Published on Jan 26, 2004
Her Texas-sized hair. The jumpsuits that accentuated her…
well, you know. Dollywood.
It’s easy to overlook Dolly Parton’s songwriting talents when
her extravagant productions (both stage and personal) are so
prevalent. She initially started with bluegrass and, despite a
couple of glitzy turns toward showbiz-style country and rock and
roll, Dolly Parton has remained faithful to her bluegrass roots.
Her most recent albums have revisited her bluegrass roots and have
won her new fans (no thanks to the alt-country explosion and the
success of
O Brother, Where Art Thou?).
With newfound credibility, the tribute album was inevitable.
Even though tribute albums are usually horrendous vanity projects,
there are some golden nuggets worth salvaging.
Just Because I’m a Woman is one of those nuggets. Virtually
every artist is ‘A’ list talent: Norah Jones, Me’Shell
N’Degeocello, Allison Krauss, Sinead O’Connor and Joan Osborne to
name a few. Each of these artists add a bit of grit to Parton’s
songs, making them all the more authentic to the listener.
Shelby Lynne is arguably the most ‘Dolly’ of the bunch: she came
on the music scene with her barbed-wire confessional
I Am Shelby Lynne. However, like Dolly Parton, she got
caught up with studio gloss and her Jewel-like makeover into a
sexpot with her follow-up recording (call it Lynne’s studio version
of the movie
Rhinestone). But Lynne has redeemed herself by going back to
bluegrass — and she continues that redemption with “The
Seeker.”
Most of the tracks are fairly loyal versions of Parton’s songs.
Emmylou Harris adds a rugged beauty in “To Daddy.” Alison Krauss
does a great job stripping down “9 to 5,” one of Dolly Parton’s
‘rocking’ numbers during her early-80s stardom, to its hurt core.
Parton’s uptempo, almost joyous delivery, overshadows the dreary
lyrics of working as a wage slave. Krauss slows the tempo down,
making the song more suitable for a barroom than an aerobic
station.
Some of the more unconventional recordings are the biggest
payoff to the listener. Sinead O’Connor’s beautiful voice resonates
in “Dagger Through The Heart,” arguably the best cover on an album
full of solid covers. O’Connor has flirted with rock, rap and
electronica, but on this song, she is backed chiefly by steel
guitar and fiddle. Me’ Shell N’Degeocello supplies some much-needed
funk to the album with her half-singing, half-spoken delivery of
“Two Doors Down.”
If you were to find a fault in
Just Because I’m a Woman, it would be its relative lack of
risk-taking. Most of the songs are fairly loyal to their original
source material. Still, most listeners will likely prefer loyal,
passionate versions of some of Parton’s best works and not some
half-assed attempt at incorporating elements of dance or
electronica into this album.
Parton gets the last word in with the hidden track “Just Because
I’m a Woman.” It’s only fitting. Without Dolly Parton’s influence,
it is likely that 1/3 of the artists on this compilation would not
have made it in the music world. It’s almost unfair to call
Just Because I’m a Woman a tribute album. It’s coherent,
well-produced and ultimately, it makes you want to hit the ‘repeat’
key – as much of a compliment to the musicians as the source
material.