times I almost felt like crying she looked and sounded so ethereally beautiful with her perfectly styled white hair and sparkly Indian tunic, like a wonderful apparition from another place and time. But what surprised me most was how much I also enjoyed Crowell's performance. Not only did Emmylou appear to be enjoying herself more but Rodney was hugely entertaining in his own right, looking every inch the cool country star in his black hat, white shirt and waistcoat. Other than Emmylou's covers of his songs I wasn't really familiar with his music but hearing him play songs such as The Rock Of My Soul and Ain't Living Long Like This has made me keen to check out his back catalogue of solo work. 

Sadly the whole thing ended after two and a half hours and 31 songs, finishing just as they had started with old friend Gram Parsons, giving us a rollicking Sin City, featuring some almost jaw-dropping soloing from Australian guitarist Jedd Harris (whose look was a brilliant throwback to the cool suited 60s country bands). It's rare to see a long show like this that just seems to fly by but even with all their mentions of growing older (particularly Emmylou laughing as she constantly slid from her chair and then forgot her guitar, joking that at 66 her memory often lets her down), these two legends had more energy and enthusiasm than bands I've seen half their age. It's wonderful to see that they are just as good as they've ever been.