Emmylou Harris photo by Rocky Schenck, courtesy of Nonesuch Records.

Emmylou's own "Take That Ride" is a forthright conversation with a God who may or may not be listening. By the time All I Intended To Be reaches a wistful but uplifting conclusion with "Beyond the Great Divide," it's tugging the soul as deeply as the heart, and the title that Emmylou chose reveals an even deeper, more personal, and spiritual meaning.

The album really began to take shape, Emmylou explains, with "Shores of White Sands," a Jack Wesley Routh song about carrying on in the face of dashed romantic hopes. Emmylou had admired it when Warner Bros. Nashville artist Karen Brooks first cut the tune in 1982. How the song made it onto Emmylou's album today, employing the original instrumental track from Karen's version, illustrates the feeling of collegiality and the air of serendipity that epitomize the entire process. Emmylou dedicates it to the memory of Doobie Brothers/Southern Pacific drummer Keith Knudsen, and that's where the story begins.

As she explains, "Brian (Ahern) produced Karen's record, Walk On, in the early '80s, and I always loved that track. I thought it was one of the most stunning things Brian ever did, and that's saying a lot. I loved the song and thought at some point I might try my hand at it, and it just never came about. A few years ago I was doing a benefit for [St. Louis Cardinals manager] Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, California. Keith was there with his band, and I hadn't seen him in years. He had toured with me and played on some of my stuff. It wasn't too long after that Keith died from cancer and I started thinking about that song again.

Emmylou Harris photo by Rocky Schenck, courtesy of Nonesuch Records.

"I approached Brian and said, 'Do you think that in honor of Keith we could use his original drum track for "Shores of White Sand" and build up a track of our own?' We started asking around and with the blessing of Warners and Karen, we got her entire original track. We added a few things, but basically it's that beautiful track I'm singing on and I'm so grateful to have it."

Karen Brooks herself came on board to add harmony vocals. Says Emmylou, "Karen has such a distinctive voice, a wonderful low sound, it's not like anyone else. It's really effective on 'Broken Man's Lament, where she duets with me." Emmylou found the right pairings of friends and fellow artists throughout: "That was what was great, to put together these different pieces from different people who are so important to me. Working with John Starling, Mike Auldrege and Tom Gray from the original Seldom Scene—that goes all the way back to the early 70s when I was living in DC. What I've discovered over the years is all the different, incredible people I've gotten to work with, and this showcases a little bit of them." She pauses, then, laughing, adds," I'd have to do a whole boxed set to showcase everyone—and I already did that, didn't I?"