Search - Dolly Parton :: Ultimate Dolly Parton

An outstanding compilation

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 10/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The standard version of Ultimate Dolly Parton available through normal USA outlets is a single CD with 20 tracks. That CD contains nineteen number one country hits plus Coat of many colors, which only made number four. All 20 songs are included on this 36 track double CD, which is much more interesting because it contains many other songs that are regarded as Dolly classics. I will devote most of this review to the sixteen tracks not available on the standard CD, so that you can decide if you want to pay extra for them.



Dumb blonde was the first country hit that Dolly had as a singer. Her voice had a lot of vibrato in those days, something I like but a lot of people don't. Dolly worked hard to sweeten her voice and you can trace the changes in the first half of this collection.



Just because I'm a woman is a great song about how men get away with things that women don't. My blue ridge mountain boy is my all-time favorite Dolly song - it is a classic folk-country song about a girl who has left the country for the city and misses her country boy. Mule skinner blues is a cover of a Jimmie Rodgers classic on which Dolly demonstrates that she can yodel superbly. Touch your woman is a great mid-tempo romantic song. My Tennessee mountain home takes a rose-tinted view of Dolly's childhood, painting a picture of rural bliss. The seeker is another great romantic song, though it can also be interpreted as a gospel song. We used to is a reflective song that could be bitter but isn't.



All I can do is an up-temp song to get the toes tapping. Light of a clear blue morning shows Dolly beginning to move away from her traditional sounds. Two doors down, Single women and Heartbreak express are among her best pop-country songs. Save the last dance for me is a cover of the old Drifters classic. God won't get you is a Dolly song from the Rhinestone soundtrack. Rocking years, a duet with Ricky van Shelton, was Dolly's last number one country hit.



Even 36 tracks can't include everything though I will admit to being particularly disappointed at the omission of Yellow roses, a number one country hit and one of my favorite Dolly songs. Other omissions include Real love (a duet with Kenny Rogers), Applejack, Baby I'm burning, Think about love and Do I ever cross your mind.



This is a much more interesting collection than the standard 20 track single CD.



Footnote - in 2005, this compilation was officially released in America with one extra track (Shine) as a double-CD titled "Essential Dolly Parton" so you no longer have to pay the import price for this set."