Parton’s hits have been�repackaged time and again over the years, and this latest Very Best Of does a predictable and perfunctory job of bringing together her 20 most familiar tunes. Newcomers to Parton’s pleasures may honestly be best served investigating the three double-headers in this second wave of the reissue campaign.
1977’s New Harvest, First Gathering makes its bow on CD and documents Parton’s first tentative steps into the pop mainstream, a move which resulted in her losing her way�slightly (1979’s disappointing Great Balls Of Fire). She was back on track for 1983’s Burlap & Satin, giving out country chestnuts such as Send Me The Pillow. There’s also the terrific Willie Nelson duet, I Really Don’t Want To Know. By 1985’s Real Love, her mix of the old and new was just right, especially on the title track with Kenny Rogers and Once In A Very Blue Moon, a cover which helped give the songwriter Nanci Griffith’s career an important boost.
It’s inevitable that anyone as prolific as Parton would suffer occasional lapses in quality, but two albums per CD makes it hard to go far wrong when seeking out the treats often ignored by anthology compilers. This is the tidy one-stop where almost anyone can afford to fill in the gaps.
