Dolly Parton Album: “Dolly Parton and Friends”

Let's start with the good stuff. First of all it's great to actually see some of her first TV show surface on DVD. And there are some very good performances from Dolly and all of her friends. If you didn't get to see these when they were originally aired and you're a Dolly fan you're in for a treat. Now for the bad part, these are edited musical performances mostly. I think there is maybe one skit from the show actually on the dvds. Basically the format is Dolly's entrance to the show with a song, then she introduces her guest, the guest performs a song, then usually there's a Dolly number then she teams up with the guest for a song then it's Bye Bye. I really would LOVE to have seen this collection actually use the ENTIRE broadcast the way it was originally aired. If you're a Dolly Parton Fanatic like I am, it's definitely worth the money, if you're just a casual fan or a fan of one of her guests you might want to reconsider your purchase.

Not to be confused with Dolly Parton's 1987 variety show on ABC; this is Dolly, her Nashville-produced syndicated music show from 1976-77. I remember watching this on WFLD-TV (channel 32) in Chicago at 10 or 10:30pm, and it's nice to see six of these shows again after all these years. Dolly's down-home personality really shines with these performances and in her interactions with her guest stars. Her voice is in fine form and it's a treat to see her perform many of her earlier favorites. There are plenty of throw-away comedy bits involving her guests, but that was pretty much par for the course when these shows were produced. Fans will especially enjoy seeing Dolly perform with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt (hinting at what they would eventually strike gold with their "Trio" recordings), not to mention Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, Ronnie Milsap, Rod McKuen, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. Although I was hoping to see McCoo/Davis sing their big hit "You Don't Have To Be a Star", I really enjoyed their performances of "I Hope We Get To Love In Time" and "You Can't Change My Heart", and I'll have to seek out their album featuring those songs. Big pluses for this DVD include a clear, crisp picture, especially when considering these shows are over 30 years old (they didn't even look THIS good on Channel 32 when they originally aired!), and each DVD has a bonus musical performance from when Dolly appeared on Porter Wagoner's show. This DVD set is a MUST for all Dolly fans, and since this set features only six episodes, here's hoping this is merely the first of more to come.

Just before she went "pop" and out to reach the mainstream American public, Dolly Parton starred in a single season half-hour syndicated music show out of Nashville in 1976 called DOLLY. Clearly laying the foundation for a crossover, this musical series found Dolly with a number of non-country guests and performing several pop songs. Here is probably your only chance to hear Dolly sing I BELIEVE IN MUSIC, FEELINGS, LET ME BE THERE, DRIFT AWAY, BLUE EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN, PROUD MARY, and THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS as well as a number of her famous hits. She also sings with each of her guests.

This two DVD set has six of the 26 episodes gathered together on two DVDs. The episodes are: (1) Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris (2)Anne Murray & Randy Parton (3) Ronnie Milsap (4) Rod McKuen (5) Kenny Rogers (6) Billy Davis Jr & Marilyn McCoo.

30-year-old Dolly is at the peak of her beauty and radiates the star charisma that had already bewitched the country audience for almost a decade and was about to reach far beyond those borders. Although bubbly and dressed colorfully, she's still a bit more conservative than she would be in Hollywood. The music is great and some of it is live, some of it lip-synching to recordings (mostly her guests) or tracks recorded for the show (like location shoots which are obviously not sung live). Even with just six episodes there is a little song repitition - Dolly sings BAD BAD LEROY BROWN and RHINESTONE COWBOY each twice but the settings are different. Presumably there are only six episodes here due to the high costs and problems with music licensing, one certainly hopes there will be additional DVDS of this show which despite it's brevity was an excellent showcase for the talents and appeal of Dolly Parton. Each episode runs approximately 24 minutes. As extra features, each disc contains a performance by Dolly from THE PORTER WAGONER SHOW, the gospel COMIN' FOR TO CARRY ME HOME and a sensational cover of the Carter Family's FOGGY MOUNTAIN TOP.

HI THERE

I WOULD LIKE BUY THE SECOND OF DOLLY DVD 1977-1976.I WISH WOULD BE OUT

CHRIS TOME.. I BIG DOLLY FAN.

PLEASE EMAIL BACK RIGHT AWAY

YOUR FRIEND DAVID SCHMIDLI

Great - Enjoyable and with great music and songs.