Dolly Parton Album: “Covered by Dolly”

Congrats to this company for being more creative in releasing a budget Dolly Parton release!! There are dozens - probably a countless number - of smaller CD labels that have licensed Dolly Parton cuts for releases but they usually stick to yet another package of her original greatest hits. This company has gone into Dolly's RCA albums and pulled her cover versions of twelve songs made famous by other artists (including two that actually were hits for Dolly in her covers, 1983's SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME and 1981's HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN in addition to 1969's IN THE GHETTO which a modest chart success for her in the country field as Elvis Presley's version was topping the pop chart.) These recordings span from 1968 to 1983, the earliest being her cover of Jeannie C. Riley's HARPER VALLEY PTA. Her version of Joe South's GAMES PEOPLE PLAY appeared on a 1969 album but after that Dolly recorded almost exclusively original songs until targeting the "pop" audience in the late 1970's. Thus the gap jumps to 1977 for HIGHER AND HIGHER and 1979 for her vaguely discoish take on Jerry Lee Lewis' GREAT BALLS OF FIRE and her delightful bluegrass version of the Beatles' HELP!, in my opinion one of the very few successful attempts at reworking a Beatles song into something different. The country standard RELEASE ME (a hit several times, for Ray Price, Kitty Wells, etc.) is from her 1982 album, not her vintage early 1960's recording from her teen years that shows up constantly on cheapie CDs. Several of the songs on this collection are from her 1983 album "The Great Pretender", her first full album of covers, SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME, I CAN'T HELP MYSELF, I WALK THE LINE, and the sensational TURN! TURN! TURN!, rockin' with a gospel fervor into one of Dolly's very best performances. This is a terrific set of Dolly tracks, giving her own unique readings on a dozen famous pop/country songs - let's hope this company releases a volume two!!

Everyone loves Dolly!! While her own written compositions are the most heart felt, these covers are just fun. I especially love "Harper Valley PTA" because you can just see Dolly in the role. A great album to add to any collection.

Dolly to me can sing anything and get by with it because she is Dolly, I love everything she sings, even if it don't include her own writing and she is singing hits from other people. I like when a singer does this anyways. there is always a better version out there that one likes more than the other.Some songs even grow to become bigger " I Will Always Love You" this song has made it # 1 every 10 years, twice by Dolly Herself.There will never be another song or person who will be able to have a song that will ever have this world wide effect.( song is not encluded in this cd)

This collection of songs is truly sung with heart as usual and with care as usual that Dolly has put into it. Not only does Dolly Treat her songs as if they were here children she treats the others as her own as well.

This is not the first time that I buy at amazon and it is always a nice matter.