grassisblue

Dolly's been recording some great (and some not so great) music for over thirty years, and "The Grass is Blue" is her best work yet, in my opinion. I know Dolly went NashVegas on us, but dammit, she's done well (built an empire). Now she has come back to her country/bluegrass roots. The CD starts with Billy Joel's "Travelin Prayer" from his "Piano Man" LP. Don't groan - Joel has written some great songs...remember "Shameless"? Oh! Hell, skip the first track. No, don't really skip it because Dolly does it right.

The track starts with a slow sweet fiddle, but quickly the band jumps into balls-out bluegrass with a lot of fast-fingered pickin' and playin'. Dolly's vocals soar with the music. I'll discuss the band upfront, because Dolly lets them share and frequently steal her spotlight. The band is a group of outstanding young studio players that use some antique instruments to add to the authenticity of the music. Jerry Douglas (dobro), Sam Buck (1937 Gibson mandolin), Stuart Duncan (100+ year old fiddle), Barry Bales ('40's bass), Jim Miller ('34 Gibson banjo) and Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar) provide wonderful instrumentation for Dolly's beautiful and versatile voice. Next up is the Louvin Brothers classic, "Cash on the Barrelhead". Dolly gives a bang-up vocal performance, and each verse is followed by a jamming instrumental run. Things cool off a little with a nice version of Hazel Dicken's country waltz, "A Few Old Memories". Then it's back to business with Lester Flatt's "I'm Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open". I bet Lester looked down and smiled. "Steady as the Rain" is a bluegrass beauty penned by Ms. Parton. It's a good tune, and had it been written fifty years ago, it would probably be a classic today. An old Johnny Cash ballad, "I Still Miss Someone" follows. This song was the flip side of his hit, "Don't Take Your Guns to Town". Here it features some great dobro and fiddle work. "Endless Stream of Tears" is another Dolly-penned tune and is as bluegrass as it gets. "Silver Dagger" is an old song that Dolly arranged and she makes it her own. It starts with Dolly and the banjo, and then the other instruments enter one by one. Midway through the song it becomes a full-fledged toe-tapper. It's a haunting tune that is well performed by all parties. The band is just warming up for "Train-Train", a rollicking number that allows the whole band to shine with solos. Brother, this is real bluegrass! Next is one of Johnny Bond's great crying in your beer songs, "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight". Every country album ought to have one of these songs. Dolly wrote the next two tunes and the first one, an upbeat number titled, "Will He Be Waiting for Me" should be released as a single. Here Dolly delivers a great vocal performance. Why this song isn't being played on "country radio" is a mystery to me. It's better than the crap being played these days. Her other new tune, "The Grass is Blue", is a little corny but sounds like the music she was making in the Porter Wagner era. The CD closes with an acapella spiritual written by her sister, Rachel. Dolly's voice is the only instrument here and it soars!

Dolly has switched to Robert Earl's old label, Sugar Hill Records. As expected with a star of her caliber, the production by Steve Buckingham is impeccable. I know you couldn't tell it from this review, but I'm not a big fan of Dolly's, though I have always thought she was a down-to-earth and talented singer/songwriter that was willing to take chances. I am a big bluegrass fan, however. So if you can force yourself to buy a CD by a big-time successful Nashville artist, I think you will like this one. Here's an idea, buy it off the net through the link provided here. It comes in a plain brown box and no one will know what's inside.

Written by Jim Hughes, August 2000

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