Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers

1	Intro to Charlie and Ira Live 0:26
2	Cash on the Barrelhead / Joe Nichols 3:17
3	My Baby's Gone / Emmylou Harris 3:31
4	How's the World Treating You / Alison Krauss 3:18
5	I Can't Keep You in Love With Me / Vince Gill 2:58
6	Must You Throw Dirt in My Face / Carl Jackson 2:51
7	If I Could Only Win Your Love / Rebecca Lynn Howard 2:34
8	When I Stop Dreaming / Leslie Satcher 4:00
9	I Wish You Knew / Kathy Louvin 2:27
10	The New Partner Waltz / Carl Jackson 2:50
11	Are You Teasing Me / Jon Randall 3:02
12	I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby / Dierks Bentley 2:40
13	You're Running Wild / Jerry Salley 2:40
14	The Angels Rejoiced / Sonya Isaacs 2:38
15	Let Us Travel, Travel On / Marty Stuart 2:39
16	Keep Your Eyes on Jesus / The Jordanaires 3:24

Barnes & Noble

Livin', lovin', and losin' were persistent themes in the songs that Louvin brothers Ira and Charlie wrote and covered. Fear of God is the missing element in the title to this tribute set, but not in the stirring duet tracks here. Dolly Parton and Sonya Isaacs team up on a keening rendition of the beautiful "The Angels Rejoiced," and Pam Tillis sings the forthright choruses of "Keep Your Eyes on Jesus" in between Johnny Cash's rumbling readings from Scripture; those cuts bookend "Let Us Travel, Travel On," a bluegrass barn burner pairing Marty Stuart and Del McCoury in fervent two-part harmony. On the lovin' and losin' side, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell harmonize beautifully on the poignant "My Baby's Gone," and James Taylor and Alison Krauss deliberately work through the heartbreak of "How's the World Treating You." Picking up the pace, Vince Gill and Terri Clark swing their way through the infectious shuffle of "I Can't Keep You in Love with Me." Patty Loveless and Jon Randall offer up the gentle bluegrass ballad "Are You Teasing Me," complete with high-lonesome harmonies and deep conviction. And for sheer good fun, impressive newcomer Joe Nichols and bluegrass stalwart Rhonda Vincent set the woods on fire with their red-hot opening track, the venerable "Cash on the Barrelhead." Elsewhere, Merle Haggard, Ronnie Dunn, Linda Ronstadt, and Glen Campbell, among others, turn in impeccable readings of powerful texts. Too many dubious tributes have come down the pike in recent years, but Livin', Lovin', Losin' is not one of them. David McGee

All Music Guide

The songs of Charlie and Ira Louvin had an otherworldly edge. They were successful during their era, the 1950s and early '60s, for a reason: They offered a view of life, love, loss, and the ever-present and eerie power of a god just beyond the pale with genuine wonder, fear, and pathos. Performed by superstars, legends, and others, most of the 16 tracks on Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers add nothing to the originals, but there are some fine performances here. The James Taylor/Alison Krauss reading of "How's the World Treating You" is smooth, but keeps the uneasy tension of the original. The Merle Haggard/Carl Jackson read of "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" sticks very close to the Louvins'. Its heartbreak and controlled anger is at the heart of the tune and expressed with just the right touch of bewilderment. "When I Stop Dreaming" by Glen Campbell and Leslie Satcher is one of the watershed cuts here. Its expression of desperation and desire is past merely poetic; it drips tears like blood and is the finest recorded Campbell vocal performance in more than a decade. Dolly Parton and Sonya Isaacs turn in easily the most authentic performance on the set with "The Angels Rejoiced." Their vocal nuances and tight harmony keep the edgy Louvin Brothers delivery at the forefront of the song, making it one of those truly scary gospel tunes. Pam Tillis, Johnny Cash, and the Jordanaires deliver "Keep Your Eyes on Jesus" with a mixture of new interpretation and fiery old country gospel that marks the split in personality this recording embodies so well. It works, mostly because of Cash's apocalyptic reading from the Bible and Tillis' earnest, yearning in her vocal. Thom Jurek

Entertainment Weekly

A harmonic feast. (B+) Chris Willman