{"id":24907,"date":"2023-12-01T00:11:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T08:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/?p=24907"},"modified":"2023-11-30T16:31:21","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T00:31:21","slug":"oh-hey-whoa-dolly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/oh-hey-whoa-dolly\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh Hey, Whoa Dolly!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

One word: Wow.<\/p>\n

Not in the best way.<\/p>\n

Yeah, I know that I\u2019m \u201cthe recording guy\u201d columnist and others write the reviews, but in this case let\u2019s (ahem) <\/em>review: The San Diego Troubadour<\/strong> is, by its own definition an alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, blues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass music news magazine.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Dolly Parton<\/strong> was selected for induction into the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Hall of Fame<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

At first, she balked at accepting the honor, but after an outpouring of encouragement from the scores of friends in the industry who feature largely on her new album, she relented.<\/p>\n

In her acceptance speech, she said, \u201cYou know, if I\u2019m gonna be in the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Hall of Fame<\/em>, I\u2019m gonna have to do a rock album\u201d and true to her word, Ms. Parton has delivered on that and so, so much more, with the sprawling Rockstar<\/em><\/strong>, a big-time, pull-out-all-the-stops modern rock production, with A-listers on both sides of the studio glass.<\/p>\n

As one who deeply loves Dolly Parton\u2019s songs and voice, I took notice. I think that within the realm of that sort of greatness, you have to pay attention when a \u201cBabe Ruth\u201d points into the stands. That, of course, often comes with unrealistic expectations but here, everything just feels way more\u2026unedited.<\/p>\n

I mean there are 30 songs on this album and the last one is Free Bird<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Granted, there\u2019s a lot<\/em> of love in the room the whole<\/em> time, and an infectious personality like Dolly\u2019s is going to bring out the affection that each and every performer so obviously holds for her. But the perky shout-outs, schmoozy dialogue, and often lackluster cameos begin to tip the scales too far to the meta, even for the still-adorable Dolly Parton, periodically causing me to wonder aloud if the cameos were too much, at least over the course of 30 songs, hence the playlist.<\/p>\n

I believe Dolly Parton to be a very grateful and generous person. The world needs all of these angels. That said, I will chronicle the sifting through that brought me to the Dolly Parton Rockstar<\/em> playlist I curated to enjoy and share with you. Here we go!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Rock Star <\/strong>It starts off a hilarious skit about Dolly as a little girl, declaring her sincere intentions to rock!Over a smoldering 8th-note march of muted heavy guitars and kick drum-anchored downbeats, she delivers a convincingly badass rock vocal performance, as talk boxes squawk and whammy bars bend and hoodly-hoodly guitar leads abound. Love the backing vocals on this one! [Y]<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. World on Fire <\/strong>Sounds to me like the promise of what a Daniel Lanois-produced collaboration might sound like. At times, this fine song brings to mind the Emmylou Harris album he produced, Wrecking Ball<\/em>, but Dolly brings it harder<\/em>. Above a majestic din of drums, guitars, and gospel choirs, she implores of a divided country: \u201cCan\u2019t we rise above? \/ Can\u2019t we show some love \/ Do we just give up, or make a change?\u201d <\/em>She means it and her impassioned delivery is beyond convincing, its transcendent. [Y]<\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Every Breath You Take <\/strong>Although this song has some really tight production elements, it was the first one I had some trouble with. It\u2019s not an unsuccessful duet, but I really don\u2019t like Sting<\/strong>\u2019s re-harmonized arrangement.<\/li>\n
  4. Open Arms <\/strong>Dolly\u2019s opening verse and chorus to this well-worn chestnut are quintessentially her. I hit skip when Steve Perry<\/strong> enters\u2026he also<\/em> re-harmonized the arrangement with mixed results.<\/li>\n
  5. Magic Man <\/strong>Note perfect performances from both Parton and Heart\u2019s Ann Wilson<\/strong> keep things lively and it sounds like one would hope! Love the big acoustic guitar-picked breakdown, too!<\/li>\n
  6. Long as I Can See the Light <\/strong>This is way better than expected! John Fogerty<\/strong>\u2019s vocals sound like sun tea on summer\u2019s day, and the two together sound like weary travelers. Just lovely.<\/li>\n
  7. Either Or <\/strong>Guest Kid Rock brings on the slide guitars and a vocal mix that buries Dolly\u2019s.<\/li>\n
  8. I Want You Back <\/strong>Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler <\/strong>is probably better at this sort of project than most other artists, having done so many. His turn is iconic and injects real energy into this well-produced track.<\/li>\n
  9. What Has Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Ever Done for You <\/strong>I don\u2019t know who the dude is, but no.<\/li>\n
  10. Purple Rain <\/strong>Great, but inessential.<\/em><\/em><\/li>\n
  11. Baby, I Love Your Way <\/strong>Same as above, except without the \u201cgreat\u201d part. Frampton plays a cool solo.<\/li>\n
  12. I Hate Myself for Loving You <\/strong>I\u2019d say this was the prototype I pictured this album to be. Rocks!<\/li>\n
  13. Night Moves <\/strong>Dolly really seems to lean into this one, providing an electric crackle to the track. Chris Stapleton<\/strong> stands in admirably for songwriter Bob Seger<\/strong>, to beautiful dramatic effect.<\/li>\n
  14. Wrecking Ball <\/strong>This is hands-down a great reinvention<\/em> of the original in collaboration with Miley Cyrus<\/strong> herself. That is a vision somewhat lacking throughout the rest of this project. Powered by their combined talents this absolutely kills<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  15. I Can\u2019t Get No Satisfaction <\/strong>Playfully deconstructs the patented guitar interplay of the Stones at the intro, then hitters Pink<\/strong> and Brandi Carlisle<\/strong> move in the throw-down serious girl power, something this album could use more of. Super love the jet flanger-fueled psychedelic bridge!<\/li>\n
  16. Keep on Loving You<\/strong> Not after this version, Kevin Cronin<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  17. Heart of Glass <\/strong>Nope.<\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n
  18. Don\u2019t Let the Sun Go Down on Me <\/strong>I was so ready to love this, then Elton John started singing. Infuriatingly bad.<\/li>\n
  19. Tried to Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Me <\/strong>This song sounds like it was written for Dolly to sing in this genre! Great find. Melissa Etheridge <\/strong>keeps things real throughout. Winner!<\/li>\n
  20. Stairway to Heaven <\/strong>Okay\u2026why<\/em> in the hell are we doing this, again? So Lizzo<\/strong> can sound less cool than a Mellotron<\/strong>? Not at all worth one\u2019s time, in my opinion.<\/li>\n
  21. We Are the Champions\/We Will Rock You <\/strong>Skip.<\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n
  22. Bygones <\/strong>I love the idea of having Dolly Parton duet with Judas<\/strong> Preist<\/strong>\u2019s Rob Halford, <\/strong>and it actually is quite thrilling! Gold.<\/li>\n
  23. My Blue Tears <\/strong>The script is flipped on Duran Duran<\/strong>\u2019s vocalist Simon Le Bon<\/strong>, who turns in a surprising vocal on Parton\u2019s classic. One of the album\u2019s better cuts!<\/li>\n
  24. What\u2019s Up? <\/strong>This Four No Blondes classic with Linda Perry<\/strong> is probably why I\u2019ve been hearing the phrase \u201cDollyoke\u201d bandied about. I mean, some of these choices were obviously going to rub some folks the wrong way and this seems like almost certain doom, but Linda Perry is also a great producer and stayed out of the way on this one, letting Dolly shine like the star she is.<\/li>\n
  25. You\u2019re No Good. <\/strong>Surprisingly terrible vocals from Sheryl Crow <\/strong>and Emmylou Harris.<\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n
  26. Heartbreaker<\/strong> \u201cDollyoke\u201d with Pat Benetar<\/strong>!<\/li>\n
  27. Bittersweet <\/strong>Not sure how rocking a choice Michael McDonald <\/strong>is, but there is<\/em> a definite \u201980s slant to the song choices and arrangements throughout.<\/li>\n
  28. I Dreamed About Elvis <\/strong>Style-check is the king with a hammy impersonation by Ronnie McDowell <\/strong>and is every bit as corny as you\u2019d think.<\/li>\n
  29. Let It Be <\/strong>sounds like Paul McCartney <\/strong>grabbed his Les Paul guitar for some great soloing and Ringo Starr <\/strong>steals the show with his instantly identifiable drumming! What a rare chance to hear them together!<\/li>\n
  30. Free Bird <\/strong>Told you! Dolly leads the way with an affectingly personal performance and opens an absolutely scorching outro into a rocking guitarfest!!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Well, there was certainly a lot of work that went into Rockstar<\/em>. I hope the edited playlist here\u2014https:\/\/music.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL1IhKW5vO5ufH7G3I5ZkK1cyMmsvCO2ut&si=JBN4yOTR0_AQgfVO<\/a>\u2014helps you to enjoy the album to its fullest. Merry Christmas!<\/p>\n

    Sven-Erik Seaholm is a singer, songwriter, and record producer from San Diego, California.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Join him at the Whistle Stop Bar on December 17th from 5-8pm as he and Ed Croft Guest DJ and celebrate the release of Croft\u2019s Seaholm-produced Vinyl LP, <\/em>Have Mersey.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    One word: Wow. Not in the best way. Yeah, I know that I\u2019m \u201cthe recording guy\u201d columnist and others write the reviews, but in this case let\u2019s (ahem) review: The San Diego Troubadour is, by its own definition an alternative country, Americana, roots, folk, blues, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass music news magazine. In 2022, Dolly Parton was selected for induction into the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Hall of Fame. At first, she balked at accepting the honor, but after an outpouring of encouragement from the scores of friends in the industry who feature largely on her new album, she relented. In her acceptance speech, she said, \u201cYou know, if I\u2019m gonna be in the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Hall of Fame, I\u2019m gonna have to do a rock album\u201d and true to her word, Ms. Parton has delivered on that and so, so much more, with the sprawling Rockstar, a big-time, pull-out-all-the-stops […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zen-of-recording"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24907"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25065,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24907\/revisions\/25065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}