Dolly Parton's years for the Monument label were good ones, resulting in terrific straightforward country numbers, many of them written by her. The uncredited pickers, in particular the pedal steel, keep things really cooking. The arrangement on the opening number, "Why, Why, Why," makes the listener's head spin with both the precision of the pedal steel riffs and the clever shuffling of chords from the standard 1-4-5 progression. Even a skeptic will be able to follow Parton into her private realm of despair, always delivered in a beautiful voice promising hope. This might be one of the most enduring country artists and superstars early in her career, but she already has it all together. It is superb country and western, which, combined with the highly praised old-time traditions she would return to later in her career, establishes Parton as a visionary artist in traditional American music.
© Eugene Chadbourne /TiVo