Canadian native Brian Ahern first made his mark in the music industry by discovering the placid sounds of fellow Canadian Anne Murray. He had met her earlier when the young singer performed on a TV show in Halifax, but it was only after Ahern had moved to Toronto was he able to pursuade the young singer to join him in the studio. The collaboration eventually led to a contract on Capitol for Murray and a ticket out of Toronto for Ahern. Growing bored with the scene he decided to transplant his studio to sunny L.A. It was there that he met another female singer that would play a big part in both his life and career, Emmylou Harris. Ahern and Harris eventually married and, though their nuptials didn’t prove lasting, the music they did together has certainly stood the test of time. It can be argued that Ahern produced her best work, including Elite Hotel, Pieces of the Sky and Roses in the Snow, all critically acclaimed albums. After working with the countrified Harris, Ahern eventually drifted to Nashville where he has since produced albums by Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Neil Young, George Jones and Ricky Skaggs, among others. Ahern places importance on the song over all other factors and is regarded within the industry as a top notch C&W producer. ~ Steve Kurutz 

Brian Ahern on the micing of Old Yellow Moon:

Guitars:
‘I used the P-12 on Rodney Crowell’s acoustic guitars throughout, altering the pattern to capture the amount of wood required.’
Drums: 
‘Your 22 47 SEs were used constantly on the drums, from Glyn John’s classic spread to tom closeups, always modifying the patterns. They seem to like cymbals!
Bass:
‘I used the Peluso 22 251 on all Acoustic Bass Recordings, both with an Ernie Ball Earthwood and old Kay upright.’ 
Vocals:
At the outset of the project, ‘Harris was going over Hank DeVito and Lynn Langham’s ‘Old Yellow Moon’ with Crowell for the first time, but their impromptu performance together was so naturally emotive that I decided to build a track around it. The Title Track recorded with pair Peluso 22 251 Microphones!!’
‘Every day we would setup another pair of MICs.
Your 22 251 sounded good on Emmy, the 22 47 SE best on Rodney.’

I recorded four songs with Dale Watson and Mike Wolfe of the highly successful American Pickers TV Show. Emmy, James Burton and Ricky Skaggs came in to play, and Eddie Bayer’s drums were all recorded with Peluso Microphones.

About Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell:

The title song of Old Yellow Moon may be the concluding track on the first official album-length collaboration between Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, but it actually represents a starting point for this long-anticipated project, produced by Brian Ahern. These two old friends and occasional band mates, Harris explains, “were picking songs as we sat around Brian’s big kitchen table, with his extraordinary microphones hooked up to the computer just to make a demo. We would pick a key or toy around with an idea just to make a sketch.” Harris was going over Hank DeVito and Lynn Langham’s “Old Yellow Moon” with Crowell for the first time, but their impromptu performance together was so naturally emotive that Ahern decided to build a track around it. “That’s a kitchen table recording. Brian later brought in Lynn to play the piano; she had a certain feel that only she could do to really honor the song and the reading we had given it. We added a few other things and it became the title track.” Harris pauses to consider this before declaring, “I love the way records get born!” …continue reading at Nonesuch records
-Michael Hill