"Lover's Return" (A.P. Carter/Maybelle Carter/Sara Carter)

All three members of Trio have recorded the classic songs of The Carter Family on individual albums over the years. Linda even scored a major hit with "I Never Will Marry" in 1977 that featured harmony vocals by Dolly. "Lover's Return" was first recorded by the Carter Family in 1934, during the peak of the Great Depression. The old-time sentiment and acoustic arrangement of this song is the new album performance that is most evocative of the original Trio LP og 1987. Emmylou brought this song to the Trio II sessions. Linda sings lead.

"High Sierra" (Harley Allen)

Bluegrass-trained Harley Allen won Music Row magazine's Breakthrough Songwriter award of 1998 as the composer of Alan Jackson's "Between The Devil and ME" and "Everything I Love." Harley wrote "High Sierra" in 1995. Linda brought it to the Trio II sessions and sings lead.

"Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" (Dolly Parton)

This song was among those recorded at the first Trio recording session in 1978, but that version was never released. Dolly then recorded it as the B-side of her 1982 single of "I Will Always Love You" and for her Heartbreak Express album. In an uptempo pop arrangement, the song has been a staple of her live shows ever since. The Trio II version returns "Do I Ever Cross Your Mond" to a country mode. Emmylou sings lead.

"After the Gold Rush" (Neil Young)

Rather than California country rockers Linda or Emmylou, it was Dolly who suggested Neil Youngs's hallucinatory "After the Gold Rush" to the Trio. "We were surprised by her suggestion, coming from left field," say Emmylou. "But Linda just dove in and structured the whole thing and gave it so much depth. I really do love her arrangement." So did the other two. Linda incorporated it on her Feels Like Home CD of 1995 and Dolly copied it on her Treasures CD of 1996. "After the Gold Rush" happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time," explains Dolly. "So I took it to the Trio project. I loved the song on Neil Young's [1970] album and I loved it when Prelude had it out in 1974. But I didn't know what the song meant. Linda and Emmy knew Neil, so we called him and asked him. He said, 'I have no idea.' I thought that was so funny. I think it's about the Second Coming or the invasion of aliens, or both."

"Blue Train" (Jennifer Kimball/Tom Kimmel)

Associate producer John Starling and Emmylou both brought the song to the sessions independently. Starling brought cowriter Kimmel's version; Emmylou brought Maura O'Connell's recording, which she'd heard on the radio in Nashville. "I did all the vocals and then taught them to the girls," reports Linda. "Emmy sings one of the parts, I sing two others and then Dolly sings some high stuff at the end."

"I Feel the Blues Movin' In" (Del McCoury)

John Starling is beat known as the lead singer of the influential Washington D.C. bluegrass band The Seldom Scene. Not surprisingly, he brought Trio this song by one of today's most respected bluegrass performers, Del McCoury. Also not surprisingly, Dolly's Appalachian-blues lead vocal is perfect for it.

"You'll Never Be the Sun" (Donagh Long)

Of the three vocalists in Trio, Emmylou has been the most willing collaborator with others. More than 30 performers have featured her as a harmony singer on their albums. (Webmasters note: 30 is an understatement. See the musical friends page.) During a tour of Ireland she was approached by singer Delores Keane to record backup vocals on this song. Emmylou fell in love with it and sings lead on this version. "It was theft, downright theft, " she says with a chuckle. "I'm a real good thief; I only steal from the best."

"He Rode All the Way From Texas" (John Starling)

Starling was too shy to bring his own songs to the sessions, but Emmylou know this both from his version and from a recording by bluegrass star Claire Lynch. She is responsible for its inclusion. Dolly sings lead.

"Feels Like Home" (Randy Newman)

This anthem was originally composed for Randy Newman's 1995 concept album Faust. Linda portrayed "Margaret" on the record, but it was Bonnie Raitt's character "Martha" who sang "Feels Like Home." Nevertheless, the song entered Linda's repertoire, becoming the title tune of her 1995 CD and turning up again here with her singing lead.

When We're Gone, Long Gone" (Kieran Kane/James Paul O'Hara)

Trio II is dedicated to Roy Huskey Jr., who served as the heartbeat of the band throughout the recording. A former member of Emmylou's Nash Ramblers, Huskey died of cancer at age 40 in 1997. This tender elegy, with lead vocals by Emmylou, thus takes on an extra poignancy. "I have a hard time listening tothinks like "When We'tre Gone," she says. "I miss him so much." Adds Linda, "It's very hard for Emmy because she was very attached to him both as a musician and as a person. And there are no replacements. There was only one Roy Huskey Jr." "When We're Gone, Long Gone" was written by Kieran Kne and Jamie O'Hara, who first recorded it in 1986 when they were performing together as the O'Kanes.

Info provided by Asylum Records