'Elite Hotel' (1975)

Track listing:

1. Amarillo
2. Together Again
3. Feelin' Single, Seein' Double
4. Sin City
5. One Of These Days
6. Til I Gain Control Again
7. Here, There and Everywhere
8. Ooh Las Vegas
9. Sweet Dreams
10. Jambalaya
11. Satan's Jewel Crown
12. Wheels

Bonus tracks (Rhino re-issue):

• You're Running Wild
• Cajun Born

Presumably pushed to market in short order (even by 1975 standards, you'd have to think it was rush job), Elite Hotel is nevertheless an assured and stellar record, exceeding the substantial expectations set by Pieces of the Sky. It's not clear whether the three live tracks - "Sweet Dreams", "Ooh Las Vegas" and "Jambalaya" - were the best versions of those songs, or if the record company simply needed a few quick tracks to flesh out the record. However, in hindsight, it's great to have a live document of the early Hot Band, and the album does not suffer whatsoever as a result.

Far from it, in fact - Elite Hotel is an exceptional record. The hardcore honky-tonk tracks ("Amarillo", "Feelin' Single, Seein' Double", etc.) feel more natural and the overall production captures Harris more at ease. Notably, three of the twelve songs on the album are Gram Parsons compositions, but the song choices ("Sin City", "Ooh Las Vegas", "Wheels") convey a less somber tone than "Boulder to Birmingham", for instance. Though the Hot Band was still in its earliest incarnation, it lives up to its considerable reputation even on these early recordings. While "Bluebird Wine" from Pieces of the Sky is not one of Rodney Crowell's most memorable songs, Harris' version of his "Til I Gain Control Again" is the standout track on this album and still one of her best recordings (Crowell would later record his own impressive version of the song). And for me, Harris' version of Parsons' "Sin City" is the quintessential version of that classic tune.

The bonus tracks here are fairly interesting as well, particularly the brief duet with Crowell on the Louvin Brothers classic "You're Running Wild".

Overall, Elite Hotel is a fair leap beyond its predecessor and lays the groundwork for the impressive string of records that would soon follow.