Title: Third Time Ain't a Charm
Product review: Following on the high-heels of THE GRASS IS BLUE and LITTLE SPARROW, Dolly Parton's HALOS AND HORNS is a sad return to the schlocky material and overwrough arrangements that marred most of her recordings from the 1980s and '90s. Parton can be quite a profound writer, but here she opts for cutesy (e.g., "Sugar Hill," "These Old Bones") too often. "These Old Bones," which celebrates mountain mystics, just doesn't work. "If" doesn't deserve to be revived -- nor does the faux-bluegrass reworking succeed. And, although Parton gets an "A" for effort, the cover of "Stairway to Heaven" fails. One has to wonder why, if she feels compelled to change the arrangement and the lyrics she bothered to cut it at all. The background vocals are way too heavy, and even some of the bluegrass instrumentation is overdone -- sounding less like Bill Monroe and more like Dollywood.
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