Backwoods Barbie

by

Dolly Parton

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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!

There are more than a couple of great things about this album. First, its perhaps Dolly's most defiant record in ages, and second, she's never sounded this raw and energetic in almost a decade. Sure, I enjoyed her bluegrass record as much as anybody else, but its great to see her back recording some good old fashioned Southern country music - complete with Shania Twain-ish rock flourishes. In Dolly's case this actually works, and the whole project just seems like a whole lot of fun.

Also, her attitude remains as cheerful and optimistic as ever. The first song, "Better Get to Livin'" is like a crash course in Buddhism (it really is). Its more of an anthem on how we should all, as humanity, believe a little more in forgiveness and learn to `live' better, and in the process heal ourselves. I can imagine just how infantile and schmaltzy this would have sounded in someone else's hands, but Dolly just makes this soar.

"Made of Stone" reminds me so much of those old Loretta Lynn "Why you done me wrong" kinds of songs, but Dolly's poignant vocal (complete with quivering lower lip) brings it a life that I never quite expected out of such a straightforward lyric. Its great that Dolly is back to storytelling. Very few country songs today actually tell a story (surprisingly enough, the one person who is still carrying on this tradition amongst the younger singers is Taylor Swift), and this record really brings that to the table.

The only misstep here, in my opinion, is "Drives me Crazy", the much talked about cover of the Fine Young Cannibals hit single from 1988. The faux-rock edge to the song will bring a smile to your face, but I felt it was awfully misplaced within the context of this album. Who knows why Dolly chose to cover this, but it just did not work for me. And I'm normally a fan of even Dolly's more cheesy experiments on record, and I still couldn't find much to appreciate on this cover.

"Jesus and Gravity" aims for a gospel-chorus lift towards the middle of the song, but it came off as extremely forced and irrelevant. This is a good enough song, mind you, but something about it just doesn't come together. Also, the plainly obvious analogy of the chorus is enough to turn you off. However, all is redeemed when you hear the next track "Only Dreamin'". This is the kind of song that makes you realize what an incredible vocalist Parton actually is. For years, shes had songs that have called for a vocal skill way beyond her perceived ability, but she's nailed it time and time again. On this song, she mates an Irish/Celtic melody and vocal delivery to a very country-sounding lyric. This is a marriage I never saw coming, and it just works.

"The Tracks of my Tears" is another fine song that would sound at home in any country bar in the Southern United States - its got that warm, earthy air to it. "Cologne" is another one of Dolly's famous `story' songs, and again, it's a fine piece of work. The end of the album lags a little, in my opinion. Some of the song choices seem a little too cutesy for Dolly (I can't for the life of me imagine her singing "I Will Forever hate roses" considering both her age and her life experiences, but maybe its meant to be ironic?), and the album closer, "Somebody's Everything" is a tad too bland and safe to work.

All in all, "Backwoods Barbie" is memorable for its' killer title track and some great vocal work on the first six tracks or so. However, far too many songs here have lyrics that seem they were put together by an adolescent, and a couple of them, especially the last few songs seemed to veer into LeAnn Rimes territory (and not in a good way). So, yes, this is not a `classic' Dolly album by any means, but it's a miracle that we still have in our midst recording and releasing music.

If you are new to Dolly Parton and wish to explore her music in depth, I must direct you to her 1976 album "All I Can Do". This is now available on CD alongwith her 1977 album "New Harvest". "All I Can Do" is the greatest Dolly album, in my opinion, as it runs from start to finish the way a proper country album should - and she hasn't quite made anything great enough to rival that record. Trust me, get a copy of that CD, as its one of those essential albums that even most hardcore country fans don't know about. Once you listen to the song "Shattered Image" from "All I Can Do", you'll probably rush out to buy everything by her. The woman is a musical genius.

Three Stars for "Backwoods Barbie". Dolly still sounds great, but I can't wait for her to record another bluegrass album or do a stripped down acoustic country album. Now that would be an event to cheer for.