Customer Reviews

Dolly Dolly Dolly

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The album "Dolly, Dolly, Dolly" is a really great combination of country, and pop. I don't feel that this album really hit the commercial success that it should have, but then came "9 to 5" and it was all up from there.

I highly recommend this c.d. However, if your a serious "Dolly fan", then get the double c.d. that has: Dolly, Dolly, Dolly, and Great Balls of Fire! Both of these titles have just recently been released on a (2 for 1). Which brings me to the title of this review...

Why is BMG Special Marketing bringing us duplicates of duplicates??? This title as I mentioned, has already been released on c.d. and as a (2 for 1). So why are we releasing the same titles in different format???

I'm not a marketing expert, but common sense would tell me that maybe releasing: Hearbreak Express (1982) WHICH HAS NEVER, EVER BEEN RELEASED ONTO C.D. FORMAT!!! Also, the title: The Great Pretender (1984) which was at one time on c.d format, about 25yrs. ago...

If BMG Special Services really wanted to do something smart(?) Let's put out a (2 for 1) on c.d. for the titles: Heartbreak Express and The Great Pretender!!! This would make more sense than releasing c.d.'s of the SAME THING over and over again.

Not to mention, that it also makes sense to put out onto c.d. format Heartbreak Express because collectors go for the entire discography, and not bits and pieces of compilations!!! So far, collectors can't complete the collection because you keep skipping it YEAR after YEAR!!

So, make it a goal to have this title out by the end of 2008, you will feel better about yourselves, and so will the fans!!! GET BUSY!!!

If your a fan of Dolly Parton's country catalogue of albums, you will be disappointed in this collection. "Dolly, Dolly, Dolly" is in essence a true pop record designed for the pop audience that Dolly aimed for in the late 1970's. Nevertheless, this album is a fantastic collection of pop songs, although there is one country ballad, the remake of "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle To You", that went all the way to #1 on the charts. I remember when this album and song came out; country fans loved the single, but couldn't believe it was the only country track on the whole album. If you are a huge Dolly fan like I am, however, Miss Parton can record anything and I will love it.
Most critics trashed this album when it was first released in April, 1980. Many said it was over-produced and poorly put together as Dolly was filming her first movie "9 to 5". I personally love the record. Some of her ardent fans have said it was the worst album of her career, but my bets are on her 1987 "Rainbow" release that didn't have a hit single. "Dolly, Dolly, Dolly" also spawned another #1 country hit and top 40 song, with the Donna Summer written "Starting Over Again". Other greats here are her "You're The Only One I Ever Needed", that sounds a lot like her "Here You Come Again" number, "Even a Fool Would Let Go" proved Dolly's voice is the best, and I also love the ballad "I Knew You When".
Take this Dolly release for what it is; a pop record geared to a larger market than the country audience. Although not seen as a country disc, the record went into the top 10 of the country charts. This is also one of only a handleful of Dolly records, out of her 80 in-studio albums in her catalogue, where she didn't write any songs. Dolly didn't have the time as she was preparing for her first acting gig in a major motion picture.
This CD also is available with her 1979 blockbuster album, "Great Balls of Fire"...look for that too!

Dolly Parton set her sights on the pop market in the late 70s, and produced some very credible attempts at cracking that market. Later this year - 1980 - she would release the wonderful "9 TO 5 AND ODD JOBS" themed album. But, before that triumph came this... Well, lacklustre collection of song. To my mind, the best songs are the opening track, a deeply felt ballad of parents breaking up, and the last three. (The fun, reggae-tinged SWEET AGONY, the nostalgic I KNEW YOU WHEN and the rockin' fun of PACKIN' IT UP. The rest is mostly bland, overproduced, overly polished pop. Most of them are competently done, but... Would you really expect a Dolly Parton album to be sloppy? Maybe it would have helped... The worst offender as a truly awful song is YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT I EVER NEEDED, where Dolly struggles to keep up with the musical backing. This album is recommended if you are a Dolly fan, like me. Otherwise - buy the good albums, such as everything released between 1967 and 1976, and everything released in th 90s and onwards.

Just my opinion...

If you like Pop music you'll enjoy this CD.It just shows that Dolly, can do about anything. She has a beautiful voice.She's very talented.

DOLLY DOLLY DOLLY earned the wrath of many a country critic back in 1980 as her least country album to date and particularly for being the first album of her career in which Parton failed to record a one of her own songs. The country audience, however, paid these critics no mind and the album spawned two more number hits for Dolly, OLD FLAMES CAN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO YOU and Donna Summer's STARTING OVER AGAIN which also enjoyed pop top 40 success.

Dolly Parton is clearly having fun here as the carousel cover suggests. She rocks out on PACKIN' IT UP and coos SWEET AGONY to a vaguely Spanish beat. She does quite well with the Broadwayish FOOL FOR YOUR LOVE and the middle-of-the-road EVEN A FOOL WOULD LET GO but clearly struggles with the awkward choruses of YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I EVER NEEDED and SAME OLD FOOL. I KNEW YOU WHEN is a nice sentimental number but SAY GOODNIGHT is pretty forgettable. Very much a Charles Koppelman/"The Entertainment Company" production, DOLLY DOLLY DOLLY is an unusual album in her catalog but it's a largely successful one.