Coat of Many Colors

fantastic

Dolly sounds so sweet and wholesome here. And I like the Joseph metaphor in the first song. She definitely has a knack for storytelling, but this album does sound a little basic to my ears.

Love Dolly, but I usually listen to her hits rather than full albums. This album is a nice time, but you know that the hits are Coat of Many Colors and Here I Am. The rest are nice but unmemorable really. Still a nice listen of course.

This is Dolly before the persona became the point — 1971, lean production, Appalachian roots worn openly, and a voice that’s nakedly expressive in a way her later, more carefully constructed work occasionally trades away for polish. Coat of Many Colors is the sound of a genuinely gifted songwriter drawing directly from her own life, and the directness shows in every track.
The title track is the obvious centerpiece and one of the most quietly moving pieces of autobiographical storytelling in country music. Its power comes entirely from simplicity — no melodrama, no overreach, just a woman telling a true story about her mother and a coat made of rags with complete conviction. That conviction is Dolly’s defining quality here, and it’s what makes the occasional cliché disarm rather than deflate. “Traveling Man” could cause an eye roll from a lesser artist. From Dolly it just sounds true.
What elevates the record beyond Trio — her other appearance in this project — is the arranging. Pedal steel, organ, bass, and backing vocals work together as a genuine conversation rather than decoration, leaving room for the songs to breathe while giving them real warmth and texture. These are musicians listening to each other, and it shows.
Early Dolly is a different and better proposition than the polished crossover version. Authentic, well-arranged, and delivered with a sincerity that makes the familiar feel genuinely lived in. A well-earned four.

Not my wheelhouse, but I enjoyed it a lot! Fantastic voice, and a downright pleasant morning :)

Sorry, but it's just boring to me. Dolly is gonna have to get another 1 star from me. The instrumentation is the only thing keeping me alive while listening to this album.

I know of Dolly as a prolific public figure, but I've never really listened to her music (besides the obvious "Jolene"). She has a singsong, sweet, wise-sounding voice that pairs wonderfully with her storytelling capabilities. Her stories are at times sad, at other times funny (see "Traveling Man"). The songs are simple, but have nice melodies. I particularly enjoyed the style and bassline of "Early Morning Breeze". That being said, country isn't my favorite genre, but this was pleasant to listen to.

Es überzeugt mit warmem Storytelling und ihre authentischer Stimme, wirkt musikalisch aber etwas schlicht und sentimental. Ein berührender Klassiker, ohne wirklich herauszustechen

💘QUEEN💘

A 3/5 from me is high for a country album. Nice songs!

A little one note, but still lovely. This album being so short helps, any longer and I’d have gotten bored. Dolly is so pure of heart and it shows in her music.

Definitely going to be a multiple listens album once I get the time. There's just too many great songs on this one to not sit down and figure out what to playlist.

But yeah. Generally I'm not enamored with the country albums this list picks. For the most part, they're generally fine, but due to how incestuous the genre is, even the most revolutionary albums sound dated and overdone as a result of every artist after them completely ripping them off.

This album though is just fantastic. No matter how one tries (And they've certainly tried, oh God have they tried), they just can't copy Dolly into oblivion like they do with artists like George Jones. There's only one Dolly.

Pretty good. Title track was the best.

Okay, title track….Is it endearing or eye rolling pandering? Honestly, no idea. Either way, weakest on the album?

Traveling Man…picks up so much. The ability for old country to tell a story in 3 mins!

I genuinely do try to go into every album open minded but, with a couple of exceptions, I really don’t like Country music. This one however I didn’t mind at all.

A big part of it is Dolly Parton has a brilliant voice. Overall though while there weren’t any tracks I didn’t like it’s very unlikely I will ever go back to this.

Top Track - Coat Of Many Colours

While country will never really be “my thing,” there’s no denying the skill Dolly Parton has as a singer and songwriter. She weaves together these intimate tales and ideas of womanhood in such a satisfying package, it’s hard not to get a smile on your face as you listen. The melodies and rhymes are predictable, but I think that is part of the satisfaction.

3.5/5. A fairly straightforward 70’s country album, however Dolly Parton is just a great vocalist and really sells any song she’s on. funnily enough though, I do not love the title track. it’s always been one of my least favorite big Dolly Parton hits. But the rest of the album is a good time.

Absolutely knockout record, only 27 minutes but very strong. Probably one 10/10 track from a 5

Am I the only one who reads the reviews in foreign languages and tries to guess at what they mean, even though I don’t speak the language?

Here we go!

Gefällt mir. Ich mag die leicht quäkige Stimme. Bisher für mich das gefälligste der "unbekannten" Alben.
My guess: ”Give me more. If I die, let it be listening to The Queen. The only song that ever gave me more pleasure than this was ‘unbreak my heart’. Amen.

Bwah ni zo waw. Geen fan van country.
My guess: “Boy, I was not wowed. Guess I’m not a fan of Country”

Для такого конченного жанра старушка неплоха
My guess: “No matter what your musical taste, this will suffice, for it has both country and western.”

Zevenentwintigeneenhalve minuut Dolly Parton kan ik hebben, zo blijkt. Dolenthousiast kan ik er niet van worden, maar op het country spectrum bekeken vind ik dit nog wel te pruimen. We hebben slechtere gehad inmiddels.
My guess: “ Seventeen and a half minutes of Dolly Parton and I feel empty and blank. Dolly-enthusiasts have many words for this feeling, as do others in the country spectrum, a feeling like being in the night and having paralysis. What will happen when I turn the record over and play the other side…”

2. Cuntry.
Oops, I think this is still in English, actually.

Tää oli aikas jollotuksia täynnä koko levy. Ei ollut hyviä biisejä ja Dollyn ääni on aika erikoinen. Ei tarvi toiste kuunnella…
My guess:”That Oli is always telling me a story that makes him crack up laughing. He used to have a hair salon that Dolly now and then would visit. He was styling her hair for this album cover when the craziest thing happened …

I’m at a 10, with one very small nitpick behind it.

I knew this was gonna be good; my bias for old country music said so, and my appreciation of Dolly Parton also said so. This is my first full solo Dolly Parton album though, which feels vaguely criminal. We got “Trio” a while back, and while that album was great, this one just feels excellent. It’s super tight at just 27 minutes, and it doesn’t waste a single second of that time. I’m impressed by the variety in the instrumentals as the album goes on, revealing more influences from the rock bands who had themselves been inspired by country music; iron sharpened iron here very nicely, with some of the bassier / percussion-driven tracks on the album feeling as cohesive as the more typical country fare. Of course, Dolly Parton herself is the star of the show – it takes just a moment to get used to her very light vibrato, but once your ears settle into it, she’s just as dazzling as one would expect. “She Never Met a Man (She Didn't Like)” might be the best vocal showcase of the whole album, but her power is on display the entire time. Between her vocals & her songwriting chops, along with the instrumentation, I can find next to zero flaws.

The single little bit that’s biting at me is the last two tracks of the album ending on fadeouts; it’s not a big deal, but they do feel less effective after the preceding 8 tracks wrap each bow up so concisely. It’s not as big of a thing on “Here I Am” due to the Beatles-y vibe to that track, but I think it feels different with “A Better Place to Live” – it’s the closing track of the album, and I just think a proper ending there would wrap the whole thing up better. Regardless, it’s an extreme nitpick that only my brain could remotely care about. I think this is a fabulous album for classic country music of the era, & it impressed me beyond my already highly hopeful expectations. I do wish there was more Dolly on the list overall, but I can’t say this was a bad pick to represent her solo career. It’s a very strong album, and for me, it’s a super easy 10. I loved it.