Acoustic Collection: 1999-2002
Like other country mainstays (Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, et al.), Dolly Parton found creative emancipation in freedom from the commercial airwaves, once the younger generation of artists began dominating country radio.  The crossover slickness and calculation of some of her later country hits is nowhere in evidence on this trio of albums that marked her belated return to acoustic bluegrass and mountain music. 1999's Grammy-winningThe Grass Is Bluelaunched the back-to-roots trilogy (also includingLittle SparrowandHalos & Horns), with a bonus DVD completing the bargain-priced, four-disc box. Among its highlights are five new song mixes that spotlight the vocal or instrumental work, tribute covers by Kasey Chambers and Sinead O'Connor, a video of Parton and Norah Jones performing "The Grass Is Blue," and extensive notes on the making of these albums. Producer Steve Buckingham and Parton enlisted top musicians (like Jerry Douglas and Stuart Duncan) and harmonizers (like Alison Krauss and Patty Loveless) on material that ranges from the original to the traditional (the Louvins' "Cash on the Barrelhead," Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone") to the out-of-left-field (Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You"). For those who love the purity of her songbird trill, this is a return to the early form of "Jolene."--Don McLeese