Just Because I'm a Woman: The Songs of Dolly Parton
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Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 2003-10-14
Music Label: Sugarhill
Soundtracks:
- 9 to 5 - Alison Krauss
- I Will Always Love You - Melissa Etheridge
- Grass Is Blue - Norah Jones
- Do I Ever Cross Your Mind - Joan Osborne
- Seeker - Shelby Lynne
- Jolene - Mindy Smith
- To Daddy - Emmylou Harris
- Coat of Many Colors - Shania Twain
- Little Sparrow - Kasey Chambers
- Dagger Through the Heart - Sin?ad O'Connor
- Light of a Clear Blue Morning - Allison Moorer
- Two Doors Down - Me'Shell Ndeg?ocello
- Just Because I'm a Woman [*] - Dolly Parton
Music reviews of Just Because I'm a Woman: The Songs of Dolly Parton
Music Review: Great tribute to Dolly the songwriter
Rating: 5 Stars
For some people, cover versions in general and tribute albums in particular are anathema. I've always recognized their importance in helping to pass music from one generation to the next, as some listeners are curious to explore the roots of the music. Many are the artists whose music I've bought after hearing covers of their songs. Given all this, I was very pleased to learn about this tribute to my favorite singer, especially as she is also a brilliant songwriter. (There are plenty of covers of Dolly's songs around, though few of them are really famous.) On this album, most of the tracks are re-interpretations rather than faithful covers. My guess is that Dolly like this because she has sometimes re-interpreted her own songs (Shattered image, Poor folks town, etc.).
The set open with 9 to 5, to which Alison Kraus gives her own very distinctive treatment with a very bluesy feel to it. Anybody who is familiar with Alison's version of Baby now that I've found you (the classic sixties pop song made famous by the Foundations) already knows about Alison's ability to completely re-interpret a song. So Alison's take on 9 to 5 came as no surprise to me, but it is certainly interesting and sets the standard for the album.
Melissa Etheridge does a great version of I will always love you, though its arrangement is relatively familiar. Norah Jones offers an interesting re-interpretation of The grass is blue, much slower than the original. Dolly actually joined Norah for a duet (Creepin' in) on Norah's second album (Feels like home) so there's plenty of mutual respect between them. Joan Osborne sounds brilliant on one of my favorite Dolly songs, Do I ever cross your mind. The most famous version of the song is the one that Dolly recorded for her 1982 album, Heartbreak express, but Dolly first recorded it as a duet with Chet Atkins in 1976 (this version can be found on Tour collection), later recording a duet with Randy Travis (on his album Heroes and friends) and a trio version with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris (on Trio 2). Exactly which version inspired Joan I don't know, but her version is a reasonably faithful cover.
Shelby Lynne made a great job of The seeker while her sister, Allison Moorer, chose to perform Light of a clear blue morning. Both are brilliant in their different ways. Mindy Smith made her recording debut on this album with a distinctive cover of Jolene. My favorite cover of Jolene remains the one by Matraca Berg, a prolific songwriter who never made it as a singer, but Mindy's version impressed enough people to enable her to launch her own career. Shania Twain (Coat of many colors), Kasey Chambers (Little sparrow) and Sinead O'Connor (Dagger through the heart) all provide fine contributions to this album.
Me'Shell N'Degeocello provides the strangest contribution here with a really weird version of Two doors down. I quite like it as a one-off, but even with my eclectic tastes, I can't imagine listening to an entire album of her own music. Dolly completes the album with a re-interpretation of one of her earliest songs, Just because I'm a woman, giving it more of a Memphis R+B style.
In his liner notes, producer Steve Buckingham were interested in participating in the album but were unable to because of other commitments. He says that the idea of an all-female cast evolved naturally but I see that Reba McEntire, Rhonda Vincent and Linda Ronstadt, three of Dolly's most famous fans, aren't here, while Emmylou Harris is only represented by an old recording from 1978 (To Daddy), so it wasn't only the men who had difficulty finding time in their schedule to record a Dolly tribute. Still, the resultant album is fascinating and leaves open the possibility of another tribute album one day. Quite apart from the logical idea of a tribute album featuring an all-male cast, I suspect that it would be possible to do another all-female album without involving any of the talented women involved here, such is Dolly's popularity among other singers.
Whether or not another tribute album gets released, this one is definitely worth hearing. It is a truly worthy tribute to Dolly.
Description of Just Because I'm a Woman: The Songs of Dolly Parton
It's Joan Osborne who sums it up best in the promotional material accompanying this tribute album: " Dolly Parton is a gifted artist cleverly disguised as a media superstar and sex bomb." Osborne's got it right. Beyond and beneath Parton's well-publicized and oft-caricatured curves and angles, lurks the heart and soul of one of modern country music's very best songwriters--the best, perhaps, since the great Loretta Lynn. In fitting celebration of the 35th anniversary of the release of Just Because I'm A Woman, Parton's very first solo album, contemporary leading ladies of country and pop, including Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, Shania Twain, Joan Osborne, Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, and Sinead O'Connor have offered up worthy new interpretations of some of Parton's classic compositions. That said, some of the highlights here are from lesser-known singers: Mindy Smith's haunting rendition of "Jolene," Kasey Chambers' bitter-sweet take on "Little Sparrow," and Allison Moorer's tender turn on "Light Of A Clear Blue Morning." --Bob AllenGeneral CDs
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