Usually viewed in a country context, Emmylou Harris is in fact one of the most distinctive and visionary voices in all of popular music to emerge over the last four decades. Mentored by ex-Burrito Brother Gram Parsons, she rose to stardom as his transcendent vocal partner on the "Cosmic American Music" gracing his landmark solo albums GP ('72) and Grievous Angel ('73). Harris' own ever-adventurous solo career launched shortly after Parsons' untimely death with 1975's Pieces of Sky. Cimarron, like its similarly 1981 released predecessor Evangeline, is largely comprised of outtakes from prior recording sessions. The Grammy-nominated affair yielded a trio of Top Ten Country singles including lovely versions of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" (with Don Williams), Karen Brooks and Hank DeVito's "Tennessee Rose" and Paul Kennerley's "Born to Run."