Performer Notes
- Personnel includes: Dolly Parton, Maura O'Connell (vocals); Bryan Sutton (guitar); Jerry Douglas (resophonic guitar); Mike Snider (clawhammer banjo); Jim Mills (banjo); Steve Buckingham (dulcimer, autoharp); Chris Thile (mandolin); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Richard Dennison, Chip Davis, Monty Allen (drone); John Mock (whistle, harmonium); Barry Bales (bass); Sonya Isaacs, Becky Isaacs Bowman, Carl Jackson, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Dan Tyminski, Rhonda Vincent, Darrin Vincent, Keith Little, Claire Lynch (background vocals).
- Altan: Mairead Ni Mhaonaighi (vocals); Daithi Sproule (guitar); Ciaran Curran (bouzouki); Ciaran Tourish (whistle); Dermot Byrne (accordion).
- Recorded at Oceanway & The Doghouse, Nashville, Tennessee & Schnee Studio, Los Angeles, California.
- "Shine" won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
- This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
- Personnel includes: Dolly Parton, Maura O'Connell (vocals); Bryan Sutton (guitar); Jerry Douglas (resophonic guitar); Mike Snider (clawhammer banjo); Jim Mills (banjo); Steve Buckingham (dulcimer, autoharp); Chris Thile (mandolin); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Richard Dennison, Chip Davis, Monty Allen (drone); John Mock (whistle, harmonium); Barry Bales (bass); Sonya Isaacs, Becky Isaacs Bowman, Carl Jackson, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Dan Tyminski, Rhonda Vincent, Darrin Vincent, Keith Little, Claire Lynch (background vocals).
- Altan: Mairead Ni Mhaonaighi (vocals); Daithi Sproule (guitar); Ciaran Curran (bouzouki); Ciaran Tourish (whistle); Dermot Byrne (accordion).
- Recorded at Oceanway & The Doghouse, Nashville, Tennessee & Schnee Studio, Los Angeles, California.
- "Shine" won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
- Personnel: Dolly Parton (vocals); Carl Jackson (bass voice); Ciar n Tourish (whistling, mandolin); John Mock (whistling, harmonium); Da¡th¡ Sproule, Mark Kelly, Bryan Sutton (guitar); Jerry Douglas (resonator guitar); Jim Mills (banjo); Mike Snider (claw hammer banjo); Ciar n Curran (bouzouki); Steve Buckingham (dulcimer, autoharp); Chris Thile (mandolin); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Dermot Byrne (accordion); Pat McInerney (percussion).
- Audio Mixer: Gary Paczosa.
- Recording information: OceanWay; Schnee Studio, L.A; The Doghouse, Nashville, TN.
- Editor: Neal Cappellino.
- Illustrator: Barry Etris.
- Photographers: Jim Herrington; Terry Herd; Gary Paczosa; Greg Allen ; Mary E. Yeomans.
- Translator: Proinsias O'Maonaigh.
- Arranger: Dolly Parton.
- This is the second installment in Dolly Parton's bluegrass album trilogy. Like its predecessor, LITTLE SPARROW finds Parton temporarily eschewing the highly produced pop-country that made her a household name in favor of all-acoustic arrangements that reach back to the earliest days of country.
- While Parton employs some of bluegrass's hottest pickers here, it's her own soulful but humble singing style and songwriting abilities (her self-penned tunes dominate the album) that impress the most. Equally remarkable is the way she bends decidedly non-bluegrass source material to suit the concept. Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You" and Collective Soul's "Shine" certainly don't seem like they'd be feasible bluegrass fare, but Parton and company transform them so completely that one almost forgets their origins.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (3/15/01, pp.78,81) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Honest, uncut mountain music in sparkling acoustic settings....Parton is by turns reflective, playful, dolorous, spirited and spirtual....a modern-bluegrass tour de force..."
Spin (4/01, p.159) - "...One of her best records ever....A second tasty set of Tennessee mountain acoustica..."
Entertainment Weekly (1/26/01, p.103) - "...In wedding bluegrass with the Appalachian sound of her youth, Parton...turns in a powerful performance, augmented by the best of bluegrass' hot pickers..." - Rating: A
Q (3/01, p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Marvelous....LITTLE SPARROW mixes its trad tendencies with tunes, lovely instrumentals, and best of all, Parton's personality..."
CMJ (2/12/01, p.39) - "...Aims squarely at the more popular, commercially viable 'new-grass' sound....there's no denying [her] mastery of the genre..."
No Depression (1-2/01, pp.84-5) - "...Veers toward the smooth, cocktail bluegrass of IIIrd Tyme Out....Dolly is an artist of extraordinary skill and astonishing vitality..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/01, p.100) - "...A nigh-on faultless release in terms of its songs, vocal and instrumental performance..."
