Customer Reviews

Rainbow

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

 

 

When Dolly signed with Columbia, she agreed to record some country albums and some pop albums. No doubt both parties expected Dolly's pop albums to be the big sellers but it didn't work out that way and this ended up being the only pop album that Dolly recorded for the label. White Limozeen and Eagle when she flies, both country albums, were much more successful. Nevertheless, this album has much to like about it and deserved to do better than it did. With one exception, all the songs are originals.

There is a hint of Motown as Dolly covers a Mary Wells song (Two lovers) and records a duet with Smokey Robinson (I know you by heart). Of the other songs here, I particularly like The river unbroken (about waiting for a train and dreaming of the destination), Everyday hero (about a happy couple), Could I have your autograph (about a potential romance) and More than I can say (a Dolly original, not a cover of Bobby Vee's sixties hit that later became a UK hit for Leo Sayer).

This album will never be regarded as on one of Dolly's classic albums but it should appeal to those who enjoy Dolly's pop-sounding albums.

In 1987 Dolly release an all rock/pop album, which was her first album for CBS Records. The original plan was for Dolly to alternate between releasing pop and country albums (rather than trying to combine the two styles on each album), but due to the album's poor sales and critical reception, the plan was quickly abandoned, and Dolly more or less forcused on recording country material for the remainder of her association with CBS. The album was among Dolly's lowest charting albums to that point. The album stalled at #153 on the U.S. pop album charts and barely cracked the top twenty on the country albums charts. Dolly's first single, "The River Unbroken" missed the country top 40 entirely, stalling at #63, and did not make the pop charts, it's second single, "I Know You By Heart", a duet with Smokey Robinson, did not chart at all.

This is a fun album from Dolly Parton. Not her best...but it still has it's quirks. This was her first album for Columbia records back in 1987. The album sounds very overproduced, and it's more pop than anything, but it's still worthwhile. It has one of the most beautiful songs she's ever written or sung, the closing "More Than I Can Say". This album came between the successful TRIO album with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, and her successful comeback to country with 1989's WHITE LIMOZEEN. The singles from this album were "The River Unknown" and "Could I Have Your Autograph". The album didn't have any hits though. There's some silly songs that are funny like "Dump the Dude", but some of the fun songs are nice like "Savin It For You" or "Everyday Hero". There's the duet with Smokey Robison on "I Know You By Heart", which was later done by Bette Midler for her BEACHES movie and soundtrack. This is not a must have for casual Parton fans, but avid fans will want it. It's pricey because it's rare to find it on CD!

I have written many reviews on my idol Dolly Parton, all of them positive and with a five-star rating. However, I have been hesitating in writing a review on Dolly's 1987 album "Rainbow" because I, like many of her fans, believe "Rainbow" is simply the worst record she ever recorded. This is due to the fact that when Dolly recorded this record in 1987 she was extremely busy with her ABC variety series "Dolly" and she didn't have much time in finding the right material to record. What resulted is a mismatch collection of tracks that are so far removed from who Dolly is both as an entertainer and singer.

All three singles released , "The River Unbroken", Mary Wells' "Two Lovers", and the Smokey Robinson duet "I Know You By Heart", all failed miserably on the charts. Dolly did write two tracks for "Rainbow": "Could I have Your Autograph" and the gem "More Than I Can Say". The disc only made it to #18 on the Billboard Country Charts and to #153 on the Pop Charts selling a paltry 200,000 copies.

Important to note too is the fact that "Rainbow" was Dolly's first solo album in three years after leaving RCA Records in 1984 after a 17 year association. Once she signed her contract with CBS/Columbia the plan was for her to record one pop album and one country album per year: after "Rainbow" failed, Dolly only recorded country material.

The album's photos were taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz who also took Dolly's pictures for her 2002 album "Halos and Horns".

Length:: 1:41 Mins

Right up front I'll say that I'm a huge Dolly fan from way back (I used to watch her on the Porter Waggoner show with my daddy when I was VERY young.) I have always thought she could pretty much do whatever she wanted and it would turn out alright; she puts so much heart into everything even if something is not suited to her voice or style at least she tried with all her might. Well this album falls into that catergory of not being suited to her style, BUT I like it anyway. Some of the songs are pretty cheesy, and some are actually pretty decent. The River Unbroken was released as a single, but tanked compared to what would be acceptable for someone of her stature. It's still a good song. The one song that always seems to be overlooked and the one I immediately loved years ago when this album came out is Red Hot Screaming Love. It's an amazing song sung with such intensity and feeling on her part YOU can't help but FEEL it. If I remember correctly, it was recorded live with the band, not in sections and spliced together. That is evident in the sound and it makes the song a standout on the album in my opinion.

"Rainbow" is an obscure `pop' album by Country superstar Dolly Parton. From the cheesy album artwork to the lyrical content, everything about the album screams `'80s!' and `Big Hair!', but strangely enough, there are quite a few good songs on here.

The first song is "The River Unbroken", which for some reason is famous for its refrain of "Waiting for the Train to Come". This is one of the better songs on the album, because one listen to the second song, a horribly dated duet called "I Know you by Heart", is enough to test the patience of even the most devoted Parton follower. How Dolly could record this and actually release this abominable song is beyond me, but then again, this entire album is indeed rather questionable.

Remember Debbie Gibson and Tiffany? Well, the song "Could I have your Autograph" could have been from one of those artists' albums. Imagining Dolly covering teen mall-pop is weird enough, but this track takes the word `kitsch' to a whole new level. The same can be said of "Two Lovers" which opens with a horrendous Kenny G-ish saxophone intro that is just embarrassing. A very Sheena Easton-ish song, "Dump the Dude" follows, and is exactly as bad as the title suggests.

I think this album may work for those of you who can appreciate a cheesy pop album for its melodies. Some of the worst pop albums in history have had some good tunes buried deep within them, and as bad as this album is, some of the tunes aren't bad at all. If only Dolly could rehash some of them in today's world and strip them down and layer them all country - it could possibly work.

Two Stars. I bet even Dolly would want to forget she ever recorded this. Its also officially out of print, by the way, but you don't see too many people complaining.

I've been an avid Dolly fan since I was 5 yrs.old and am now 31. Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved this album. Growing up I was influenced by broadway, pop, folk, and rock music. It wasn't until I heard Dolly that I began to listen to country music. Reason being the first Dolly song I heard was 9 to 5. Dolly's voice is extremely well suited for this type of music proving that she can basically sing anything. My favorite tracks are The River Unbroken, Dump The Dude, Could I Have Your Autograph, Red, Hot, Screamin' Love, Make Love Work, Everyday Hero, and Saving It For You. It's a shame that this album didn't chart better back then, it truly is an awesome recording. Some albums I used to like when I was younger I can't stand now, it's not the case with this one. I love this one more now that I'm older and can understand the material that's being sung about.