Most of the songs for the All I Can Do album were record around February of 1976. In April of 1976 Dolly and Porter had one more recording session together but the songs ended up being shelved. A few of them showed up on an album we'll get to here shortly but then the rest remained in the vault until that nice 2014 box set - Just Between You and Me: The Complete Recordings 1967-76. Dolly has some solo tracks that I'm assuming Porter never got around to putting his vocals on. My favorite one from that session is called "About Susan, About Your Woman."
"All I Can Do" is a fine album. It helps that it contains my faovurite Dolly song - one among many. That is "Shattered Image", which I first came across on a compilation. ("You Are..." I think.) I love the sparse arrangement and the lyric - OK, I love everything about this song! You also get fine songs lie the title track and her cover of that Emmylou Harris song... All great.
New Harvest...First Gathering Studio album by Dolly Parton Released February 14, 1977 Recorded August 19–December 17, 1976 Studio Soundshop Studio (Nashville) Creative Workshop (Nashville) Genre Country, disco Length 38:30 Label RCA Victor Producer Dolly Parton Gregg Perry New Harvest...First Gathering is the eighteenth solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on February 14, 1977, by RCA Victor. It is significant for being Parton's first self-produced album, as well as her first effort aimed specifically at the pop charts. New Harvest...First Gathering - Wikipedia ~~~~~ Dolly's first album of 1977 starts softly. Light of a Clear Blue Morning opens with piano before blossoming into a pop delight with a rollicking finale. This is Dolly's first album out from under the gaze of Porter Wagoner, with only a co-producer along to help with the reins. The only two non-Dolly songs on here, too, are soul music covers, as we'll see. Applejack returns to the well of nostalgia with another story and a hard swing back into country, banjo (two players, Dolly being one per the credits), dobro, and all. Discogs also lists credits for a pile of backing singers on this track, presumably also creating the live hootenennany feel at the beginning. Motown classic My Girl is retitled and sent in a saccharine direction; appropriate for a Valentine's Day album, I suppose. Otherwise fairly unremarkable to me. Holdin' on to You returns to Dolly's own material, and brings the rockin' country feel back. Dolly's brother Randy appears here on backing vocals. All four backing singers really bring the gospel, too; it's a great time. You Are is soft and sweet, with a sparse arrangement letting Dolly's voice shine. Gorgeous backing vocals and a string section fill out the sound, which builds momentum towards the end. How Does It Feel has a big sound, with synthesizer, an anthemic feel, and a gospel flair, complete with Jordanaire Ray Walker filling out the low end. Great record with a real kick to it. Where Beauty Lives In Memory is slow and sweet, as the title might suggest. It's another story song, and you know what that means. Add another one to the tally; the Dolly Deathcount strikes again. Higher and Higher doesn't sound much like a soul record either, but another pop country delight, with fiddle, banjo, and a near-disco beat at times. It is 1977 after all. Getting In My Way keeps the tempo up. Some hot guitar and the continued presence of gospel-style backing vocals, this time including Dolly herself, make this one magic too. There takes us to country church, with a 9 person choir, organ, and steel guitar to set the mood. Some of the voices even sound like children, interestingly. A big finish makes for a fascinating cap to a varied but strong album. Only one of the soul covers works for me, but there's clearly an intent to provide contrasting feel throughout the album, and all I can say is mission accomplished. Next: A hit again. Additional links: New Harvest...First Gathering
Dolly was really rolling here. The split from Porter opened up her creativity a bit and she was writing a majority of her albums. Soon she would soar into the stratosphere of fame
I have mixed feelings about this album. As is, it's a very good pop album. It was her crossover album, at least in my book. More or less free from Porter Wagoner, she goes after the pop market. And why not? It's a solid album, if a bit twee at times. "You Are..." is one example of this. Take it for what it is, and it's a beautiful, heartfelt ballad with a gorgeous, mostly whispered vocal, and a sparse backing. Does it work? Yes, because this was one of the first examples of Dolly going down that road. When you get a few years further down the line, especially in the mid-80s, her albums are (almost) littered with songs like this - but perhaps not as good. The covers are OK, but not up to the standard of Dolly's best songs, IMO. But who could improve on Jackie Wilson' "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher"? The wonderful Rita Coolidge tried, but even she couldn't improve on it. (Though I like her version.) I think both covers were better left to the original stars, though they are by no means bad. "Light Of A Clear Blue Morning" is a song that has grown on me. It wasn't until I watched "Straight Talk" that I really fell in love with the song. (The song was re-recorded for the film.) A country/gospel classic. "Apple Jack" is one of those story songs that Dolly does so well, and I like it, but the arrangement is a bit too country-by-numbers for me. It's hard to dislike, so I don't, but I always feel that this could have toned down the commercial approach, and you'd have a much better song. Great live, though. But whom I to complain? Although I might query some choices, Dolly could not put a foot right during the late 70s. I might prefer her "pure" country albums, but it is impossible to dislike her crossover albums. Dolly is an artists who always knew exactly what she was doing. And her music always emanate from, or very near, her heart.
Perfect timing! Vinyl Me Please has been doing a year-long subscription program with Dolly and this album is the last one in that series and ships out this month. This is probably the most "pure" Dolly album we've had up to this point. This one was (mostly) written by her and was (co)-produced by her. These are how Dolly wants you to hear her songs, not how Porter Wagoner wants you to hear them. She tells a great story in interviews that when she left Porter's office for the last time it was on a rainy day but as she drove away the skies cleared up and that's how she came up with "Light of a Clear Blue Morning." It's interesting that this was the only single released in the US off of this album. It went to #11 on the country charts and did manage to crossover to #87 on the pop charts. Growing up in the '80s, this one didn't make it onto those RCA compilations that started to pop up around the end of the decade and I didn't hear it until I picked up the 2-CD box set "The RCA Years: 1967-1986" in the early '90s. By that point, I had already heard the version she had recorded for the Straight Talk soundtrack and preferred that to the original. Over the years, I've come to appreciate the 1977 version. My first memory of seeing and hearing Dolly was her 1983 HBO concert special. "Applejack" was a mainstay of her live shows at the time. This was the song that caught my five-year-old attention and according to my mother, it's the song I would walk around the house singing constantly... "play a song for me Applejack, Applejack." LOL. If I was forced to chose a favorite Dolly song out of her entire extensive and ever-growing catalog it would probably be "Applejack." Yes, she has written better songs that have become American music standards, but if someone said I could only hear one Dolly Parton song before I left this planet I would probably pick "Applejack." It takes me back to my childhood and brings back a lot of sweet memories. This one was on her 1982 Greatest Hits LP that I had back then, even though it had never been released as single. I don't know why it wasn't. I think it would have fared well on the country chart. "Where Beauty Lives in Memory" is another highlight on this album for me. It's a call back to those "crazy lady" songs from her early albums and would fit in well with songs like "Daddy Come and Get Me", "Down From Dover" and "The Bridge." It's been a minute since we've added a casualty to our Dolly Death Count. We're at 28 now. While Dolly is and will probably always be regarded as one of the best songwriters in music, she's also very skilled at covering material that isn't her own. She's already put her stamp on classic pop songs like "Harper Valley P.T.A." and "In The Ghetto." She does a great job at re-interpreting two pop classics on this album and making them hers. Personally, of the two, I prefer "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher." Dolly must have preferred it too because around the time of this album's release she was opening her live shows with it. I can understand RCA not putting it out as a single since Rita Coolidge's version was released about a month after this album came out and it wouldn't make sense to have a competing version out there. Maybe a missed opportunity? A double-sided single of "Higher and Higher" for the pop market and "Applejack" for the country stations?? Interesting bit of trivia... along with Rita and Dolly, Barbara Mandrell also recorded "Higher and Higher" in 1977 for the opening song on her Love's Up and Downs album on ABC/Dot Records. A solid start to what was about to be Dolly's ascent into super stardom. Mac Davis introduced her to his manager, Sandy Gallin, who took Dolly on as a client and he was the one that orchestrated much of her crossover success that's coming. One of the first things he did was get her to record her next album in Los Angeles instead of Nashville and the rest is history. He we go... again!
Here's an updated chart listing before we move on to the next phase of Dolly's career. #1 - New Harvest - First Gathering (1977) #3 - Together Always (w/ Porter) (1972) #3 - All I Can Do (1976) #4 - Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca (w/ Porter) (1970) #5 - Just The Two of Us (w/ Porter) (1968) #5 - Always, Always (w/ Porter) (1969) #5 - The Best of Dolly Parton (1975) (GOLD!) #6 - My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy (1969) #6 - The Right Combination (w/ Porter) (1972) #6 - Jolene (1974) #6 - Say Forever You'll Be Mine (w/ Porter) (1975) #7 - Once More (w/ Porter) (1970) #7 - The Best of Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton (w/ Porter) (1971) #7 - Coat of Many Colors (1971) #7 - Love is Like A Butterfly (1974) #8 - Just Between You and Me (w/ Porter) (1968) #8 - Love and Music (w/ Porter) (1973) #8 - Porter 'n' Dolly (w/ Porter) (1974) #9 - The Bargain Store (1975) #11 - Hello, I'm Dolly (1967) #12 - The Best of Dolly Parton (1970) #13 - The Fairest of Them All (1970) #13 - Two of a Kind (w/ Porter) (1971) #14 - Bubbling Over (1973) #14 - Dolly (1975) #15 - In The Good Old Days (1969) #16 - Joshua (1971) #19 - Touch Your Woman (1972) #19 - My Tennessee Mountain Home (1973) #20 - We Found It (w/ Porter) (1973) #22 - Just Because I'm A Woman (1968) #22 - Golden Streets of Glory (1971) #33 - My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner (1972) In Order of Highest Position on the Pop Chart #87 - New Harvest - First Gathering (1977) #137 - Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca (w/ Porter) (1970) #142 - Two of a Kind (w/ Porter) (1971) #162 - Always, Always (w/ Porter) (1969) #184 - Just The Two of Us (w/ Porter) (1968) #190 - Once More (w /Porter) (1970) #194 - My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy (1969) #198 - Joshua (1971)
Here You Come Again Studio album by Dolly Parton Released October 3, 1977 Recorded June 15 – August 5, 1977 Studio Sound Lab, Los Angeles Genre Pop country Length 30:34 Label RCA Victor Producer Gary Klein Here You Come Again is the nineteenth solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on October 3, 1977, by RCA Victor. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number 20 on the US Billboard 200 and at number 2 on the Hot Country Albums chart and also being nominated for Favourite Country Album at the American Music Awards. It became Parton's first album to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping a million copies. The lead single and title track was also a success, entering the top five of the US Billboard Hot 100 and being nominated for Favourite Country Single at the American Music Awards. Here You Come Again - Wikipedia ~~~~~ The hit album kicks off with the hit single. Here You Come Again is definitely a pop hit, but if producer Gary Klein is to be believed, Dolly insisted on just enough steel guitar to claim country sounds. It being a Mann/Weil composition just solidifies that it's pop, but it's great pop. Baby Come Out Tonight is also not written by Dolly, but it's catchy. Lots of that cheesiest of keyboard sound here, lots of chorus, no grit, but it works. It's All Wrong But It's All Right is, however, a Dolly song. It's also delightfully scandalous, despite the AOR sound. Me and Little Andy makes the second of four Dolly songs here, and it sounds it. Why? You can probably guess. And yes, Dolly uses her little girl voice here; it's surprisingly effective. Lovin' You is a John Sebastian cover and it makes for a great country bop, complete with banjo and pedal steel. It's got that Lovin' Spoonful bounce for sure. Cowgirl & The Dandy is from the pen of Honey songwriter Bobby Goldsboro. Brenda Lee and John Denver would both take a swing at this song, a big hit for her and a lesser hit for him. Dolly gives it a sweet, romantic treatment, complete with full strings and a closing guitar solo. Two Doors Down ups the tempo, for the most part, to great effect. The original version also circulates, and it's not any less effective, though I can hear where the chorus has been given a facelift. Seems like it would have been a hit either way, but we'll never know. God's Coloring Book is the last Dolly song here and it's given an acoustic ballad treatment. The melody slips into the flowing ups and downs of Coat Of Many Colors at a few points. As expected, it's a gorgeous gospel number. As Soon as I Touched Him is a sweet love song with a nice buildup, at least until you listen to verse two. At least nobody dies here. Sweet Music Man is a Kenny Rogers song, in what might be the first(?) intersection of the two duet partners. Makes for a strong finish, even if there is just a little sadness in this one too. Next: One with Linda. Additional links: Here You Come Again NOTE: Dolly's changed her website since I started pulling these links, and since I was finding increasingly less relevant additional info on these pages, plus that being exponentially more difficult now, this'll be the last of these entries to have this. Hope nobody was enjoying these too much...
Man the song "here you come again" is such a classic now. Wonder what listeners thought when they first heard it. It's straight late 70's in sound. This album overall though is pretty weak minus the title track, "two doors down", "it's all wrong ,but it's all right" and "me and little andy" and maybe "gods coloring book". "sweet music man" is ok at best
"Me And Little Andy" is sort of representative of Dolly's early career. Maudlin lyrics and a saccharine arrangement. I can't deny that it's sweet, but... Not one of her best, IMO. The title track is solid pop, and given its antecedents, it's not that surprising. Still, it's rather 'plastic' for a Dolly song. Good composition, good performance, but... Rather bland. I guess just about anybody could have had a hit with it. Whether that is a good thing or a bad one is up to you. "It's All Wrong But It's All Right" is a great title, and the song lives up to the expectations. "The Cowgirl And The Dandy" is another story song, and it's pleasant, though hardly a classic. (I have John Denver's version on his 1981 album "Some Days Are Diamonds"; an album he rather resisted recording and releasing. It's produced by Kenny Roger's man Larry Butler, and it really shows. The songs are mostly good, but the arrangements are mostly a bit too smooth. And only two of the songs written by John.) Another step in the direction marked "pop", and even though it's still a quality album, I don't feel the need to play this all that often. I have the Steve Hoffman DCC CD of the album, and it sounds great.
The nostalgia is strong with this album for me. As I mentioned earlier, I first saw and heard Dolly on her 1983 HBO concert special. The public library in my hometown had LPs that you could check out and they had four of Dolly's albums: Here You Come Again, Heartbreaker, 9 To 5 and Odd Jobs and Greatest Hits (the first pressing with "Hard Candy Christmas" instead of "Islands in the Stream") so this album got a lot of play in my house as a kid. There's not much I can say to add to what you guys have already shared. I do remember an interview Dolly gave talking about "Me and Little Andy" saying that she stopped putting the song in her stage show after she sang it in Las Vegas and a drunk guy yelled out, "It's bad enough the kid died, did you have to kill the damn dog too?" LOL But poor little Sandy and her puppy dog bring our Dolly death count to 30. I think this was included as the B-side of the "Here You Come Again" single. I think in her book, Songteller, Dolly says that when someone mentioned that it was a strange song for the album Dolly said she was just trying to get something of hers onto the record. I would be interested to learn more about the behind-the-scenes of the making of this album. The previous record had been produced and nearly entirely written by Dolly and here, she's given Hollywood producers and less than half of the tracks are songs that she's written. Whatever it was, it worked because this album was definitely more commercial and more successful than New Harvest, First Gathering. The first single, "Here You Come Again" went to #1 on the country charts, #2 on the adult contemporary charts and #3 on the pop charts. "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" went to #1 on the country charts while the flip-side, "Two Doors Down" hit #12 on the adult contemporary charts and #19 on the pop charts. The album went to #1 on the country charts and #20 on the Hot 200 and was Dolly's first platinum album. Her cover of Kenny Rogers' "Sweet Music Man" is probably my favorite song on the album. It was not the first intersection of the two though. Kenny had been a guest on Dolly's syndicated television series a year before. You can already see their chemistry in this clip seven years before they would become the dynamic duo we know and love.
Here's Dolly singing "Sweet Music Man" with Alison Krauss at a tribute concert for Kenny somewhere around 2010 or 2011 I think.
Strange, in a way: After Kenny Rogers recorded "Sweet Music Man", both Dolly Parton and Anne Murray did. Thing is... I like all three versions, without loving any of them as much as other songs by these artists. It's sort of MOR country, and it's more than adequate as a song, and I can't see a world in which I did not like it.
Late one for y'all, small now resolved family emergency earlier. A quick one, too. "I Never Will Marry" (Linda Ronstadt with Dolly Parton) (April 3, 1978) Simple Dreams - Wikipedia ~~~~~ This one's an old standard, dating back to A.P. Carter in 1938. Dolly is only here on harmony vocals. They sound excellent together, with this being a prelude to 1987's Trio. Now, it's an old song, not written by Parton . . . does this get another mark on the Dolly Deathcount? Next: Dolly does disco. Almost.
Lovely. I love all three voices, and they sound great together. And as I love all things melancholy, this is a surefire hit with me.
I'm a sucker those those old melancholy folk songs, especially when they're done so beautifully like this one. The first time I heard "I Never Will Marry" I was put off by Emmylou not being on the song as well, but now I think it sounds perfect with just Linda and Dolly. I really like their early collaborations from the '70s. They're not some super group thrown together by record executives, just three incredible artists coming together sharing their mutual love for music and each other. Linda recorded "The Sweetest Gift" on her Heart Like A Wheel LP with Emmylou doing the harmony and now after hearing their performance of it with Dolly from her 1976 TV show, whenever I hear the LP version with just Linda and Emmylou it sounds off! Haha. Does anybody die in "I Never Will Marry?" I always interpreted it as her lover actually leaving on a train, but I guess that could be a metaphor of him dying. I'll leave that up to the listener's interpretation!
Heartbreaker Studio album by Dolly Parton Released July 17, 1978 Recorded March 7–10, 1978 Studio Sound Lab, Los Angeles Genre Country pop Length 32:02 Label RCA Victor Producer Gary Klein Dolly Parton Charles Koppelman (exec.) Heartbreaker (Dolly Parton album) - Wikipedia ~~~~~ Dolly the pop queen makes an appearance once again. I Really Got the Feeling starts things off nice and sweet, with that electric piano sound, you know the one, setting the tone. It's Too Late to Love Me Now has more of a country sound, primarily from the steel guitar throughout. Otherwise it's a very similar feel to the opener. That super-clean 70s, soon to be 80s, nu-countrypolitan sound is in full force here. We're Through Forever ('Til Tomorrow) is a third mouthful of a title in a row, and another cover, upping the sappy mood with a string section, big chorus, and even a prominent male backing vocalist and/or duet partner. Up Where We Belong, anyone? Sure Thing is the first of 6 Dolly songs on the record, and changes the mood entirely. It actually rocks, with hot horns and backing singers that bring a little church to the party. With You Gone keeps the tempo up, even throwing in a little four-on-the-floor before a sad song kicks in. What do they call it when the sun shines while it's raining? This is that but in musical form. Outstanding pedal steel during the solo just caps this one off nicely. Baby I'm Burnin kicks in like a Blues Brothers number, to great effect. There's some prominent synth here and there, perhaps created by the credited Jeff Baxter on guitar synthesizer? A trucker gear shift key change just rams this one home as a nice slice of pop with the slightest hint of an edge. Nickels and Dimes is a co-write with Dolly's brother Floyd, and sounds more like a typical Dolly record, with acoustic guitar and acoustic piano returning this to roots, of a sort. Sounds great! The Man has a very different feel than what we've heard so far, with some slinky, swampy guitar and keyboards contrasting with a string section throughout. The third verse has a nice twist for a change, revealing Dolly actually singing about her dad. The title track is a Carole Bayer Sager song, and feels like most of the other covers so far, perhaps with a little more energy to it. It's a sad song again, though this shouldn't be surprising based on the title. A big finish into a fade both helps this one a bit and makes it feel a little too drawn out. I Wanna Fall in Love is one more from Dolly herself, bringing back the energy from the start of the side. In fact it's the closest to a disco record Dolly has here, and it sounds great. Another gear shift key change to close things out brings this scattered record to an end. Lots of potential here, but the wide gulf in energy between the rockier numbers and the sappier ballads makes this album just a bit of a slog. Next: Dolly rocks?
Hm... "Heartbreaker". I like Dolly's crossover albums, and there are several good songs here. "Baby, I'm Burning" is another near-disco experience, and "I Really Got The Feeling" seems like an old Dolly ballad from the late 60s/early 70s dressed up as schmaltz. The title track is one of the slickest songs she ever recorded - and that's saying something. It's a song I don't play very often - it's a bit too smooth even for me. I rarely play the album, I must admit - I just cherry-pick the songs I like from it. Which is fine. Dolly and I would see eye to eye on her later crossover albums.
Like the previous album, Heartbreaker, is one I can't really talk about with a lot of objectivity because it's one that's been ingrained in my DNA since childhood. I've always thought it was a fun album with songs like "Baby I'm Burnin", "Sure Thing", "I Wanna Fall in Love" and even "With You Gone." My favorite song on the album is "Nickels and Dimes." A good call-back to her roots amid all the pop crossover success she was enjoying. I love how it follows "Baby I'm Burning" in the track sequence of the album. This was Dolly's third consecutive album to go to #1 on the country charts. It went to #27 on the pop album charts and was certified gold. The "Heartbreaker" single went to #1 on the country chart, #12 on the adult contemporary chart and #37 on the pop chart. "Baby, I'm Burnin'" went to #48 on the country chart (although it was sent out for pop radio); #11 on the adult contemporary chart and #25 on the pop chart. The flip-side was "I Really Got The Feeling" which was sent out to country radio and it went to #1 on the country chart. It was Dolly's fourth consecutive #1 single on the country charts following "Here You Come Again", "It's All Wrong But It's All Right", and "Heartbreaker."
Buck Owens covered "Nickels and Dimes" in 1980. It was on the B-side of his non-album single "Moonlight and Magnolias."
