Folk & Country > P Folk & Country > up to 5 GBP

Advantages: great tracks with lots of memories
Disadvantages: Nothing we have not heard before

...album. This is a very good album, with many of her best known songs, and also some not so well known. Tracklist: I will always love you ( which she wrote in 1974)also covered by Whitney Houston. Islands in the stream ( duet with Kenny Rogers) Jolene ( also written by Dolly) Coat of many colours ( written by Dolly) My Tenessee mountain home. Here you come again ( written by her in 1977) Baby i'm burning Love is like a butterfly. The bargain ...
...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 Dolly Parton 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. ... Read review

Advantages: Many of Dolly's greatest hits are included
Disadvantages: Only 21 songs, so some hits are missing

Dolly Parton is one of the most successful country singers of all time. Whilst staying true to the music of her Smokey Mountain roots she has also crossed over into the realms of pop as well as acting, and her catchy tunes and heartfelt lyrics have appealed to people from all walks of life throughout the four decades of her career. THE 'IRON BUTTERFLY' SPREADS HER WINGS "I'm proud of my humble beginnings, the fact that dreams can come true for just ...
...Dolly Rebecca Parton was born the fourth of twelve children in 1946 to a mother married at fifteen and a moon-shiner sharecropping father, who paid the doctor who attended Dolly's birth with a bag of cornmeal. She grew up in a run-down one room mountain cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, soaking up the influences of her country surroundings. She was taught gospel music and the old mountain songs of Appalachia by her mother and grandmother, and began ... 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 of songwriting and performance. ...
...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 ... Read review

Advantages: Groundbreaking Recording, Charming Angelic Voice
Disadvantages: Not used to Celtic Melodies

...to track --- 1. Somebody (3:41) ~~ 5/5 A great opening with the airy instrumental chords, then Dover's pure and clear voice caught my attention immediately. It is an Irish or Scottish song in 18th Century. I like the melodies. 2. The Baron O' Brackley (6:15) ~~ 4/5 The melody is strange to me, but the rhythm & sound of the pipe solo is delightful to me. 3. On Castle Rock (4:50) ~~ 3/5 A pure instrumental piece, the pipe is leading the melody. ...
...Another strange melody, but Dover's angelic voice makes me to close up my eye to feel it. 5. Jack of Diamonds (4:20) ~~ 5/5 This track I like it more! The lively tuned of the rhythm is more familiar to me, is a song of America comes from Southern Missouri. 6. Cantus (6:16) ~~ 5/5 The language of this track is mixed in English and Irish (?), is a 14th century Irish monastic tradition. I like it so much although I can't really understand what she ... Read review

Advantages: Highly original and relaxing acoustic guitar songs, superbly played
Disadvantages: Inferior bonus tracks might interfere with the mood of the album for some.

John Martyn was a very talented British singer/songwiter/musician, who attracted a strong interest and following during the 1970s (less so in the '80s),.But he enjoyed little commercial recognition, despite his best albums selling steadily over the years. Although Martyn started out as a folk artist in the late 1960s, by the time of this release, jazz and blues influences had crept into his repertoire. By the '80s, Martyn's studio albums had ...
...but not some might say, for the better. Bless The Weather, released in 1971 is John Martyn's fifth album, and arguably his best. It originally included ten tracks, nine songs plus one superb instrumental jam. What the original album managed to achieve is the near perfect blend of contemporary folk and jazz. And with John's expressive vocals, he hardly puts a foot wrong here. The CD's photograph cover hints at the atmosphere of the whole album, ... Read review