 |
|
|
Top Quality Camping and Outdoor Gear
 FREE SHIPPING on $50 Orders!
Dolly Parton
Little Sparrow
Apr-08-2001
©2001 iBluegrass.com. All rights reserved.
Sugar Hill
Personnel: Dolly Parton- vocals/ Bryan Sutton- guitar/ Mark Kelly- guitar/ Daithi Sproule- guitar/ Jerry Douglas- dobro/ Chris Thile- mandolin/ Stuart Duncan- fiddle/ Barry Bales- bass/ Byron House- bass/ Jim Mills- banjo/ Mike Snider- banjo/ Ciaran Curran- bouzouki/ Ciaran Tourish- low whistle/ Dermont Byrne- accordion/ John Mock- harmonium/ Steve Buckingham- autoharp/ Maria O'Connell- vocals/ Alison Krause- vocals/ Dan Tyminski- vocals/ Claire Lynch- vocals/ Keith Little- vocals/ Rebecca Lynn Howard- vocals/ Carl Jackson- vocals/ Sonya Isaacs- vocals/ Becky Bowman- vocals/ Richard Dennison- vocals/ Mairead NiMhanonaighi- vocals/ Chip Davis- vocals/ Monty Allen- vocals/ Rhonda Vincent- vocals/ Darrin Vincent- vocals
Little Sparrow/ I Get A Kick Out Of You/ Shine/ Mountain Angel/ I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby/ Marry Me/ My Blue Jeans/ Down From Dover/ Seven Bridges Road/ The Beautiful Life/ Bluer Pastures/ In The Sweet By And By/ A Tender Lie/ Reprise: Little Sparrow
Dolly Parton hit the motherload when she branched away from mainstream country and embraced bluegrass with The Grass Is Blue. The bluegrass community with both open arms and cruel jeers greeted her. Yet the sincerity of the music survived and Ms. Parton walked away with the IBMA award for Recording of the Year and a Grammy. And, while many thought that Dolly would follow her success in the genre with another hard-core bluegrass recording they were shocked to find that her follow up would be far less of a bluegrass effort.
Little Sparrow is a recording of true Americana. Parton explores a lot of roads on this one with the help of the same all-star ensemble that allowed her to let a bluegrass light shine. The only new face in the band is mando phoneme Chris Thile taking the seat that Sam Bush occupied in the prior edition of the band. And anytime someone assembles a band that includes Jim Mills, Bryan Sutton, Stuart Duncan and Jerry Douglas, there's gonna be some bluegrass somewhere. And, to that end, Parton presents a formidable version of 'I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby.' Dolly presents this one in something of a honky-tonk style with heavy doses of Stuart Duncan's fiddlework contrasting with the slide wizardry of Jerry Douglas. This one is a true toe tapper. Thile's approach to mandolin is less dramatic than the sound that Bush brought to the band. And with that, Dolly was able to mellow out her music considerably. But the edge is hard to hide and it cuts through again on Parton's original composition 'Bluer Pastures.'
However, more often than not, Dolly is looking to spread her wings and fly to another flower. She proves herself capable of working in a myriad of styles. The title cut is probably closer to a contemporary folk sound (with distinct traditional overtones) than 'grass. 'A Tender Lie' leans toward mainstream country 'I Get A Kick Out Of You' is a marvelous swing number and there are severe country/rock elements in 'Shine.' But I'm sure that Dolly saw Little Sparrow as a means to simply expand her art without the burdens of slick NashVegas production. In that respect, Little Sparrow is a jewel. However it is a distinct change of direction.
Dolly Parton has always been a great entertainer. She learned how to sing in a manner that few attain. But too many forget the pure simplicity of her early works. Much of that magic can be experienced here. Parton's composition 'Mountain Angel' is a haunting ballad about a lost soul in this world. Was she evil or misunderstood? The listener has to choose, but, regardless, it's the tale of a tragic hero making her way through a world that deserted her. This one is driven home by Duncan's fiddle and Bryan Sutton's solid rhythm. Yep, you heard it, a focal point in this song is Bryan Sutton's rhythm guitar. Sutton, who has gained a reputation as a premier soloist fully captures the sorrowful elements in Parton's lyrics with his rhythm work. Each time that Parton needs something to punctuate her words, she turns to a rhythm chop from Sutton. And Bryan proves that he handles all aspects of his craft with grace and style throughout the song.
Little Sparrow probably won't win the IBMA award this year. But Dolly Parton has shown the world that she can utilize a bluegrass band to stretch beyond the boundaries that is still tied to the sound. Dolly is an innovator when she chooses to be and, while I was far more excited by her initial foray into bluegrass, Little Sparrow just might bring the music greater success.
You are missing out on special features available only to iBluegrass Members.
Try the powerful features of membership - free.
|
 |
Website ©1996-2010 iBluegrass.com
