626 Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors (1971)

 626 Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors (1971)

Studio Album - Country



About the Act:

Dolly is from Tennessee. She is a singer, musician, songwriter, actress and philanthropist. She started out writing songs for other people, and continued to do so after starting a solo singing career in 1967. She has released a breath-taking 65 albums, and has sold many, many copies, being one of the best-selling and well-known country acts ever. She is well known for her large breasts, diminutive stature, plastic surgery, philanthropy and generally sunny nature. The more I find out about her, the more I like her. She has had one, very long marriage, seems very honest in public, and funded COVID vaccine research. She is strongly pro-vaccine, something needed it would seem. 

About the Album:

This was her fourteenth album. Yes, it was only four years after her debut in 1967. It was her fourth album of 1971. Yowza. She wrote all but three of the songs, those other three being by Porter Wagoner, a long-time musical partner of hers.

 My History with this Album:

None

Review:

I dislike much of country, mostly because it is schmaltzy. This is schmaltzy, but I don't dislike it, in fact I quite like it. Why? What is different about this? It might be Dolly herself, like I said above, I find her to be a breath of fresh air. She has an honest quality about her that is very attractive, and it rings out in her voice. It feels like she is always smiling, and has a positive attitude.

So, to be fair, the only song on this album that even approaches the emotional manipulation of some Country is Coat of Many Colours, which is more of a celebration than a sob story - considerably so. Some of the other songs are tender, and some have a sense of fun to them, and some have a sense of wonder and joy. Maybe that's what it is, the darkest part of this album is still positive.

The music is country, she makes no bones about that. It's not overly produced, and some of the tracks are more old-timey, harking back to church music. The music is not flashy, it's a plate on which to serve Dolly's vocals. The vocal performance is pure Dolly, she has a clear, definitely country voice, but not nasal, and not overly affected. It's actually a really pleasant voice to listen to, and she has a nice expressiveness. Again it's kind of unassuming, but sounds like she can't stop smiling. 

This is probably the best-regarded of her albums by critics. It's a really strong album in my opinion. Country is not my favourite mode, but the joy of it is infectious, the songwriting strong, the delivery is good and the album balance also good. She gets kudos points from me for being the writer of most of the songs. If I was forced to listen to Country but could choose what it was, this would be very high on the list. And Johnny Cash. And Alison Krauss. And Eva Cassidy. Maybe Tom Waits. Hang on, maybe I don't actually dislike that much country.

7.6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/17CT6ru3CyDXAi6xVaSUzg

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA16D62F40FAC475F

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_Many_Colors



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop
Read more

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots
Read more

591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)

Image
 591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952) Compilation Album - Americana About the Act: Harry Smith is not the performer here, he is the collector. He was a film-maker, occultist, and eccentric. About the Album: Harry Smith had a collection of early 78rpm records of various "folk" styles dated from 1927 when such things first started to be commercially available to 1932 when the Great Depression put a stop to the sales of folk records. In 1947 he approached a label, Folkway Records, about releasing a collection of them transferred onto LPs. This they did in 1952, without seeking copyright permission, making this technically a bootleg. It was released as three double-LP boxed sets, and sold very poorly. In the first year it sold 50 copies, 47 to libraries and colleges. It was reissued later, and gained traction and sold better. It now has a reputation for being one of the most influential compilations in the history of Americana, and is cited as being a ma
Read more