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Album reviews Music

Dolly Parton

Rating: NNN



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Perhaps attempting to make up for the icky jingoism of 2003’s unfortunate For God And Country album, the Smoky Mountain songbird delivers a lilting set of bluegrass-skewed classics from the 60s and 70s, many of which lean toward the peacenik-folk end of the spectrum. Her gently strummed take on Where Have All The Flowers Gone is made more moving by sweet backing vocals by Norah Jones and Lee Ann Womack, though their parts are integrated so well into the arrangement that you don’t even realize it’s them, Kris Kristofferson provides the necessary gruff testosterone on a jaunty Me And Bobby McGee, and Parton’s exhilarating banjo-driven Crimson And Clover cover might even rival Joan Jett’s. The Roma-klezmer whirl through the opening track is a misstep, and even Yusuf Islam’s guitar work can’t save his own Where Do The Children Play from excessive schmaltz, but Those Were The Days is still a fine showcase for Parton’s lilting voice and girlish giggle, and the earthy banjo-and-fiddle treatments make even some of the most hackneyed tracks sound strikingly fresh.

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