http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestat...ent/6964939.htm
Posted on Fri, Oct. 10, 2003
Top female singers pay homage to Parton
The Dolly Parton tribute album "Just Because I'm a Woman" is as much a testament to the female artists who recorded their favorite Parton hits as it is to the country legend's songwriting.
The CD celebrates the 35th anniversary of Parton's first solo album, also titled "Just Because I'm a Woman."
If you're a fan of Parton's songwriting, you'll appreciate these interpretations by a dozen top female singers from the world of pop, rock and country.
The CD features the likes of Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, Shania Twain, Shelby Lynne, Melissa Etheridge, Joan Osborne and Sinead O'Connor. It also includes Parton's longtime friend Emmylou Harris and newcomer Mindy Smith. Parton adds a new cut of the title track.
Each woman brings a distinctive style to Parton's classics. But it's evident that many have been influenced by Parton's recent return to her bluegrass roots.
Krauss' version of "9 to 5" sounds like she just tumbled out of bed and hasn't yet poured herself a cup of ambition - a slow-paced, bluegrass take on the working-girl anthem.
Etheridge's "I Will Always Love You" is far sadder in its subtlety than Whitney Houston's over-the-top movie soundtrack version.
And Jones brings her distinctive, jazzy voice to "The Grass Is Blue," a song she'll sing with Parton at the CMA Awards, Nov. 5 on CBS.
The CD includes written tributes from the women. From Osborne: "Dolly Patron is a gifted artist cleverly disguised as a media superstar and a sex bomb. She does it all without breaking a sweat - or a nail. Long may she reign."
From O'Connor: "She has demonstrated to women the world over how much can be achieved by the power of the female voice. She ought not to be underestimated I guess, as some people kind of laugh when you say you're into Dolly Patron. But she's a (expletive) genius."
- Shelley Hill, The State
Hybrid Mode
