The Essential Dolly Parton

With the recent merging of RCA/BMG and Sony/Columbia, the vast majority of Dolly Parton's catalog is now owned by one company. A comprehensive retrospective of Parton's best work is now possible but this 37-track, two-disc set - while the best overview yet put together on Parton - is still far from definitive.The Essential Dolly Parton begins with Parton's first single for the Monument (a Sony subsidiary) label, the 1967 hit "Dumb Blonde." It's a shame its follow-up "Something Fishy" wasn't included here as well. Still in 1967, Parton moved over to the RCA label with the help of her new mentor Porter Wagoner and it is here that Parton recorded her best work over the next 8-10 years, the most consistent work by a female singer-songwriter in country music history. Highlights of this period fill up the rest of disc one and include the colorful, uptempo sagas of crusty "Joshua" and that tramp "Jolene," as well as the simple but effective devotionals "I Will Always Love You" and "Love Is Like A Butterfly," and most endearingly, the ruminations of Parton's youth on "My Tennessee Mountain Home" and "Coat Of Many Colors" (probably her best composition ever). Also included from this era is her biggest hit with longtime duet partner Wagoner, "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" (I prefer their heartbreaker "If Teardrops Were Pennies"). From this period, I would have also included her humorous romp "Travelin' Man" and the tragic tale "Down From Dover."Disc two leads off with "Here You Come Again" and "Two Doors Down" from 1978, and it is at this point that Parton went pop for awhile. The five tracks that follow like "Starting Over Again" and "You're The Only One," are sluggish, bland middle of the road soundalikes - usually written by others - that failed to exploit her immense personality. Thankfully, the collection emerges from this sonic coma with Parton's spunky, self-penned "9 To 5" (1980) and the delightful yodelfest "Tennessee Homesick Blues" (1984). Mid-80s collaborations with Kenny Rogers on "Islands In The Stream" plus Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris on "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (the exquisite Parton-featured "Wild Flowers" should be here, not this ordinary, Harris-led effort) amply exhibit Parton's harmonizing skills, while other country chart-toppers from this period - the Rogers' duet "Real Love," the enchanting "Think About Love" - are inexplicably omitted from this set, along with my gaudy favorite "Potential New Boyfriend."In 1988, Parton moved from RCA over to Columbia. Her relatively lengthy tenure there - six albums - is represented only by the chart-toppers "Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That" and "Rockin' Years," the latter a beautiful collaboration with Ricky Van Shelton. Several other Columbia singles should have been included as well, such as the gentle number one "Yellow Roses" and the gorgeous inspirational epic "He's Alive." The set then concludes with her poignant remake of Collective Soul's "Shine" from 2001's Little Sparrow album, the lone representative of her recent foray into bluegrass music (I would have included at least half a dozen more tracks from her fantastic Grass Is Blue/Little Sparrow/Halos and Horns trilogy).There was room for about another ten tracks which if added could have made this collection live up to its name. Instead, we will go on praying for a Parton box set containing at least four jam-packed discs as well as the cd reissuing of her early RCA albums.

I'm a Southern boy but not much for country music. I've always loved Dolly Parton's persona, but never gave much focus to her art (music/movies).I recently heard 9 to 5 and utterly loved it, then watched the movie The song was written for. She is now one of my favorite artists.You can't go wrong with this album. It'll have you tappin' your toes, singing along - some songs might make ya cry.But above all, you will FEEL the incredible Spirit these songs were written and performed with.You genuinely CANNOT go wrong with this title if you're in the mood for REAL GOOD music! This lady truly deserves all the accomplishments and accolades she's achieved, and this album greatly showcases her multi-layed talent.I got this copy just to hang in my home so I could always see her smile and beauty radiate, and be reminded of the many great songs that are on it - I bought it digitally here on Amazon for my listening needs.The copy I got was clean and pristine, no damages or scratches! Essential is an understatement!

I bought this album a loooong time ago (2007, I think) but due to negligence, I never got to review it... At the time (as of now) I didn't know much about Dolly Parton, except that she sings country (I am not American), she has a voice I really like, and that she is considered by many to be the Queen of Country (tastes are subjective, of course, and I don't actually have the power to crown ANYONE as king/queen of anything - I am only reporting what I had read) - which, even as a subjective matter, is still indicative of the widespread recognition she has earned. And, what can I say - this album did not disappoint on any of those counts...:1. This is a country album, but I wouldn't call it hardcore country (@music critics/connoisseurs: I beg your forgiveness if I'm wrong) . There are plenty of influences from blues and pop music, so it's really perfect for a foreigner without much of an acquired taste for country. Think of it as a visit to the embassy, before actually visiting the country...2. It's a "Greatest Hits" kind of album - and that's very nice as well when one's intention is exactly that: of better familiarizing themselves with the artist. This is an overview (across time and creation periods) of an artist's greatest achievements, and it makes it easy to tell whether you'd like it or not - after all, these are also the artist's most representative works. And I do like it.3. It made me want to know more about country in general. Thus, in the mean time, I've listened to Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Lynn Anderson, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, etc. and boy-oh-boy, did I discover some gems. Even though Dolly remains my all time favorite (due to her specific voice & partially, the compositions), it has definitely spurred me on to broaden my horizons - not least of all by getting better acquainted with the American ethos.In conclusion, if you don't know much about Dolly Parton/country music, you can confidently give this a try - a wonderful album by a wonderful artist. And if you do know something about her/it, then you'll like it even more.

Great CD. I really only wanted 1 song on here, but ended up getting this cd. All the songs are great!

CD’s arrived in great condition. They play without flaws and Dolly sounds perfect. Like always. You aren’t wasting your money. No breaks in the case and even if there was, if the CD plays who cares? What matters is that the CD is intact and playable which it was. If you’re worried about this issue go to Best Buy or Walmart.

Item received intact and ontime and was exactly what I was looking to purchase and described by the seller. Thank you

I’ve spent many hours listening to this all the way through. Somehow it doesn’t matter which song it is, you can’t help liking it.