Trio II (Two)

This long-awaited, highly anticipated follow-up to 1987's much-loved initial Trio offering doesn't disappoint. On Trio II, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Dolly Parton weave a spell that's equal parts traditional and contemporary, country and folk, vision and voice. It's their seamless musical blend of these counterpoints--as in the sweet, sweeping harmonies on Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" or the instrumentally spare acoustic presentation of the Carter Family's "Lover's Return"--that makes these songs such treasures. When individual voices soar and fuse together to create distinct new voices, when instinct leads the way for artistry to follow, the result is perfect harmony, pure magic. --Alexandra Russell