Tribute albums can fall into a couple of different traps: the artists either too closely ape the originals or they push them so far outside the envelope that they’re unrecognizable. Ideally, the performer paying tribute strikes a balance between the two extremes, which is generally the case on this salute to country icon Dolly Parton. As is nearly universally the case with such encomiums, some tracks work better than others.
The highlights of this collection are Norah Jones’ cool, piano-driven cover of the title track from Parton’s 1999 bluegrass breakout, The Grass is Blue; and Joan Osborne’s classy take on one of Dolly’s folkier songs, “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind.” Jones’ particular brand of understated balladry is perfectly suited to this bluesy song, and Osborne’s warm vocals are deftly anchored in a simple, rootsy arrangement.
Alison Krauss, who could sing the Nashville phone book and make it interesting, kicks things off with a slow, bluegrassy take on one of Dolly’s better-known ditties, the movie-title anthem “9 to 5.” Kasey Chambers’ piercing and powerful pipes are perfect for the rocking, darkly ominous reading of “Little Sparrow.” A real surprise here is Sinead O’Connor’s starkly emotional rendition of “Dagger Through the Heart.” And the yin-yang sister act of Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer bring their own sensibilities to two songs: Shelby’s a funky, swinging take on “The Seeker” which is robbed of some of its power by her breathy delivery; and Allison’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” which is flush with studio trickery, including faux-vinly scratches and pops and a dreamy electronica wash that threatens to overwhelm her delicate vocals and the quietly plucked guitar.
Emmylou Harris is a longtime friend and collaborator of Dolly’s, so it’s only natural to include her on this disc, but it’s disappointing to get a re-run, even though it’s a classic: Emmy’s late-70s cover of “To Daddy” from her album Quarter Moon in a Ten-Cent Town.
That leaves only four tracks that don’t really make the grade, quite a good ratio for tribute records. Newcomer Mindy Smith renders Dolly’s powerful and desperate plea to the “other” woman, “Jolene,” into a schoolgirl playground spat; this kid’s got a good set of pipes, but not the maturity yet to tackle this material. Melissa Etheridge doesn’t attack “I Will Always Love You” with Whitney Houston’s misdirected energy, but she still over-emotes in her own way; Me’Shell N’Degeocello’s interp of “Two Doors Down” is original and valid, but its looped percussion and her hip-hop influenced delivery stick out here like a hippie at a formal reception. But the worst offense is the inclusion of pop-country diva Shania Twain and her egregious butchery of Dolly’s signature, “Coat of Many Colors.” Alison Krauss’s band, Union Station, lays down a gorgeous setting, over which Twain slops her affected vocal stylings. It’s a true sow’s-ear/silk purse situation, her too-obvious emotional rasps and voice-catches drawing all attention away from the song and onto the singer. Krauss and even Dolly herself do their best to ground this thing in some sense of authenticity with their harmony vocals, but it’s a losing battle.
To top it all off and show us what all the fuss is about, Dolly herself sings the last song, the title track, “Just Because I’m a Woman.” Now that’s more like it.
(Sugar Hill, 2003)
