Customer Reviews

Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton - 20 Greatest Hits

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There are a few collections of Dolly and Porter out there, but this has to be the most complete. I had reservations about intially purchasing this since it was released by "TeeVee Records", but I will admit, I was wrong. It is a fine collection of original recordings, and "TeeVee Records" should be commended for this release. There are 20 numbers here, and I'm glad to say, there is no filler material; all of the songs are among their most popular. Besides the lighter material such as "We'll Get ahead Someday" and "Better Move it on Home", their two most tragic songs about dead and dying kids are also included, with "Jeannie's Afraid of the Dark" and "Silver Sandals". Get this album, as it will quickly become part of your regular rotation.

Here's 20 genuine traditional country music songs, most of them classics of the genre. Dolly and Porter's voices blend perfectly to ensure some of the greatest duets ever in any form of popular music. There are wonderful weepies like Just Someone I Used To Know, uptempo numbers like Better Move It On Home and a great cover of The Last Thing On My Mind. Other favourites of mine are If Teardrops Were Pennies, Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man with its lovely chorus, Lost Forever In Your Kiss and the moving Yours Love. I don't know what their hit The Right Combination has been omitted, because Parton an Wagoner certainly had the perfect combination - they created ageless music that is so much better and emotionally compelling than most of what goes for modern country music.

Dolly has been my favorite singer since I started collecting music seriously, but quite apart from the brilliance of her own music, she also has an outstanding catalog of recordings made with others - in recent years with Kenny, Linda, Emmylou, Tammy and Loretta as well as numerous guest appearances with many different singers. Yet, some of the best recordings Dolly ever made were her duets with Porter.

They recorded a lot of albums, all of which I bought on vinyl. Apart from Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, this is the strongest compilation of their music so far released. Fifteen of the tracks here can also be found on Essential, yet if you use Billboard as a guide, the 20 tracks on the Essential compilation were actually their 20 greatest hits. For this compilation, five of their bona-fide hits were dropped and replaced by songs that were popular among their fans.

Of the five non-hits, two were songs about unlucky children (Silver sandals, Jeannie's afraid of the dark). Also here is Forty miles from Poplar Bluff, one of my favorite Porter and Dolly tracks. It was very controversial at the time because of its use of horns although anybody listening to it will realize that they enhance the recording, which is still solidly country. However, maybe the controversy prevented its release as a single. The other two non-hits were Just between you and me and Before I met you - again, both sound good enough to have been hits. Both were covers but Porter and Dolly had several cover hits (see later). To make may for those five tracks without increasing the number of tracks, they dropped Always always, The right combination, Together always, We found it and Say forever you'll be mine from this compilation.

Many of the songs Porter and Dolly recorded were written by Dolly, including (on this set) Tomorrow is forever, Daddy was an old time preacher man, Lost forever in your kiss and Together always. Porter also contributed by writing Burning the midnight oil and co-writing with Dolly two of their biggest hits (Please don't stop loving me and If you go I'll follow you).

They also recorded covers - not as many as was the custom in those days, but always well chosen. They had hits with The last thing on my mind (Tom Paxton), Yours love (previously a hit for Waylon), Just someone I used to know (originally a hit for George Jones, but titled A girl I used to know), If teardrops were pennies (first a hit for Carl Smith) and Making plans, written by Johnny Russell (who later also did a duet with Dolly on the song).

The other songs are excellent originals, written by a variety of writers. Every song on this collection is a masterpiece. Anybody who claims to be a true Dolly fan needs some of her duets with Porter, a fine singer with a nice baritone voice, but who will be forever remembered for his work with Dolly, despite being the first to have a hit with Green green grass of home and making many other wonderful records.

THIS IS TRADITIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC AT ITS VERY BEST. THERE ARE GREAT FEMALE/MALE DUOS TODAY, BUT PORTER AND DOLLY CAN REALLY PUT ALL THE EMOTION THAT THE SONGS ON THIS CD REQUIRE. WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Country Music doesn't get any Purer than this. The soulfull sound of Porter combined with the lonely cry in Dolly's voice made for the finest duo EVER in Country Music History. Backed by the very proffessional uptempo sounds of Buck Trent and the WagonMasters, these songs tugged at your every emotion. And that my friends is the Key to Real Country Music.........Emotion. This CD took me on a trip right back into the late 60's, when there was no doubt what Country Music was. I must admit that I was heatbroken when Dolly crossed over in '77. This CD is good testament why.

Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton - 20 Greatest Hits, is one of the best I have heard, it has all great songs. Porter and Dolly are one of the finest duet couples in country music and this recording of their 20 greatest hits will attest to it.

I guess I rate this so high because it brings back the fondest of memories of for me. I link these songs with a certain feeling of a "Sunday kind of Love." Most of these songs have a strong connection to the gospel music roots style of music you would hear in the bible belt area music of that time. I always associate these songs with walking to church on Sunday, followed by either sitting out on our front porch or going fishing/swimming down at the river near our home. The wonderful harmoney that Parton/Wagner had really helped tell the story in each song. For us, they were also a great tool which we used to learn harmoney and verse. These songs bring to life, vividly, a particular chapter in my life that was filled with memories that I will always hold close to me.

Loretta & Conway won more awards, Tammy & George got more press but in my mind Dolly and Porter are hands down the greatest male/female duet country music ever produced. Their harmony is so awesome it's hard to believe these are two individual superstars recording together and not full-fledged duet act like The Everly Brothers or the Wilburn Brothers. Porter & Dolly in fact have a harmony so flawless you would think they were a family act like the Wilburns or the Everlys. This album includes almost all of their greatest hits as well as many other outstanding performances. The album is also a great showcase for Dolly Parton, the songwriter, as many of her best songs were recorded in duet form with Porter. TOMORROW IS FOREVER is a song to me that is greater than even I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU. And who could forget the sentimental but deeply real and human JEANNIE'S AFRAID OF THE DARK? There's everything from the folk classic LAST THING ON MY MIND down stone country to the hard country classic IF TEARDROPS WERE PENNIES, all of it flawless. I love all of these songs, they really bring back my childhood watching The Porter Wagoner Show on television. As country as grits and as moving as a symphony, Porter and Dolly have no peers as a romantic duet.

This was a very good cd. I really enjoyed several Porter and Dolly non-hits like "40 miles from Poplar Buff". A lot of great recordings from the late 60's early 70 classic country era/sound. This is worth the money.

In a town called Magoye in Zambia, Central Africa my sister returned with these songs to teach us these songs whenever she was on her school holidays. I learnt to sing these songs even before I heard them play. These songs bring real memories of my childhood in the mid 70s as I was growing us.