Ultimate Dolly Parton [1-CD]

1	Joshua 3:04
2	Coat of Many Colors 3:04
3	Jolene 2:41
4	I Will Always Love You 2:55
5	Please Don't Stop Loving Me / Porter Wagoner 2:47
6	Love Is Like a Butterfly 2:21
7	The Bargain Store 2:42
8	Here You Come Again 2:54
9	It's All Wrong, But It's All Right 3:18
10	Heartbreaker 3:30
11	I Really Got the Feeling 3:08
12	You're the Only One 3:20
13	Starting Over Again 3:58
14	Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You) 3:25
15	9 to 5 3:00
16	But You Know I Love You 3:19
17	Tennessee Homesick Blues 3:23
18	Islands in the Stream / Kenny Rogers 4:10
19	To Know Him Is to Love Him / Linda Ronstadt 3:51
20	Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That 2:32

Barnes & Noble

There are many more ultimate Dolly Parton recordings than the 20 contained here, but this collection of choice material does provide a succinct overview of the artist's two-plus decades on RCA. The focus is on chart hits -- 19 of the 20 songs were No. 1 country singles, the only one not reaching that lofty perch being 1971's No. 4 hit, "Coat of Many Colors," which is nonetheless one of her most beloved and personal songs. The most memorable cuts come with Parton's writer's credit too, including beauties such as her original version of "I Will Always Love You" (which Whitney Houston took to the charts, via the Bodyguard soundtrack, in 1992), as well as vivid biographical memories of the characters from her Tennessee mountain home, "Joshua" and "Jolene," and the timeless homespun philosophy of "Love Is like a Butterfly" and "The Bargain Store." The more recent recordings are from other writers' pens and showcase Parton's considerable interpretive skills. Dolly shows off both the strength of her pipes and her subtlety in laying on the heartache on Billy Vera's pop-blues "I Really Got the Feeling" and the soaring Donna Summer–Bruce Sudano power ballad "Starting Over Again." The collection also includes her feisty 9 to 5 theme song, and a cut from the Trio -- Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris -- a precious, heart-tugging version of Phil Spector's "To Know Him Is to Love Him." As an introduction to some of the most important work by one of country music's most important artists, Ultimate Dolly Parton is an essential starting point. David McGee

All Music Guide

Dolly Parton has had countless collections, including many billed as either "definitive" or "ultimate," which is the billing given BMG Heritage's 2003 release. Running 20 tracks over the course of a single disc, this Ultimate Dolly Parton keeps its focus on the big hits, including a large stretch of hits from the late '70s and early '80s, including "Here You Come Again," "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right," "Heartbreaker," "9 to 5," and "Islands in the Stream." In addition to this, there are a couple of latter-day tracks, her Trio recording of "To Know Him Is to Love Him" and early hits "Joshua," "Coat of Many Colors," "I Will Always Love You," and "Jolene." So, in short, it's her most familiar material on one disc, something that has certainly been done before in her catalog, but it's done particularly well here. As a roundup of her hits, it works very well and it's also a good introduction, although listeners who are interested in her purer country and more ambitious music are advised to pick up Raven's superb Mission Chapel Memories: 1971-1975 instead. Stephen Thomas Erlewine