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Dolly Parton's artistic rejuvenation continues unabated on Those Were the Days, a mostly acoustic collection of cover songs from the '60s and '70s, including some that became familiar anthems during the civil rights and antiwar movements. Not that this is any kind of protest album, but the infusion of social consciousness is an interesting new wrinkle in Parton's repertoire. Also, this is a duets-and-more album, as Parton is accompanied on each song by guest artists. Some of the inspired pairings include none other than Tommy James on harmony vocal (and tremolo guitar) in a shimmering rendition of "Crimson and Clover" and Roger McGuinn adding urgent harmonies to a bluegrass-ified "Turn, Turn, Turn," in which David Talbot's cascading banjo lines evoke the feel of Pete Seeger's original version. Nickel Creek add silky folk textures and ethereal harmonies to Parton's crying interpretation of "Blowin' in the Wind," while a string section underpins a mournful reading of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," with evocative harmony support from Norah Jones and Lee Ann Womack. With David Foster on piano and a lush string section behind her, Parton digs into John Lennon's "Imagine" with a deliberate, impressively modulated reading that is captivating in its whispered verses and soaring choruses. Johnny Mathis's beautiful love ballad "Twelfth of Never" is retooled as a brisk bluegrass shuffle, with Keith Urban adding a dreamy tenor vocal part. Judy Collins revisits a keening "Both Sides Now," with Rhonda Vincent pitching in on harmonies as well. Kris Kristofferson (on "Me and Bobby McGee"), Alison Krauss, and Joe Nichols are present and accounted for, too, their solid presence adding ballast to an album that is charming in its execution and compelling in its subtle but pointed messages.
Condition:NEW. Punched upc
TRACK LISTINGS
1 Those Were the Days / Porter Wagoner 5:00
2 Blowin' in the Wind / Sean Watkins 3:22
3 Where Have All the Flowers Gone 4:05
4 Twelfth of Never 3:17
5 Where Do the Children Play / Yusuf 3:25
6 Me and Bobby McGee 3:51
7 Crimson and Clover 3:40
8 The Cruel War 3:43
9 Turn, Turn, Turn 3:18
10 If I Were a Carpenter 2:56
11 Both Sides Now 3:34
12 Imagine / David Foster 3:52
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