Backwoods Barbie

Dolly Parton

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 26, 2008)
• Original Release Date: February 26, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dolly Records
• ASIN: B0011UFAFS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,261 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #11 in	Music > Country > Roadhouse Country
  #14 in	Music > Indie Music > Country > Country Folk
  #22 in	Music > Indie Music > Folk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Parton's first mainstream album in 17 years appeals to all her fans without sounding insincere or compromising. The title track, a fiddle-and-piano colored two-beat that's a sympathetic bit of autobiography, belies her campy doll-like cover pose. The debut single "Better Get to Livin'" is a page from her own upbeat canon, and when she's downhearted in the steel-guitar weeper "The Lonesomes" and the cocktail lounge arrangement "Made of Stone," she draws on the influence of earlier country queens like Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline. Parton's vocal tones remain equally pure, distinctive, and captivating over grinding six-string power chords as she blasts out Fine Young Cannibal's "Drives Me Crazy." She's especially affecting on a faithful rendition of Smokey Robinson's "The Tracks of My Tears." The bottom line is that Parton's one of America's greatest enduring vocal stylists, whether she's revisiting her roots in bluegrass or making commercial hay. --Ted Drozdowski

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is Wrong With Radio?, February 26, 2008

By	A* (New York, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews

Dolly Parton has been making solid to brilliant albums for decades and we don't have to go into her crossover appeal that paved the way for Shania or how the Dixie Chicks have ridden her bubbly sheen of country to their own genre bending career, but we need to talk about how Country Radio has smacked this woman in the face and ignored her for helping to sustain it and bring in new listeners.

Dolly's new disc is great with some truly outstanding cuts. She didn't pen every song on the disc and there are covers. "Tracks of my Tears" sticks close to the Smokey Robinson original but I love it. Dolly's almost innocent vocal and the opening lines of that song fit her personality perfectly, giving a hidden wink and nod to the lyrics.

"Drives Me Crazy" gets a bit of a rework, more of a barn burner; it's cute and you won't skip it when you hear it. But the true foot stomper is "Shinola" Dolly's kiss off number with grit and wit -- showing Gretchen Wilson and Miranda Lambert how to kick a man out like a mule, but with class.

Then there are the outstanding songs. "Cologne" is worth the price of the disc alone, building from a sweet opening sigh then straight into a relationship where what most likely attracted the lover must be repressed to conceal their relationship. Then there is "Made of Stone," a 180 to the previous number, scorned love and with desperation in her voice with swelling back up singers pushing her along -- PERFECTION!

"The Lonesomes" and "I Will Forever Hate Roses" are the rest of the best. Dolly doesn't seem to be updating her sound, begging for radio acceptance. But it sounds like a great Dolly Parton album that somehow went unreleased when she was at her mainstream peak.

So many great country artists are just being ignored on the radio. She gets the ovations, she puts the butts in the seats, but when will radio give what listeners want? We want Dolly dang it!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BY FAR, One of the best this year, March 7, 2008

By	EC Network (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

No exaggeration. Surrounded by other new releases this month that are not nearly as dynamic, "Backwoods Barbie" is a standout, and perhaps one of the greatest new releases this year. It has been a long time since I've purchased an album and listened to it without using the skip button. Every track is solid. For those of you who may not be a fan of this artist, forget this artist for a minute. It is simply the best in modern Country music. After spending the last few years exploring Bluegrass music, Dolly parton has returned to country, but this time somehow you can feel she's brought all she has learned from her vast musical history.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!, March 7, 2008

By	Dawn Taylor "snoopdol" (Mooresville, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dolly's "Backwoods Barbie" cd has so many great songs on it, and a little bit of something for a variety of musical tastes. The title track is a pure country Dolly autobiographical tune, while "She Drives Me Crazy" is a lot of fun for anyone who was young when the original version was released. "Jesus and Gravity" is such a wonderful, spiritual song, and probably will be up next to "He's Alive" out of her greatest gospel songs. Dolly sings her heart out on every song and puts so much emotion into each one. The overall feel of it is like her early 90's album "Hungry Again", but updated with a lot more musical styles, including the blues number "The Lonesomes". And I can't forget to mention the upbeat "Shinola" in which Dolly gives off some sass! I've been waiting for this cd for a while and I was not disappointed!