Better Day

After waiting nearly three and a half years fans of Dolly Parton can rejoice in the fact that Dolly has a brand new studio album out called "Better Day", with her last full album being 2008's "Backwoods Barbie", although Dolly did release the live record "Dolly-Live From London" in 2009 and a year before that she had released "Sha-kon-O-Hey" which was sold exclusively at Dollywood to benefit the "Friends of the Smokies" organization.

"Better Day" features 12 original Dolly Parton-penned songs with their themes being very uplifting. She wanted to do an album at this time with a positive angle because of the hard times in the world. The record has been released to coincide with her "Better Day World Tour" which will see her perform in concert starting in July in the U.S., then it's off to Europe, then back to America for a few more dates, then in November she will play Australia for the first time in over 20 year. In 2012 she will also be performing in Canada and finish off the tour in the states.

The first single from the CD, "Together You and I", is actually a beautiful remake of a song she had recorded with her former mentor and duet partner Porter Wagoner for their 1974 LP "Porter "n" Dolly". It has a new tempo and has been contemporized to suit today's country music sound. Other tracks include "Holding Everything" that was recorded by "Alabama" lead singer Randy Owen; "Missing You" was originally recorded by Dolly for the film "First Dog"; and "I Just Might", "Shine Like The Sun", "Get Out", and "Let Love Grow" were songs she had wrote for her Tony-nominated score of "9 to 5-The Musical.

The five remaining tracks were written especially for this set and include the beautiful "In The Meantime", "Country Is", "The Sacrifice", and the title song.

Dolly's voice is impeccable here as well as ageless and the CD is sure to be a huge seller. The sound is very much "today's country" as Dolly shows no signs of slowing down. The production is flawless and hopefully country radio will give the singles a chance.

The reviews of "Better Day" are glowing with the "New York Times" saying "It's Dolly to the bone. It's Miss Parton's voice that matters and she sounds almost ageless: expressive even at a whisper and glorious at full cry". The "L.A. Times" notes "The album contains a dozen bright-eyed originals about painting rainbows in the sky and finding satisfaction with both champagne and chocolate milk...Parton's irrepressible personality is the star attraction, and on "Better Day" it shines. They give the album 3 and a half out of 4 stars.

For fans of vinyl recordings they will be ecstatic to know that Dolly's record label, "Dolly Records", will be releasing a vinyl version of "Better Day" on August 16, 2011. This will be the first time in 20 years a recording of Miss Parton's has seen a release in the vinyl format, her last album on vinyl being 1991's "Eagle When She Flies" that was only available through Columbia House.

The Doll is indeed back where she belongs singing country music only the way our Miss Dolly knows how.

On the July 7, 2011 Billboard Charts it was announced Dolly's "Better Day" CD cracked the Top 20 Country Album's List coming in at a very impressive #11, and coming in at #51 on the Pop Chart. Congratulations Dolly!!!

Although "Better Day" sold pretty well here in North America it fared even better in the U.K. with the album debuting at #1 country and #9 pop, the first time a Dolly in-studio record ever broke into that nation's Top 10 Pop Chart.

An A+ record! Welcome back Doll!

If you don't think you like classic country, listen to Dolly. If you think you don't like pop, listen to Dolly. If you think you don't like newer country, give "Better Day" a try and you just might. I try and listen to today's country radio and I get bored real fast. Here, Dolly tries her hand at today's country music and as always she not only succeeds, she makes it better. If this was played on the radio I would listen for sure. As always Dolly delivers excellent songs written all by her with help from only Mac Davis on one track (Country Is). This CD focuses on being positive and trying again. Some of the best tracks are "I Just Might". It's a song that if you need some inspiration on starting over, you won't find any better than this one. "In The Meantime" is a song that tells us that no matter what beliefs are, religious or otherwise, we need to enjoy the present as none of us really know what's going to happen. I actually was struck by one negative review I read that called this song dangerous & naive. That reviewer obviously only heard key words and didn't really listen. It's NOT a religious song but rather a song that tells us to NOT overly think about it. A standout track indeed. "Holding Everything" & "Together You and I" are Dolly being romantic as only Dolly can. "Somebody's Missing You" is the most simplistic & country but also possibly the best written tune here. There is really nothing to complain about here. The only thing that possibly could have been done a bit better is the production and instrumentation. Dolly's voice is remarkable for her age but there are a few times where the instrumentation starts to overpower her such is the case on the otherwise spectacular "Shine Like The Sun" Overall this is an excellent CD that leans toward the modern country sound but with a tad of pop, bluegrass, and even an ounce of blues thrown in. In reality maybe we shouldn't categorize it and put in the genre of "Dolly". Dolly's better day does just that. It brings a Better Day to all of us.

Iconic legendary Superstar Dolly Parton hits new heights throughout "Better Day" with a winning program of infectous & uplifting songs sung with lots of soul and great arrangements sounding like musicians were truly inspired by the legendary lady and her great new program of stunning originals...wanting to give the world a positive boost in troubled times, Dolly has succeeded with flying colors!
"Together You And I" is a wonderful new love song filled with those catchy hooks when it is Dolly at her best like "9 to 5" and this new exhuberant song should enjoy same success as that Dolly classic. Throughout this remarkable masterwork, material is first-rate and "Better Day" should be a huge success for the durable singer/songwriter and hopefully the music industry & radio will rise to the occasion and give deserved accolades and airplay to a stellar work from a lady who has been going strong for some fifty years and counting...Bravo Dolly!