Friday 8 May 2020

Coat Of Many Colours - DOLLY PARTON****

Coat Of Many Colours/Travelling Man/My Blue Tears/If I Lose My Mind/The Mystery Of The Mystery/She Never Met A Man(She Didn't Like)/Early Morning Breeze/The Way I See You/Here I Am/A Better Place To Live

Country star Dolly Parton’s album Coat Of Many Colours is considered to be her most inspired. At this time her success was confined to the Country charts boosted by her regular appearances on the Porter Wagoner Show.

“It's a very solid album, the most enjoyable aspect is Dolly's voice, which is delicate yet very emotive. From songs about poverty to infidelity, the content is interesting. The instrumentation is excellent, especially the use of percussion throughout, which was a pleasant surprise since I went in expecting a more acoustic-guitar-based recording. This album is a classic that transcends the routinely stereotyped genre.”

“The record's songwriting is divided between Porter Wagoner and Parton, with the famous title track being Dolly's creation. It's classic mythmaking, complete with an organ to hit home the Biblical parallels.”

Coat Of Many Colours is now recognized as one of all-time greatest albums of country music and finds her at the height of inspiration. Perhaps it has slightly more classics than previous albums, since the title song, Travelling Man and My Blue Tears became standards loved by audiences through the decades. Here we learn that she was capable of some real artistry.”

“The title track attests to Parton's brilliance as a songwriter, capturing the emotional turmoil of childhood through the discovery of an adult's nostalgic memory. Her voice holds both a little girl's confusion and a woman's knowingness, underlined by acoustic guitar, a light shuffle beat, and touches of gospel organ and background harmonies. It's breathtaking to hear songwriting, singing and production mesh so fully. Throughout the rest of the album Parton's songs, augmented by a trio of tunes from Wagoner, tell human stories in a language that seems effortlessly plainspoken.”

“Parton's personal touch and soaring vocals, the themes the album explores, and the poignant story from her youth make this album a timeless country music classic. Anyone with doubts about her should spin this disc and re-evaluate the dual but complementary personas she created that boosted her to an American culture icon.”

“She had some success in the 60s on Porter Wagoner's show, but no huge solo success. That is until this album. The title track is a signature song for Parton. No other song in her catalogue speaks volumes like this one.”

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