The point is, actually, that she should be in your - and anybody else you may happen to care about's - CD collection.
This is an excellent introduction to Dolly. Any Greatest Hits album will give you 'Jolene', 'Coat of Many Colours' and 'I will always love you' but not a sense of Dolly ... Read review
Advantages: Varied introduction to Country's greatest lady Disadvantages: Like many Dolly anthologies it concentrates on her own writing and so makes unforgiveable omissions
The point is, actually, that she should be in your - and anybody else you may happen to care about's - CD collection.
This is an excellent introduction to Dolly. Any Greatest Hits album will give you 'Jolene', 'Coat of Many Colours' and 'I will always love you' but not a sense of Dolly through her many periods.
Like other great artistes, Dolly Parton has kept evolving, kept developing and exploring different dimensions ... ...collection to give you a sense of the 'whole'.
'Today I started loving you again'', 'The Salt in my Tears'. 'Blue Valley Songbird' and 'I wanna go back there' showcase Dolly at her best - interpreting the work of other classic Country artists - here Merle Haggard - and writing her own material.
In the last few years, she has also collaborated with many contempory artists and there are some stellar partnerships featured ... more
The point is, actually, that she should be in your - and anybody else you may happen to care about's - CD collection.
This is an excellent introduction to Dolly. Any Greatest Hits album will give you 'Jolene', 'Coat of Many Colours' and 'I will always love you' but not a sense of Dolly through her many periods.
Like other great artistes, Dolly Parton has kept evolving, kept developing and exploring different dimensions of songwriting and performance. Hence it requires a special collection to give you a sense of the 'whole'.
'Today I started loving you again'', 'The Salt in my Tears'. 'Blue Valley Songbird' and 'I wanna go back there' showcase Dolly at her best - interpreting the work of other classic Country artists - here Merle Haggard - and writing her own material.
In the last few years, she has also collaborated with many contempory artists and there are some stellar partnerships featured here. Yes, 'Islands in the Stream' - recently voted Country's greatest duet by the viewers of CMT is absent but, in my opinion, it's not her greatest duet. Ladysmith Black Mambazo complement the raw emotion of her voice far better than Kenny Rodgers and the track she cut with them 'Peace Train' is featured here. Interestingly, it was co-written by Cat Stevens.
Other tracks feature Alison Krauss, with whom Dolly has worked frequently over the past few years although her track with Norah Jones 'Creepin In' is probably better known. (I am not keen and quite glad it didn't make it here).
My only reservation is that I can't accept this as the definitive collection. For me, no collection could be complete without 'Potential New Boyfriend' - but then I hold the eighties in great affection!
Advantages: "Ya'll know what al' the fuss is about" Disadvantages: Populist anthology which doesn't represent the breadth of her output
There's a great little noticeboard at Dollywood in Seiver County, Tennessee that refers to the resident magician's career "B.D." i.e. before Dollywood. I cannot imagine life before I knew DollyParton's records but, if I could, I should imagine it would be summed up in the words of love lorn heroine of "Two Doors Down".
"Two doors down
They're laughing and drinkin', and having a party
Two doors down
They're not aware that I'm around"
If you're still before Dolly - and can accept that a compilation won't give you an idea of her current recording directions or even reference significant portions of her output - this is a lively introduction.
Songs like 'The Seeker' and 'Potential New Boyfriend' are very dated but were incredibly popular in their time. Others, 'Joshua', 'Jolene' and '9 to 5' will sound instantly ...
's charming and lovelorn, and exquisitely beautiful to sit and chill out to. The lyrics are deadly serious though, especially when drummer and best friend Emmy the Great repeatedly sings the line 'Wake up princess...' in a breathy exhausted voice.
Chiling stuff, guys.
The album artwork is innovative and very nice to have a nosey at whilst listening to the music. Dev's own photography including a porcelain goat collection and DollyParton, let's just say, lightens the mood a little.
And, Lightspeed Champion is great to watch live. I saw him play at The Leadmill, Sheffield and I could have cried I was that moved. And, he does a mean Star Wars guitar solo, too. Great guy.
'Falling Off The Lavender Bridge' is a must have for your record collection. ...
Advantages: great tracks with lots of memories Disadvantages: Nothing we have not heard before
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It runs for 61.26 mins.
This is an excellent album and has many of her greatest songs, having said that it would be nice to have some new work released. She is a very accomplished songwriter and I am a little surprised that no new songs are available. If you like country music this is a must have. If you are a DollyParton fan it is essential for your collection.
She has a fantastic voice that is highly suited to country/ blues music.
In Conclusion:
Great songs but would love some new songs. Having said that she is as good as she has always been. ...
