Pieces of the Sky is where Emmylou Harris's solo story begins, and as auspicious a debut as it was when it appeared in 1975, it sounds equally remarkable today in its new incarnation, sweetened by two bonus tracks. These dozen songs here map out the path that has led to one of country music's most important recorded legacies. It also forecasts Harris as a keen listener as much as a singer, as she breathes extraordinary life into songs by such formidable writers as Billy Sherrill ('Too Far Gone,' a beautiful country heartbreaker with pop overtones), the Louvin Brothers (the sweet, lilting 'If I Could Only Win Your Love,' featuring harmonies by Herb Pederson), Merle Haggard (the honky-tonk melodrama of 'Bottle Let Me Down'), and Dolly Parton (the autobiographical gem 'Coat of Many Colors,' rendered with quiet, keening sincerity). Harris gives a stark, ominous reading of 'Sleepless Nights,' the gut-wrenching tear-jerker from Felice and Boudleaux Bryant that became an Everly Brothers classic, and reimagines Lennon & McCartney's devastating portrait of fading love, 'For No One,' as a waltz, with a wash of strings rising up in an intimate arrangement suited for a cabaret. Not least of all, however, is the Harris original 'Boulder to Birmingham,' replete with mystical and spiritual overtones and expressions of unquenchable love. The two bonus tracks were both co-written by Dallas Frazier: 'Hank and Lefty,' a jaunty two-step reminiscence of days gone by, and 'California Cottonfields,' another trip down memory lane focused on Dust Bowlers looking westward for a better life. Harris has also always had an ear for instrumental talent, and her band here includes the likes of James Burton on guitar and dobro, Byron Berline on fiddle, Glen D. Hardin on piano, Ronnie Tutt on drums, and young Ricky Skaggs on fiddle. Emmylou has cut better albums than this -- and that's remarkable, considering how closely Pieces of the Sky approaches perfection.