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

She knew Dolly Parton would be perfect for the harmony on Emmylou's self-penned "Gold": "It's got this little trill thing in it on the melody and nobody can do that like Dolly. I thought it would be wonderful to get her in. She had to keep canceling for various reasons, she was out in L.A., but she so wanted to do it, she actually got on a tour bus and drove all the way out from L.A. She got into Nashville that night and the next morning she came in and sang on the record. She was a real champ."

To work with the McGarrigles, Emmylou traveled north to Saint-Sauver des Monts, near Montreal, where the sisters live and record. Says Emmylou, "I was trying to keep up with my writing and I always enjoy being around those girls, so it was a good excuse to go try and write. We wrote 'How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower' and 'Sailing Round the Room' and went to a little studio there in Saint Sauver and laid down a demo with a click track and put their harmonies on it. So the heart of those two songs is from those original demos. Of course we added a lot of stuff but Kate's guitar playing is still the centerpiece. And getting their vocals, of course, was the real treasure."

Each one of these tracks has a story behind it; just about every credit reveals a fascinating connection. Emmylou has created a touchstone to her fertile past to help define an even richer present. While she may be taking stock of where she's been, she's by no means summing up. As Emmylou, who's been a recording artist for nearly 40 years, says, "I'm still trying to expand my listening horizons, to find the kind of music that resonates for what we know to be true at this point in our lives. When you get to be 60, it's not like you stop living. In fact, I think you live more and do have something to say."