Customer Reviews

Best of Dolly Parton

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If you own nothing else by Dolly Parton, please start here. All her talents are here at their peak. Songs like "Coat of Many Colors" put a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye. But don't mistake -- there is nothing corny about a child so poor her mother has to fashion her a coat out of old scraps left over from another woman's sewing - a charity grab bag. Dolly was that child, she wore that coat. I have the Coat of Many Colors album which shows a school photo that was taken of Dolly wearing that coat, with tears in her eyes because she had just been ridiculed by her classmates for wearing rags. Dolly turned that heartbreak into triumph. That is why she is a songwriting genius and a Country Music Hall of Famer. Jolene gave me cold chills the first time I heard it. It still does today. The otherworldy harmony of Dolly singing with herself is only one of the classic touches that give this song such a punch. The theme of a woman begging the other woman "please don't take my man" may sound corny but when you hear Dolly sing it, you believe it. Many other female singer have sung Jolene but none can even come close to Dolly's original. I Will Always Love You is a song that has powerful emotional impact. Everyone has to say goodbye to someone they love at least once in life. Death will take our loved ones eventually. This song is nonspecific enough to apply to almost any goodbye situation. I even liked Whitney Houston's version of it, mainly because she copied a lot of Dolly's vocal trills. I suppose a lot of people are tired of this song because of Houston, but listen to this one sometime just after you've said goodbye to someone you didn't want to part from. It will get you everytime. There is so much variety in these 10 songs and all but two were written by Dolly. Porter Wagoner, her boss from 1967-1974, wrote When I Sing for Him, and Lonely Coming Down. Porter is not usually able to write songs that are as good as Dolly's own, but on Lonely Coming Down, she never sounded better. Although this was her second "Best of Dolly Parton" album on RCA, they have neglected to put the 1970 one on CD. Buy this, the 1975 compilation and enjoy Dolly at her prime. Then go buy her latest work. Still the same amazing voice of an angel. Still one of the best songwriters in Country Music.

Dolly Parton has such a beautiful crystalline voice, and this album has some of her best early work. "Jolene" holds a certain memory for me from the 70's...whenever I hear it, it transports me back to a certain Christmas Day when I was 16 and working in a nursing home in the laundry room, and having to wash all the sheets out by hand as the washing machine had broken down. I was feeling very sorry for myself, and wanting to go home to spend Christmas with my family. And "Jolene" came on the radio, and miraculously it cheered me up...even though it wasn't a particularly happy song, but Dolly just seemed to have what was needed for that sad little 16 year old back then. This album holds some great songs, and I recommend it highly.

this cd was given to me by my husband for christmas and i have just about worn it out. it is such a great cd. dolly sings with such a pure, strong voice. Dolly Parton is the best!!!this is one of her many wonderful cd's. i highly recommend this to anyone-she is awesom !

Dolly Parton released her second solo "best of" package in 1975 simply called "Best of Dolly Parton" (not to be confused by 1970's longer titled "The Best of Dolly Parton"). In 1978 after Dolly started recording pop music and her popularity skyrocketed this album went Gold selling 500,000 copies. In 1990 that album saw a CD release with a different front cover (this picture was used on the inside of the original vinyl gatefold album). Most music historians believe that if RCA Records took an accounting of Dolly's albums sold with the label this record has probably sold in the millions as of 2011.

This is a gem of some of the best work Dolly has ever done. A total of eight tracks were written by her, the other two by Porter Wagoner who receives producing credit. Jewels here are "Jolene", "Coat of Many colors", "I Will Always Love You", "Touch Your Woman", "My Tennessee Mountain Home", and "The Bargain Store". The Porter-written tunes are "When I Sing For Him" and "Lonely Comin' Down".

Although there were no new tracks from this collection the LP did manage to go all the way to #5 on the Country Charts.

Last weekend I found this LP at an antique shop that sells some pretty good records. (The free poster was the main selling point.)
I had no idea how much and how quickly I'd fall in love with this. The opening song "Jolene" had me hooked. It's actually a really good song to shake your booty to.
Most of the songs are right around 3 minutes, which I really like. There's never a boring ending or a chorus that goes on for 2+ minutes. Dolly's voice just soars over you. It's a great album to sing along to.
I prefer Dolly's "older" music (the 70s primarily). I think this was a great find. This a great start for anyone unfamiliar with Dolly.

Content-wise entirely different than the 1970 long-out-of-circulation "The Best of Dolly Parton", itself a must own. Blessed with a gorgeous soprano, even the twee "Love Is Like a Butterfly" has an aura that actually strengthens with the company kept here. This collection documents Dolly's genius as her sentimental-yet-strong self and it never finds her ever stooping to embarrassment. In her case, this can be a tough feat. But here she's shown as such a transcendent (and original) story writer that her mind-bending "Jolene", inventive "The Bargain Store", appreciative "Coat of Many Colors" and vivacious-but-dramatic "Traveling Man" all rank highly amongst country music's greatest songs. Her former musical partner, Porter Wagoner, contributes two inspirational moments for Dolly to wrap her voice on an album that's a ticket to life in the great Tennessee sticks.

I have the original album, and was happy to see
that I could purchase it on CD. Dolly Parton's
older songs are a joy to listen to any day.
Dolly Rocks!!!!

This is a greatest hits collection, but it captures Dolly Parton, a powerful and uniquely talented artist, singer and composer, before she hit it so big that you might never recognize who she was at the beginning. "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love" are standouts but so are all the others, really worth getting.

My mother and I listened (and sang along) to this seletion on 8 track tape when I was a little girl, over and over again. I loved it then, and I love it now. Some of these songs have been changed in more recent recordings, and some of the songs can't be found on other Dolly CDs. That is why I am glad I bought this CD.

I think this compilation is probably the best currently available for an introduction to all that's wonderful about Dolly Parton. From the crossover hit "Jolene," to the classic tearjerker "Coat of Many Colors," it gives a good sense of Dolly's range, even though she's dipping her toe into crossover right about this time. Apart from the two tracks mentioned above, my favorite tracks include "Tennessee Mountain Home," "The Bargain Store," and the jaunty "Touch Your Woman." "Tennessee Mountain Home" is melodic but not saccharine ("Love is Like a Butterfly" is just a little too sweet for my tastes); "The Bargain Store" is a perfect country "plea"; "Touch Your Woman" sees Dolly soar. But without doubt, the best track on here is Dolly's version of Porter Wagoner's "Lonely Coming Down." It's a classic country song -- melancholy, low key, and lyrically inimitable. When Dolly feels the "lonely dripping down her face," all I can do is sigh. Buy this cd, finally, for the really nice cover: thankfully, RCA have left it alone.