Dolly Parton Album: “Burlap & Satin/Real Love”

Finally after all these years two wonderful Pop/Country albums that first were released on LP, are on one CD together. "Burlap & Satin" features one of Dolly Parton's most beautiful album covers that she's ever made & the artcover to "Real Love" is equally beautiful.

The album's first ten songs are from "Burlap & Satin" which were released in 1983. They contain some of Dolly's best of the 1980s like the moving & heartbreaking "Appalachian Memories" which she wrote for her father who tryed making it in the big city, but couldn't, it also is one of Dolly's fan's favorites too. A enjoyable "I Really Don't Want To Know" which is a duet with Willie Nelson and "Potential New Boyfriend" which was a top twenty country single (even though it's more Pop) and was accompanied by Dolly's first ever music video. Another songs on the first half are kind of forgettable but still good like "A Cowboy's Ways" and "A Gamble Either Way" which were outtake songs from Dolly's movie "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas".

The second half of the album is from "Real Love" which was released in 1985 and was Dolly's last album for RCA. The second part also contains more pop then "Burlap & Satin" contained. The highlighted songs from the second half is "Think About Love", "Tie Our Love (In A Double Knot)", "Don't Call It Love" and "Real Love" (a duet with Kenny Rogers that reached #91 on the U.S. pop charts). My only problem with this two albums on one disc is the sound, it's very low and theres no bass in any of the songs, however the price is great!.

Both of these albums include their original artwork from the LPs inside the CD booklet, it also haves linernotes, but no lyrics.

Dolly Parton released her final RCA album in February, 1985 after being with the label since 1967, one of the longest associations between a singer and a record company. Dolly said at the time, "We were like an old marriage taking each other for granted a little bit".

"Real Love" (which went to #9 on the Country Chart) isn't by any means a classic Dolly record like the ones from her late '60's and early 1970's period, but it does contain some real gems. The title song was first recorded by Dolly as a solo, then it was decided to have Kenny Rogers add his own vocals to make it their follow-up duet single to their mega hit "Islands in the Stream". The song went to #1 country, but barely cracked the pop charts which was something of a let down.

Other singles released were "Don't Call It Love" (#3), "Tie Our Love (In a Double Not) (#17) and Dolly's last #1 song for RCA "Think About Love".

"Real Love" was one of the very first Dolly Parton albums to be put out on compact disc form upon its initial release. It was rereleased again on CD in 2007 in Europe when it was paired with Dolly's 1983 record "Burlap and Satin" on a "2 on 1" CD. Unfortunately, both CD editions are now long out-of-print. However, they are regarded now as collector's items and go for many hundreds of dollars.

In 1987 Dolly signed with CBS Records and continued to thrive as a recording artist and icon.

Great 80s music from the queen of country. Real Love is one of her best! Campy fun!

BURLAP AND SATIN was never a great favorite of mine, but Dolly's duet with Willie, and her sweet and spacey cover of "Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On" make it worth owning. REAL LOVE, on the other hand, is just about as perfect a pop confection as Dolly has ever produced. All the songs are appropriate choices for Dolly to sing, and although the production is slick and commercial, it doesn't overpower Parton's little-girl voice. "Tie Our Love In A Double Knot" is so silly that it shouldn't work, but Dolly sings it with such verve, and the partially electronic backing is so punchy, that it ends up being delightful. I find this album to be among the more successful of her mostly-pop efforts, along with HEARTBREAKER and HERE YOU COME AGAIN. She rarely worked pop/rock into her act with such energy and power as she does on REAL LOVE, but what makes this CD release even more significant is how it sounds compared to the albums on vinyl. REAL LOVE is especially improved. The sound is crystal-clear, and the record level has been bumped up a notch (the vinyl was a little too quiet and somewhat muddy-sounding). I'm very happy to have this fine CD "twofer."

I've been looking for these two on CD forever! About 12 years ago my cassettes broke... totally used to schreds... and not until now did I get the CD's :) I recommend these to anyone who loves Dolly's incredible voice, song lyrics, her tender touch to both romance and heart ache and just everything Dolly :)

My faves from these two? I love these albums, but if I had to pick I'd listen to Gamble either way, Appalachian memories, Once in a very blue moon... and... of course... the VERY funny I hope you're never happy :D