Thursday 28 March 2019

The Fairest Of Them All - DOLLY PARTON****

Daddy Come And Get Me/Chas/When Possession Gets Too Strong/Before You Make Up Your Mind/I’m Doing This For Your Sake/But You Loved Me Then/Just The Way I Am/More Than Their Share/Mammie/Down From Dover/Robert

Recorded before she achieved international fame, Dolly Parton’s The Fairest Of Them All showcases her strong songwriting ability, as almost all the tracks are self penned.

“A wonderfully crazy album with equally mad cover that perfectly epitomized Dolly Parton's eccentric and sentimental world. Here she takes almost all songwriting responsibilities and comes up with quirky stories that are certainly not autobiographical.”

“The best of all is Down From Dover, this was never a hit but it has turned into Parton's cult classic and is truly one of the best songs she has ever written, a dramatic story and haunting song with excellent lyrics, strong melody and Dolly is heartbreakingly convincing. If you can pass over Parton's sugary little girl voice and funny image, this is really first sign that she could be great songwriter.”

“The songs are some of the best in Dolly's catalogue and many are ‘soap opera songs’ that involve heartache, giving children up for adoption and mental illness.”

“This is a strong candidate for the saddest album ever recorded, although there is one joyful, upbeat song here Just The Way I Am to provide a striking contrast to all the grief. Unsurprisingly, this artistically brilliant album was not a commercial success. At the time, Dolly Parton was only successful as Porter Wagoner's duet partner, but solo success came soon after. There are no covers here, with Dolly writing all but one of the songs, the exception being written by her uncle. Many of the songs are of a highly personal nature, offering insights into Dolly's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.”

“For those who like Dolly's traditional sound and story songs this could be the ultimate album. Although there were no major hit singles the album contains some of Dolly's best and proves what an excellent songwriter she is as she wrote all but one of the songs. The album may surprise some people as it is so dark and sad that it makes Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette sound happy. The first track Daddy Come And Get Me is a song about a girl being placed in a mental institution by her cheating husband. It's an excellent heartbreak theme but the album just gets better and better. Most of these songs are sad with some surprising endings.”

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