Buddha's 1999 reissue of Parton's 1974 LP is a straight-up presentation of the original ten tracks. Clocking in at under 25 minutes, this may seem like a sampler rather than a full album in today's 78-minute CD world, but what's here is vintage pre-Hollywood Dolly. In addition to the chart-topping title track, the original version of her farewell to Porter Wagoner, "I Will Always Love You," is awe-inspiring. In contrast to Whitney Houston's overblown remake (and Parton's own oversung reworking), the original is a perfect record, filled with strength, vulnerability, fragility and resolution that culminate in heartbreak all around.
The remaining eight tracks, six from Parton, one from Wagoner, and one from Blaise Tosti ("It Must Be You") are a bit tamer than the topics explored on "Coat of Many Colors" (Buddha's other 1999 reissue), but no less heartfelt. Parton's emancipation from Wagoner would eventually lead her to Hollywood and crossover success, but in the mid-70s she was at the full flower of her first go-round as a pure country singer-songwriter.
Buddha's reissue was an essential buy upon its arrival in 1999, and one for which Parton fans should be grateful. At this point, however, BMG's 2001 pairing of this title with 1975's "My Tennessee Mountain Home" (which is otherwise unavailable on CD) offers twice the music (plus a bonus track) for a few dollars more.
I LIKE THIS ALBUM THE MOST, BOASTING HER EARLY WORK. BESIDES "JOLENE". I'M VERY FOND OF "LIVING ON MEMORIES OF YOU" WHICH REMINDS ME OF A SONG YOU MIGHT HEAR IN A SALOON, BACK IN THE OLD WEST. I ALSO LOVE "HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE", "LONELY COMIN' DOWN"( WHICH IS VERY HEARTFELT)AND "IT MUST BE YOU", NOT TO MENTION THE LEGENDARY "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU". THIS IS THE ONLY ALBUM I CAN SAY, BESIDES THE COMPILATIONS OF BEST HITS I HAVE, THAT I LIKE EVERY SONG ON DEEPLY. WORTH EVERY PENNY IF YOU LIKE DOLLY'S EARLY WORK.
To coincide with Dolly's European tour of 2007, there were several CD releases including yet another best of compilation and three twofers (of which this is one) featuring six albums, five of which had never been released on CD while the other had only briefly been available in the early days of CD. Three of Dolly's older albums were also released with bonus tracks (of which this is one) although only the bonus tracks were new to CD, the main albums having already been made available on earlier releases.
The basic Jolene album as originally released had ten tracks, all of a high quality. Two of them became number one country hits for Dolly before eventually becoming internationally famous. The first was the title track, which became a British top ten hit in 1976. Dolly's music has been popular in Britain ever since, and may now be more so than in her homeland, although her popularity isn't reflected in raw chart statistics. Many singers have covered Jolene over the years since, the first major cover being by Olivia Newton-John, who included it on her 1976 album, Come on over.
The other famous song on Dolly's Jolene album is, of course, I will always love you, though it took much longer to achieve international acclaim. Linda Ronstadt was the first major artist to cover it when she included it on her 1975 album, Prisoner in disguise. Dolly re-recorded the song for her 1982 movie, Best little chicken house in Texas (yes, I know it wasn't a chicken house), whereupon the new version repeated the success of the original by becoming a number one country hit. International success eluded the song until Whitney Houston made it into a worldwide pop hit. Then Dolly had another country hit with the song, this time as a duet with Vince Gill, though it didn't make the top ten. As a footnote, it's worth noting that multi-artist pop compilations featuring the song often include one of Dolly's solo recordings rather than Whitney's version, presumably because of royalty issues.
There was always much more to the original album than the two classics. Eight other great songs include When someone wants to leave (a sad song about a one-sided love), River of happiness (I always loved this upbeat, happy song, though I cannot listen to it now without thinking of Amazon), Highlight of my life, It must be you and Living on memories of you. There are also two outstanding songs that weren't new to Dolly's existing fans, though they were new to me at the time because I was just starting my record collection when I bought this album in 1978; more about those later.
None of the four bonus tracks have ever been released before although one of the songs (Barbara on your mind) should be familiar to Dolly's fans. Dolly later re-recorded the song for her 1982 album Heartbreak express, along with three other songs that she had previously recorded (Release me, Do I ever cross your mind, My blue ridge mountain boy). As originally recorded in 1973 in a style similar to the other album tracks, Barbara on your mind sounds somewhat different from its 1982 re-incarnation. Brilliant as that track is, my favorite among the four bonus tracks is Cracker Jack, a story song about a dog that supposedly had fun with as a child, having discovered him as a homeless stray. I don't know if the story is true or a figment of Dolly's fertile imagination, but it's brilliant either way. The other two songs (Another woman's man, Last night's lovin') are also excellent.
With four tracks of such high quality that could have been included in the original album, one is left to wonder at the decision to leave them out, especially as two of the chosen songs were not new. Lonely coming down first appeared on My favorite songwriter Porter Wagoner, an album released in 1972, less than two years before the song re-appeared on Jolene. Early morning breeze is a little older, having first appeared on the 1971 album Coat of many colors, although Dolly re-recorded it (only slightly differently) for the Jolene album. Well, it doesn't matter now that the expanded album is available. The curious thing is that the liner notes only comment on the original album although the recording details cover the bonus tracks as well.
If you've already got the original album on CD, you may be reluctant to buy the expanded version. If you're a committed Dolly fan as I am, you'll easily by the inclusion of three previously unheard songs and a fourth that is very different (and more countrified) than the hitherto familiar version. Compare that with the re-releases of Coat of many colors (also four bonus tracks but only two previously unheard songs) and My Tennessee mountain home (only one bonus track, Secred memories, available elsewhere on CD, it first appeared on the album Love is like a butterfly, which album still awaits a CD release). If you have all three albums on CD already, the bonus tracks here offer better value than the other two.
Excellent album! There's the infamous "Jolene", the mega-hit original version of "I Will Always Love You", and the laid-back "Early Morning Breeze". And the bonus tracks are great--"Cracker Jack" is a fun song about her little puppy dog, and Dolly fans will enjoy to hear her sing another version of "Barbara On Your Mind". A classic, must-have album for any Dolly fan!
Dolly Parton released this album in 1974 and it was her first album after she left Porter Wagoner. She pays ode to him on the bittersweet classic ballad "I Will Always Love You" which stands as one of her finest. Much better than the overdramatic Whitney Houston version from 1992. The title track was also a hit, and another Dolly classic. This album was commercially successful, and perhaps the only time in her career she mixed commercial success with artistic integrity. Other highlights include "Lonely Comin Down", "It Must Be You" and "Highlight of my Life". A must have!
