The Best of Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 13, 1990)
• Original Release Date: August 21, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002W7J
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,837 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Jolene

2. Traveling Man

3. Lonely Comin' Down

4. Bargain Store

5. Touch Your Woman

6. I Will Always Love You

7. Love Is Like a Butterfly

8. Coat of Many Colors

9. My Tennessee Mountain Home

10. When I Sing for Him

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dolly Parton 101, May 16, 2001

By A Customer

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 scaps 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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than most Parton compilations, January 9, 2000

By A Customer

With the market gutted with umpteen Parton compilations (most of them concentrating on her more pop oriented material) this one is a rare find - one that focuses more on her earlier more compelling music made in Nashville.

While it suffers from being too skimpy (only about half an hour of music) it does feature some first rate songs such as "Jolene," "The Bargain Store," "Lonely Coming Down," "My Tennessee Mountain Home" "Touch Your Woman" and the magnificent "Coat of Many Colors." It also, unfortunately, hints at the bland pop direction her career would soon take with the drippy "Love Is Like a Butterfly," and the way too over played "I Will Always Love You." Still, rare is the Parton compilation that acknowledges she had a life before she went Hollywood.

There is another "Best of Dolly Parton" collection that was released on vinyl in 1970. It too is magnificent, was released on RCA and it too runs about 30 minutes. Unfortunately it has never been given a CD issue. Wouldn't it be magnificent if, RCA would issued it, and this collection all on one CD?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dolly is something else!, January 2, 2001

By	G. Sawaged (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.