Customer Reviews

The Fairest Of Them All - My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner

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Two of Dolly Parton's most revered albums finally comes to CD in this beautiful collection.

Anyone who has followed Dolly's career knows that RCA Records hasn't done a good job in rereleasing her late 1960's/early 1970's discography on CD (only a handful of Dolly albums from that era are available on compact disc), so it's always a treat when old Parton albums find a home on CD. This set is what is known as a "two on one CD" or a "twofer" in which two albums are remastered from their original master tapes and put together in one package. This gem has all the original tracks in the same order in which they were released on the original LP, along with rare unpublished photographs, new extensive and informative liner notes, and each album has a bonus track that was cut from the album's original release.

First up is "The Fairest of Them All", released in February, 1970, which went all the way to #13 on the country album chart. A superb collection, Dolly's fans often refer to this as her "soap opera album" in which Dolly finds herself in situations of peril. Songs range from the opening track "Daddy Come and Get Me" where Dolly's lover throws her in a mental institution and she pleads with her father to release her; "I'm Doing This For Your Sake" (which would go on to be the "B-side" to her 1971 "Joshua" single) has the young woman giving her child up for adoption; "Chas" finds Dolly yearning for her sister's husband; "Robert" is a story in which a boy is in love with a girl not knowing she is his sister; and most notably there is "Down From Dover" where the girl is shunned by her parents when she becomes pregnant. The girl loses the child and it is then that she realizes her boyfriend isn't coming back. That song is one of Dolly's most well-known by her fan base and was written when she was 18 years old. She wanted to release it as a single, but RCA felt it was too controversial for the time. Instead, "Daddy Come and Get Me" was released as the sole single and went to #40. "Down From Dover" was rerecorded in 2001 on Dolly's "Little Sparrow" CD which included an additional verse not available on the original recording.

Another gem on "The Fairest of Them All" is "Before You Make Up Your Mind", written by Dolly's uncle Bill Owens, which could have been a great country single. It has a neat beat and great tempo.

It is important to note as well that this album was Dolly's first in which she wrote the bulk of the material; 10 out of the 11 tracks were Parton-penned. As a bonus "Everything Is Beautiful (In It's Own Way) (not the Ray Stevens' version) is included here and was part of "The Fairest of Them All's" recording sessions, but cut at the last minute. It was written by Dolly as a teenager when she was back in Tennessee. When she met Porter Wagoner she sung this to him, and it was this song that persuaded him to hire her as his "girl-singer" on his TV and road show and would ultimately bring her to RCA. "Everything Is Beautiful..." was included on the "Dolly" box set that came out in October, 2009.

Dolly has stated that out of all the 81 albums she has recorded "The Fairest of Them All" has the worst album cover. She wanted to look like a fairy-tale princess, but the result was not of her liking.

Secondly, we have "Dolly Parton Sings "My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner"". Released in November, 1972 and charting as high as #33 on the country chart, this set isn't as strong as "The Fairest of Them All", but is never-the-less well-recorded with Dolly's voice having that pure mountain sound to it. The album is a tribute to Porter who wrote all the tracks. Early in 1972 Skeeter Davis released a collection of songs in honour of Dolly as a songwriter, so RCA felt that Dolly should do the same for Porter who was both her mentor and duet partner.

This is the album that first contained "Lonely Comin' Down" (it would show up on Dolly's 1974 "Jolene" record). Other greats here are "Washday Blues" (a minor hit), "Comes and Goes", "He Left Me Love", "The Bird That Never Flew", and "When I Sing For Him", a haunting song about a person's love for God, released as a single, but never charted. The bonus track here is the "B-Side" to "Washday Blues" called "Just As Good As Gone", which is Dolly-penned that came to CD on the "Dolly" box set.

The booklet that accompanies this disc is exquisite; it contains rare photos, a wonderful biography on Dolly's career up to the present, recreations of the two original album covers (the back of these LP's are, unfortunately, not presented), and the CD disc itself contains a replica of the original orange RCA Victor label.

Two extremely rare albums, this collection has a place in everyone's CD collection. It is surprising too that neither album sounds dated as both Bob Ferguson and Porter (who is an uncredited producer on both albums) made sure that Dolly's voice carried the recordings, not the instrumentation, which is explains why all of Dolly's albums from that era are now regarded by both critics and fans alike as classics and the best work of her career.

Thank you Omni Recording from Australia for rereleasing these rare and hard-to-find Dolly albums. Perhaps you could rerelease Dolly's "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy" and her "Bubbling Over" albums next? Thought I'd ask!

UPDATE! For those wondering how this CD has sold, there is some great news; during the first week of release Dolly Parton's "The Fairest of Them All/Sings "My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner"" went all the way to #1 on Amazon's Classic Country CD List!

I just recieved this CD this morning and I LOVE IT!!! It is nice to hear a Dolly cd with different songs on it then the same ones over and over. I just dont understand how SONY dont release alot of DOLLY's older material. Its a shame how it takes a foriegn record company to release her older material! Thank God for OMNI RECORD COMPANY!!! Hey OMNI if you read this please release more old Dolly matarial on cd!!!! This CD is a must for any Dolly fan or even for a county music fan!!

I don't know why many of Dolly Parton's classic 70's albums have not found their way onto CD, but slowly they are finally coming out. The two collected here, "The Fairest Of Them All" and "My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner" are two of her best. The first album of the two, "Fairest" could also be called "The Worst Cover Of Them All", great material but hideous cover photo. But album cover aside, the material is top notch. The best track on the album is "Down From Dover", the song was never a single, but became a fan favorite. The rest of the songs are classic Dolly story telling.
The second album, "Favorite Songwriter", contains all Porter Wagoner originals. One has to wonder if Porter really was her favorite songwriter or if it was just a contractual thing. As with the other album on the disc, the songs from this album are all strong with the best being "Lonely Coming Down" and "When I Sing For Him". Whether or not Wagoner was her favorite songwriter, she puts her all into the songs.
Also included are two bonus tracks, the first "Everything Is Beautiful (In It's Own Way)" was included in last years box set. The second bonus is "Just As Good As Gone" a b-side from the era. The booklet includes a detailed bio of Dolly as well as photos and album notes as well as a "mini poster".
These box set is great, but many of Dolly's best songs are album cuts. Hopefully we will get the rest of the "lost" albums before long.

Without being too non-specific I must say that this CD set is amazing. Finally, somebody somewhere had a stroke of genius that made them at last release these two Dolly Parton albums on CD. Here are some great songs that sound great thanks to digital transference. I cannot say enough great things about this release. I strongly advise anyone thinking about buying this to just buy it; you will not be disappointed. Every Dolly fan should have this in their collections too; but that goes without saying. The booklet, liner notes, photographs, and cover art are all wonderful additions to the album. Again, I strongly recommend this product!

It's hard to review these 2 for 1 CD's as they were recorded as two separate projects. The first album on this CD is 1970's "The Fairest of Them All". To say this album is a masterpiece is a total understatement. For those who like Dolly's traditional sound and story songs this could be the ultimate album. Although there were no major hit singles from this album the album contains some of Dolly's best and proves what an excellent songwriter she is as she wrote all but one song on this one. The album may surprise some people as this album is so dark and sad it makes Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette look happy. The first track "Daddy Come and Get Me" is a song about a girl being placed in a mental institution by her cheating husband. It's an excellent heartbreak song but the album just gets better and better. Most of these songs are sad with some surprising endings. "Mammie", "Down from Dover", and "Robert" are some of the best songs Dolly has ever written. If you love old sad songs you will not find any better than these 3 songs. Most of the others are also sad story songs. The album is not all sad. "Just The Way I Am" is a great song regarding acceptance and "When Possession Gets Too Strong" is a great warning song of letting your other half know not to change you. As far as subject matter this could possibly be Dolly's most serious album ever recorded. The only thing bad about this album is that it was not a big enough hit for many people to hear. The next album on this CD is "My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner" It is a good album but pales in comparison to the previous album. If I were reviewing this one I would give it 4 stars. Dolly's vocals are excellent and there are a couple of outstanding tracks. These tracks include "Lonely Coming Down" it is a very sad song that would go well with the first album. The other standout track is the lighthearted "WhatAin't to Be Just Might Happen". All in all, when looking at Dolly's albums before her crossover this would be very highly recommended (especially "Fairest of Them All" as it is a lost masterpiece. These recording are songs that you must listen to the lyrics to appreciate but as long as you do I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Length:: 1:24 Mins

Two classic lp's from Dolly make their CD debut. The Fairest Of Them All contains great songs like Daddy Come And Get Me and the moving Down From Dover (although not a single, Dolly sings often in concerts). My Favorite Songwriter has all songs written by Porter Wagoner. Singles include Washday Blues. Other treasures from this lp were When I Sing For Him and Lonely Comin' Down. There are also two bonus cuts including the never before released solo version of Everything's Beautiful In It's Own Way. I highly reccommend this CD for the Dolly fans out there.