Live and Well [LIVE]

Dolly Parton

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 2004)
• Original Release Date: September 14, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Sugarhill
• ASIN: B0002UJMC0
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,302 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There isn't a more ebullient live performer in all of popular music than Dolly Parton, as this chatty concert recording attests. Though Parton had been on hiatus from touring for a decade, she reconnects here with an audience that extends from country traditionalists to drag queens (to whom she dedicates her classic "Jolene"). Banjo and fiddle drive the acoustic arrangements and bluegrass harmonies highlight the choruses as Parton surveys a career-spanning selection of material on this two-disc set, applying her signature vocal quaver to hits from "Coat of Many Colors" to "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You." The concert extends her musical terrain to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush," and a breathy rendition of Bread's "If," while an a cappella medley renews the likes of "Islands in the Stream" and "Here You Come Again." Parton's in fine voice throughout and even better spirits, spending almost as much time bantering with the crowd as she does singing. Where many live recordings are little more than songs with applause, this is the full Dolly. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just one more reason to love Dolly..., October 10, 2004

By	Mr. Stanley M. Schmidt "boymitch" (Rockford, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First of all, I'm NOT a Country Music fan, but I can't help but love Dolly Parton. You'll hear why if you buy this 2-disc set.

Dolly is not only a great singer and performer, but a master lyricist and storyteller. Her incredible commentary between songs explains her thoughts and you really get a feel of why she wrote that song. Her simple grace is amazing. She loves to entertain and that shows loud and clear in this set. When she talks about her childhood, her family and her home on the foot of the Smokey Mountains, she really shows why she is an icon.

I did shed of couple of unexpected tears while this was playing. "My Tennessee Mountain Home", "Smokey Mountain Memories" and "Coat of Many Colors" are killers. They draw such emotion and with a lyric like "..so we hitched our station wagon to a star", it's a wonder there was a dry eye in the house.

I'm so proud to own this collection. Buy it and I think you'll see why.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Live Recording of Dolly's Last Few Years!, July 8, 2005

By	Dolly Fan "Dolly Fan" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This album is a perfect example of what you will hear at a Dolly concert. None of Dolly's interaction with the audience has been removed for the discs, so you hear her talking in between songs! If you like this CD, there is also a companion DVD so you can enjoy watching the concert as well! Buy this release, I am sure you will enjoy it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's almost like being there..., November 28, 2004

By	anamericangirly (Texas) - See all my reviews

I always wonder how good any live album actually will be. I assumed Dolly would deliver, but you just don't know for sure. This live album is fun to listen to...almost more for what she says in between the songs than the actual songs themselves. I did say "almost"--the song material is exceptional and, for the most part, from her bluegrass trilogy, "The Grass is Blue," "Little Sparrow" and "Halos and Horns." Of course, her standards are included as well, so you get a little of the old Dolly and the new and improved Dolly, too. This cd is bluegrass heavy, and with that mountain voice, I could listen to Dolly sing it all day long. I started listening in '78, but her work in the last 5 years is some of her finest and my favorite. She is brilliant as a bluegrass musician. Dolly and bluegrass go together like biscuits and gravy. My favorite cut is #4 "Mountain Angel." The song is great, but the banter at the end is even better. With all the jokes and storytelling and her heartfelt sincerity, it's almost just like being there.