If you’ve been reading this site or following me on Twitter for a while you’ll know that my one fangirly weakness is Dolly Parton. In the past I have pleaded in something not too dissimilar to an open letter that Dolly record something closer to her roots. That’s what I love her most dearly for, and not her take on pop, rock & roll, or even contemporary country. Albums like ‘Hungry Again’, ‘The Grass Is Blue’, ‘Little Sparrow’ and ‘Halos & Horns’ are all excellent examples of how she interprets bluegrass and converts it into a display of her Appalachian roots, both in a fun and beautifully aching manner. ‘Blue Smoke’ initially implies from its introductory tracks that it is a more modern continuation of what she achieved in the late 1990’s, such as on the opener and title track, which fuses the elements of dobro, mandolin, acoustic guitar, fiddle and banjo. Yet what is significant about ‘Blue Smoke’ is that it gently reminds us that Dolly is a good fifteen years older than she was, and she has more wisdom and new ideas that begin to weave their way into the fabric of this album from less than two minutes in. Initially sporting a banjo-decorated shuffle beat with little dynamics, it suddenly slows down with a gorgeous sliding note from Dolly to up the tempo and change the instrumental mix. Yet forty seconds later we have an a capella breakdown before returning to the original theme, and this is the first taste we get of Dolly playing coyly with structure and springing the unexpected on her listeners.
Another example of this is ‘If I Had Wings’, that begins as a mountain ballad surrounded by a thick texture of modern bluegrass and an off-beat rhythm giving it a surprisingly sexy vibe. Halfway through, however, she dips into the gospel, complete with choir, moving into a capella for the outro. What’s significant about the latter is that it highlights its use of the same melody as ‘Little Sparrow’ – while it could be argued that she is simply re-using a melody that is common within that sound, the references both to her bluegrass days and also fleshing out the story are too poignant to ignore. For context, ‘Little Sparrow’ compares young, innocent women to sparrows, and warns them of exploitation by men. ‘If I Had Wings’ appears to jump forward a little by reveling in the sorrow that was pre-empted; now from the point of view of one of the young women in question. It is the kind storytelling that really makes her a powerful songwriter, and just quietly paves a road in the direction of a concept album.
However, that is not this album. Dolly has said of the record that it is designed to show all the colors of her life, and although it has a predominantly bluegrass sound, it certainly doesn’t shy away from trying to push an array of influences. From the Kenny Rogers duet ‘You Can’t Make Old Friends’, whose acoustic, balladic nature sits happily in between its bluegrass neighbors, to the classic, traditional country feel of ‘From Here To The Moon And Back’, a duet with Willie Nelson, it is clear that Dolly is intent on honoring the sounds that made her the star that she is (this song was originally featured on Willie’s album ‘To All The Girls’, and also recorded with Kris Kristofferson for the movie ‘Joyful Noise’ last year). She dips further into the past for her references, recording a bluegrass version of a previous track ‘Unlikely Angel’, originally released for the soundtrack of the CBS Christmas movie of the same name in 1996. I must say although there is possibly too much going on for the accompaniment, this is a much better version. That’s unfortunately not the case for ‘Lay Your Hands On Me’, a cover of Bon Jovi that has been lyrically twisted to reflect a Godly love rather than a sexual one. She appears to try and include every genre and instrument that she can into that already full production, and it ultimately ends up messy, confusing and not very nice to listen to, particularly as she’s shouting to be heard over the mix.
Yet she proves that she can interpret other people’s songs, in a unique yet well-orchestrated fashion, such as on the Bob Dylan cover ‘Don’t Think Twice’, punctuated with harmonica and led by acoustic guitar in one of the highlights of the record. Another highlight is ‘Home’, which sounds as if it could fit seamlessly onto country radio (aside from bro-country, obviously), showing just how good she is at adapting to totally different sounds and styles without losing the stamp that makes her quintessentially “Dolly”. If this isn’t a single it’ll be a crime. Elsewhere she includes a rendition (added to) of the traditional murder ballad ‘Banks of The Ohio’ and the fabulous closer ‘Try’, a full studio recording of a song she has previously only performed live in an acoustic fashion. For ‘Blue Smoke’, she gives it a country-infused pop sound but it couldn’t really have been done any more perfectly to differentiate from the acoustic version.
Ultimately, ‘Blue Smoke’ shows Dolly moving into some new terrain, growing in her artistry. While it is a combination of factors and sounds, it both sums up what has come so far and hints at what will follow. It showcases her willingness to try new things, even now aged 68 (67 at the time of recording), and her vocals seem to have new life, despite my suspicion that she may have used a little auto-tune here and there it iron out a few familiar kinks. Overall, Dolly sounds fresh here, not devoid of growing pains, but exciting and looking to the future, which I thought at this time in her life just wouldn’t happen. I can’t wait to see where this leads her.
