Just the Way I Am [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Dolly Parton

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 21, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Delta Camden
• ASIN: B00003L9HQ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #253,878 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Just the Way I Am

2. Little Bird

3. Mama Say a Prayer

4. My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy

5. In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)

6. In the Ghetto

7. Daddy Come and Get Me

8. Carroll County Accident

9. Gypsy, Joe and Me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dolly in the sixties - some of her best songs, July 12, 2002

By	Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

These recordings, made between 1967 and 1970, were not successful for Dolly at the time, although she was successful as duet partner of Porter Wagoner. Seven of the nine songs were written by Dolly.

The first two songs (Just the way I am and Little bird) are brilliant upbeat, happy songs, yet it is the seven extremely sad songs that follow which show Dolly's real qualities.

My favorite track (indeed, my favorite Dolly song - and I've heard them all) is My blue ridge mountain boy. It is about a girl yearning for the boy back home, instead of the ones she meets in the city.

Mama say a prayer and Daddy come and get me are also songs about someone yearning to be back home because of problems with men.

In the good old days is a bittersweet song about her childhood experiences.

Gypsy Joe and me is a song about death for all three.

The Carroll county accident is a cover of a Porter Wagoner hit about a road accident, but with a twist.

In the ghetto is the Mac Davis song made famous by Elvis. I enjoy both versions (I am a huge fan of both Elvis and Dolly) but I think Dolly has a better feel for the song. Listen to both and judge for yourself.

If you are a fan of Dolly's early seventies music, particularly if you enjoy Coat of many colors, you'll like this. If you find that song too depressing, you should give this a miss.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Great, July 16, 2000

By	Melissa Hardie "mjh1963" (Potts Point, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

What a pleasure to see this record on cd. There's not a bad song on here, and a number of gems. The title track, "Just the Way I Am," is a rollicking introduction to this cd, which is a showcase of her talents at their best and most diverse. "Mama Say a Prayer" (the best track on this cd, in my opinion) is reminiscent of Dolly's earliest recordings; "Gypsy, Joe and Me" is a classic Dolly story song. Notable, also, is "In the Good Old Days," "Little Bird," and "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy."

In Alanna Nash's biography, Dolly lamented that she never got to sing with Elvis, and that thwarted ambition is poignantly evoked in her cover of "In The Ghetto." It sits nicely with "Carol County Accident," probably my second favourite track. I like the cover, too: an exuberant, plump Dolly who is just the way she is.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Will have to do for now, January 8, 2000

By A Customer

This reissue of a fairly obscure budget Parton compilation would seem pretty pointless if it weren't for the fact that it rescues several solid songs from the out of print limbo they have been in for several years. Chief among them are the title track, the harrowing "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy," the presumably autobiographical "In The Good Ol' Days," and the sharp example of Parton's story telling capabilities in "Gypsy, Joe, and Me." One can gripe about the mere 25 and a half minute running time (in an age when CDs can hold 80 minutes of music), the complete lack of liner notes, as well as the tacky and embarrassing cover photos, but the remastered sound is impressive and the list price can't be beat.

One hopes that the indivivdual albums that originaly contained these songs will be made available again soon, but for now this will have to do.