Dolly Parton
Halos & Horns

(Sugar Hill)

First Appeared at The Music Box, August 2002, Volume 9, #8

Written by John Metzger

Dolly Parton’s latest release Halos & Horns embraces the themes that have pervaded her work for the past 39 years. Lyrics about good and evil, religion and spirituality, and love and heartache tug at the duality that the title suggests. And, each is given similar roots-oriented treatment as those on her other recent releases Little Sparrow and The Grass is Blue.

Perhaps, the biggest difference between Halos & Horns and her other mountain music endeavors is the infusion of a little more gospel into her bluegrass soul. Even Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven — another in an ever increasing line of Parton’s surprising song choices — is fitted with a choir and new lyrics that turn it into an anti-materialistic rant. Too bad she can’t save Bread’s If — a song that would have been better off left buried in the forgotten catacombs of pop music history. The remainder of Halos & Horns — all originals — lies somewhere in between. In other words, it’s sometimes resplendent, sometimes flavorless, but inevitably palatable and pleasing.

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2002 The Music Box