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In wedding bluegrass with the Appalachian sound of her youth, Parton, who wrote half of the material and reprises her classic ''Down From Dover,'' repeatedly explores her favorite theme -- romantic betrayal -- and turns in a powerful performance, augmented by the best of bluegrass' hot pickers
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Dolly Parton has at last returned to her musical home and, boy, are the neighbors ever grateful. That "home," of course, is Kentucky bluegrass music and the melancholy acoustic strains of the Appalachian Mountains.
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Little Sparrow contains some of the most beautiful and affecting music Parton has ever made...
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Little Sparrow mixes its trad tendencies with tunes, lovely instruments, and best of all, Parton's personality.
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Her taste in cover material is slightly idiosyncratic, but that does nothing but add luster to the program...
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Surrounding herself with the cream of Southern bluegrass musicians -- dobro master Jerry Douglas and guitar prodigy Bryan Sutton among them -- Parton is by turns reflective ("Little Sparrow"), playful ("Marry Me"), dolorous ("My Blue Tears"), spirited ("I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby") and spiritual ("In the Sweet By and By") on this nearly hour-long modern-bluegrass tour de force.
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Little Sparrow captures one of country's greatest talents in top form, backed by some of the best acoustic players around...
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Joined by a bevy of bluegrass talent, including Jerry Douglas, Chris Thile, and Alison Krauss, Little Sparrow is a richly wrought, beautifully performed labor of love for Parton.
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This of course is the power of mountain music, the weight it gives to simple instruments and simple folk, and for all of Parton's talents, singing in this medium may very well be her best.
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Little Sparrow proves that 1999's The Grass Is Green was no fleeting burst of inspiration; Parton hasn't been so consistently exciting since the '70s.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 10
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Mixed: 0 out of 10
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Negative: 2 out of 10
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Jul 16, 2019
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KevWJun 15, 2006
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vsFeb 12, 2006