Apparently, Dolly Parton has released a album of Rock Music-- a bunch of covers (often with one or more of the original performers helping out) and some new songs.
I heard about this on NPR the other day, and have now listened to a big chunk of it, and I wouldn’t say it’s really my thing, it’s kinda fun anyway. (I’m not a big Rock music person, nor do I listen to a lot of Dolly Parton’s music, but I’m certainly a fan of her).
I heard her talking about it on the college football game Saturday. They added her old song Rocky Top to the album.
Seems she inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame. That was her inspiration.
I love her. I do. I would lay down my life for her.
But I will not be buying this album, or even borrowing it from the library. To paraphrase Hank Hill, she hasn’t made rock 'n roll better, she’s made it more country. Or something. I’ve been drinking.
Sirius XM has a temporary Rockstar channel and I really haven’t enjoyed it as much as I expected to.
I bought it and listened to it once so far, just like the Rolling Stones album a couple weeks ago. Neither has grown on me yet. I have to stop buying albums just because they’re important.
[After desperately scouring the internet for Dolly covering What’s Going On]
To atone for my mistake, I offer you this version of Jolene, digitally altered to sound like a record running at 33rpm and yet still sounds amazing.
Sidenote: I don’t think I ever noticed that the lyrics are ‘what’s going on’ and the song is ‘what’s up’. I don’t think the phrase ‘what’s up’ is even in the lyrics.
You can hear all those little vocal inflections that kind of get lost at full speed. She really has quite the control on her voice.
The trouble with Dolly doing rock songs, is she still sings like Dolly! That Dolly twang is still there, and it kind of can be distracting in a rock song.
But she’s a national treasure! I don’t know about laying down my life, but if she asked me to sing a duet, I’d go in a heartbeat. And I can’t sing!
I appreciate Dolly’s talent and her musical legacy, and good on her for putting this out. But I don’t think of her as a “Rock Star”. Of course, the term has different meanings to different people, but to me rock stars have a certain amount of “edge” to them, and if it’s one thing that Dolly lacks, it’s edges
I’d put this album in the same category as Pat Boone’s No More Mister Nice Guy and Paul Anka’s Rock Swings. (both of which I have and enjoy from time to time)
Almost on the topic of country singers doing covers, I just found The Ghost of Johnny Cash on YouTube. Some artists is singing in the style of Johnny Cash. It is hit-and-miss, but sometimes quite nice.
The song contains all the hallmarks of rock music (wailing vocals and electric guitars, heavy beat etc.) in its sprawling eight-minute length - it’s not just finger picking and recorders.
Further, when a rock band does a softer song for a change, the song doesn’t change genres just because. Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters isn’t classified as pop, country etc. And Led Zeppelin is a quintessential rock band.