Entertainment Columnists

CD REVIEWS: Parton and McBride turn old tunes into new favorites

11:14 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 19, 2005

By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

Country legend Dolly Parton and contemporary-hit maker Martina McBride travel back in time, plucking a batch of songs from the vast American songbook for cover CDs. Ms. Parton mostly gravitated to the '60s pop and folk landscape, choosing a handful of protest tunes as well as some '70s nuggets for Those Were the Days. Ms. McBride goes traditional country all the way, interpreting a slew of classics from the '50s, '60s and '70s on Timeless. Both singers chose songs that made some sort of impact on their upbringing or artistic development. And both turn in solid records wrapped in warm nostalgia.

Ms. Parton once again puts a bluegrass treatment on gems such as Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," Cat Stevens' "Where Do the Children Play," John Lennon's "Imagine" and Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Tellingly, many of her covers are protest songs, including the public-domain number "The Cruel War."

That makes her disc timely but not preachy. Ms. Parton has never been a political artist. She has always focused on matters of heart and hearth instead of societal, even worldly issues. She sang about her upbringing, her family and her beloved Tennessee mountain home. She sang about what she knew.

So it's no surprise that when asked why she selected these songs, especially the protest tunes, Ms. Parton gave a typically nonpolitical answer.

"Everyone who knows me knows I don't do protest songs or anything like that," she recently told New York's Daily News. "I mean, I think we should try to leave a legacy for peace, whether we ever see it or not. That's not political; it's patriotic. But these are just songs I like, and I figured I'd Dolly-ize 'em."

Ms. Parton's soothing, mountain voice gently caresses the tracks. She sounds more intent on letting the lyrics speak for themselves, rather than putting specific emphasis on them. She's also giving her guests room to shine. Often, she employed the songs' originators: Kris Kristofferson harmonizes with her on "Me and Bobby McGee," Roger McGuinn of the Byrds sings on "Turn, Turn, Turn" and Judy Collins lends her vocals to "Both Sides Now."

When she couldn't get the original artists, she invited worthy substitutes. Nickel Creek appears on "Blowin' in the Wind" while Norah Jones and Lee Ann Womack offer lovely support on "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Everybody jibes nicely with Ms. Parton, whose effervescent personality is always welcome on CD.

Ms. McBride shows unusual verve on Timeless. Normally, she sings country pop, but she's comfortable with this stack of traditional material. Stone country is not foreign to her. On her debut album, 1992's The Time Has Come, she convincingly recorded "Cheap Whiskey," a steel-guitar-heavy song about drinking and cheating.

On her third disc, 1995's Wild Angels, Ms. McBride turned in a passionate performance on the country ballad "Cry on the Shoulder of the Road." Later she collaborated with the Chieftains on the bluegrass tune "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight," a track on the Irish band's 2002 CD, Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions.

Yet nothing prepares you for her take on Loretta Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough," which reveals surprising spunk. She holds her own on a song so strongly identified with its creator. You can hear her tone turn feistier. She'll never have Ms. Lynn's fire, but Ms. McBride persuades us she's got gumption.

On the other side of the spectrum, her version of Tammy Wynette's " 'Til I Can Make it on My Own" is achingly beautiful, with just the emotion the song requires. Sure, her rendition of Lynn Anderson's "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden" lacks the angry edge of the original, but she carries it well.

Ms. McBride has great pipes and superb tone on her side. Technically she can sing just about anything. She takes a few chances here, uncorking lesser-known cuts such as Jeanne Pruett's sad country ballad "Satin Sheets" from 1973. She also dares to do Ray Price's 1959 chestnut "Heartaches by the Number," a song so connected with a male voice.

Without question, Ms. Parton and Ms. McBride prove that good songs fit seamlessly with good voices, no matter the genre or gender.

E-mail mtarradell@dallasnews.com

Martina McBride

B Timeless

(RCA Nashville) In stores now

Dolly Parton

BThose Were the Days (Sugar Hill)

In stores now