Dolly Parton - Rockstar
There were raised eyebrows when musical megastar, county icon and US national treasure Dolly Parton was nominated in 2022 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
To be fair however Miss Parton was the first to state she didn’t feel the nomination was merited (initially declining it) – after all, she’s a whole lot country and not even a little bit rock and roll.
However in an effort to justify both the nomination and subsequent induction, she performed a new original entitled 'Rockin'' at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony before setting about recording a rock album with producer Kent Wells.
Which might well have been OK if she had delivered a 10 or 11 track, 40 minute rock-based album of all-original material with obligatory guest singers/ musicians; one built around lead-off single 'World On Fire,' a hard rock country crossover with lyrical purpose ("greedy politicians, present and past, wouldn’t know the truth if it bit 'em in the ass!") along with the title track of what is her forty-ninth studio album, Rockstar.
The latter, while cringy in its spoken voices intro – a young Dolly trying to convince her dubious parents she is going to be a rock star (which was never the case; she was determined to make it to, and in, Nashville country from the get-go) – is weighty enough, if a tad predictable.
Best of the other nine originals are the bluesy schmaltz charm of 'I Want You Back' (feat. Steven Tyler and Warren Haynes), the bluegrass rockabilly and downright barmy 'I Dreamed About Elvis' (feat. Ronnie 'Elvis impression' McDowell and The Jordanaires), and the swinging blues-rock pop fun of 'Either Or,' featuring Kid Rock.
To be fair however Miss Parton was the first to state she didn’t feel the nomination was merited (initially declining it) – after all, she’s a whole lot country and not even a little bit rock and roll.
However in an effort to justify both the nomination and subsequent induction, she performed a new original entitled 'Rockin'' at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony before setting about recording a rock album with producer Kent Wells.
Which might well have been OK if she had delivered a 10 or 11 track, 40 minute rock-based album of all-original material with obligatory guest singers/ musicians; one built around lead-off single 'World On Fire,' a hard rock country crossover with lyrical purpose ("greedy politicians, present and past, wouldn’t know the truth if it bit 'em in the ass!") along with the title track of what is her forty-ninth studio album, Rockstar.
The latter, while cringy in its spoken voices intro – a young Dolly trying to convince her dubious parents she is going to be a rock star (which was never the case; she was determined to make it to, and in, Nashville country from the get-go) – is weighty enough, if a tad predictable.
Best of the other nine originals are the bluesy schmaltz charm of 'I Want You Back' (feat. Steven Tyler and Warren Haynes), the bluegrass rockabilly and downright barmy 'I Dreamed About Elvis' (feat. Ronnie 'Elvis impression' McDowell and The Jordanaires), and the swinging blues-rock pop fun of 'Either Or,' featuring Kid Rock.
By contrast the pacier 'Bygones,' a duet with Rob Halford and featuring Nikki Six and John 5, tries hard to be a serious piece of melodic rock-metal lite but comes across more silly than sinister due, primarily, to the chalk and cheese vocals.
A similar fail is the Celtic tinged and far too twee 'Blue Tears' featuring Simon Le Bon.
But Rockstar isn’t a 10 or 11 track album, unfortunately; it’s a mammoth 30 song slog that includes twenty-one classic covers, all of which, bar two, feature a rock star, or stars, of significant stature, most of whom are directly associated with the chosen song.
The results are painfully overlong KaraokeDolly rock, where you hope, after a few numbers, she would put down the mic, take a rest, and let someone else have a go.
Album length aside, the bigger problems are most of the chosen tracks are stamped 'Legacy Original – Do Not Bend, Break or Tamper With,' and that Dolly Parton is, simply put, and rather obviously, not a rock singer.
She still has a great voice, and can hit some highs, but it’s not a powerful or sonorous vocal, in rock terms.
This means the 'big' songs, that need a big vocal, can only ever be weaker. In some cases a lot weaker.
Additionally, while she makes her own songs just that, when trying to rock it up her heavy trill becomes an irritating warbling vibrato, and the trademark sibilant s becomes far too pronounced and noticeable, to her and the songs detriment.
Full re-arrangements may have helped, but the fact the majority of covers stay musically faithful to the originals just compounds vocal matters. Tennessee twang and Nashville country do not a rock voice make.
That said Dolly Parton does 'What’s Going On?' (with Linda Perry) justice and 'Heartbreaker,' in duet with Pat Benatar, genuinely rocks (as does Neil Giraldo’s guitar).
The gospel-toned 'As Long As I Can See The Light' (with John Fogerty in accompaniment) also works well, and she makes a decent fist of both 'Purple Rain' and 'Free Bird,' performed by members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Artimus Pyle Band. Or at least until she completely overdoes it at the finale when the big finish should be the musical conclusion, and not any caterwauling.
But then there's the misfires or ill-advised, where it's clear there's a country voice out of its rock depth.
The only unabridged and authorised cover version of 'Stairway to Heaven' should be Heart’s stunning rendition (although Lizzo's flute work and a fitting guitar solo help redeem matters); and we really don't need yet another cover of 'Let It Be,' although, quelle surprise, Sir Macca is around to help out along with that well known firm of solicitors Ringo, Frampton & Fleetwood.
'Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me' is a warble-off between Dolly and ol’ Reg Dwight (who is in overly melodramatic, theatrical cabaret singer mode throughout) while 'Keep On Loving You' produces shivers, for all the wrong reasons.
And then there's 'Open Arms,' where Parton is so overly saccharine on the verses she sounds little girl like, making the lyric extremely creepy and Very. Wrong.
Steve Perry fans will also be disappointed that he only plays a cameo role on the classic Journey ballad as opposed to a duet; nor does it help that his one isolated line is "this empty house seems so cold," which becomes the theme, and outro line. Cheery, it is not.
Overall?
More Rockstar Hall of Sham than Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
A similar fail is the Celtic tinged and far too twee 'Blue Tears' featuring Simon Le Bon.
But Rockstar isn’t a 10 or 11 track album, unfortunately; it’s a mammoth 30 song slog that includes twenty-one classic covers, all of which, bar two, feature a rock star, or stars, of significant stature, most of whom are directly associated with the chosen song.
The results are painfully overlong KaraokeDolly rock, where you hope, after a few numbers, she would put down the mic, take a rest, and let someone else have a go.
Album length aside, the bigger problems are most of the chosen tracks are stamped 'Legacy Original – Do Not Bend, Break or Tamper With,' and that Dolly Parton is, simply put, and rather obviously, not a rock singer.
She still has a great voice, and can hit some highs, but it’s not a powerful or sonorous vocal, in rock terms.
This means the 'big' songs, that need a big vocal, can only ever be weaker. In some cases a lot weaker.
Additionally, while she makes her own songs just that, when trying to rock it up her heavy trill becomes an irritating warbling vibrato, and the trademark sibilant s becomes far too pronounced and noticeable, to her and the songs detriment.
Full re-arrangements may have helped, but the fact the majority of covers stay musically faithful to the originals just compounds vocal matters. Tennessee twang and Nashville country do not a rock voice make.
That said Dolly Parton does 'What’s Going On?' (with Linda Perry) justice and 'Heartbreaker,' in duet with Pat Benatar, genuinely rocks (as does Neil Giraldo’s guitar).
The gospel-toned 'As Long As I Can See The Light' (with John Fogerty in accompaniment) also works well, and she makes a decent fist of both 'Purple Rain' and 'Free Bird,' performed by members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Artimus Pyle Band. Or at least until she completely overdoes it at the finale when the big finish should be the musical conclusion, and not any caterwauling.
But then there's the misfires or ill-advised, where it's clear there's a country voice out of its rock depth.
The only unabridged and authorised cover version of 'Stairway to Heaven' should be Heart’s stunning rendition (although Lizzo's flute work and a fitting guitar solo help redeem matters); and we really don't need yet another cover of 'Let It Be,' although, quelle surprise, Sir Macca is around to help out along with that well known firm of solicitors Ringo, Frampton & Fleetwood.
'Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me' is a warble-off between Dolly and ol’ Reg Dwight (who is in overly melodramatic, theatrical cabaret singer mode throughout) while 'Keep On Loving You' produces shivers, for all the wrong reasons.
And then there's 'Open Arms,' where Parton is so overly saccharine on the verses she sounds little girl like, making the lyric extremely creepy and Very. Wrong.
Steve Perry fans will also be disappointed that he only plays a cameo role on the classic Journey ballad as opposed to a duet; nor does it help that his one isolated line is "this empty house seems so cold," which becomes the theme, and outro line. Cheery, it is not.
Overall?
More Rockstar Hall of Sham than Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ