Coat of Many Colors

Released

To understand Dolly Parton’s gift, roam around through the vast library of country. Whenever you run across a classic, the chances are good the person singing the song didn’t write it. With Dolly, the opposite is usually true, even though she could easily have created Dollywood with her voice and charm alone, without the writing. But that was never Parton’s plan—she needed to sing about having no money, and her mama making her a coat from rags, scurrilous lovers (sometimes Parton herself, depending on the song), nature, and scurrilous men. Parton has a hummingbird vibrato that she can turn on and off with terrifying speed, and her main alto tone punches right through every production style. Here, the main sound is a beautifully dry Seventies containment, with a killer band more than a little familiar with Southern soul and gospel. Neil Young producer David Briggs is on piano.

Sasha Frere-Jones