Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler

All the Roadrunning (Warner Bros./Nonesuch)

This unlikely collaboration between Dire Straits front man Mark Knopfler and the silver-voiced angel of country, Emmylou Harris, maps out the highs and lows of an American love story, sung with the ease and wisdom of their collective decades of experience. The duets come in many colors--bursts of country, soft lullabies, and rock (in a few early songs Knopfler can't quite depart from his signature Straits guitar licks). But Harris's bright, twangy lilt is soothed by a newfound warmth in Knopfler's voice, which comes across cleaner and softer than ever before.

Above: The Flaming Lips. Photo: J. Michelle Martin-Coyne.

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