I picked up the Dolly Parton Behind the Scenes DVD at the used music store. I am a big fan of Dolly and wanted to watch the interviews with her. There are two interviews with Dolly. The first interview is the “God and Country” interview and the second is the “Just Because I’m a Woman” interview.

Interview One ~ God and Country

The first interview lasts almost sixteen minutes. You will hear small clips from the songs and Dolly shares about each song. Dolly says that she has always wanted to do a patriotic/gospel album. So she decided the perfect time to do this would be now. She opens the album with The Lord is My Shepherd. She did that so that God would be first on her album. She said that The Star Spangled Banner is a very hard song to sing, but she just couldn’t leave it out. She chose Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. because she felt like it said everything that she wanted to say. Light of a Clear Blue Morning is something she wrote when she went out on her own after leaving Porter. When Johnny Comes Marching Home is a song that Dolly has always loved. She re-wrote it and added a verse to honor the women in military.

Welcome Home is Dolly’s favorite song on the album. She wrote it on her best friend, Judy’s birthday. Ge, Ma, I Wanna Go Home she chose so there would be humor on the album. Whispering Hope is Dolly’s husband’s favorite song. It reminds him of his mother. She did this as a surprise for him. There Will Be Peace in the Valley is a gorgeous gospel song that Dolly has loved since she was a child. She remembers Tennessee Ernie Ford singing it. Red, White and Bluegrass is a new song that Dolly wrote. She re-worked the classic, My Country ‘Tis of Thee. I’m Gonna Miss You is a very moving song about people losing ones that they love. This song makes Dolly cry when she hears it. Go to Hell is a song she wrote about telling the devil to leave her alone.

Ballad of the Green Beret is a song that Dolly remembers from her childhood days. Brave Little Soldier is a song that Dolly wrote years ago for her niece who had leukemia. It is for the children who have parents that are in the war. Tie a Yellow Ribbon was a song that Dolly felt was fitting for the album. Dolly wrote Color Me America the day after the tragic events on 9/11. She ends the album with The Glory Forever which is The Lord’s Prayer that she added music to. She wanted to start and finish the album with God.

Interview Two ~ Just Because I’m a Woman

The second interview lasts almost eleven minutes. Dolly shares how she feels that her greatest gift is songwriting. She was really honored when she was approached about having a tribute album done for her. Alison Krauss sings 9 to 5, which is from Dolly’s first movie. Melissa Etheridge sings I Will Always Love You and Norah Jones picked The Grass is Blue to sing and added a soulful touch to it. Do I Ever Cross Your Mind was done by Joan Osborne. Dolly thinks that Joan did a better job on it than she did. Joan is one of Dolly’s favorite singers. Shelby Lynne did The Seeker, while Mindy Smith did Jolene. There is a clip of Mindy singing. Emmylou Harris recorded To Daddy years ago and chose that as her song on the album. This is a personal song to Dolly and she thinks Emmylou did a brilliant job on it. Shania Twain picked Coat of Many Colors to sing and Dolly sang the harmony on it. Alison Krauss also added harmony and her band Union Station provided the music.

Little Sparrow was done by Kasey Chambers. She gave it a mountain sound. Sinead O’Connor did a passionate version of The Dagger Through the Heart. Light of a Clear Blue Morning is done by Allison Moorer. Dolly says that Allison’s version is an old-timey sounding version that is done like a prayer. MeShelle N’dege Ocello does Two Doors Down which is one of Dolly’s favorites. It is completely re-done in a very unusual way. Just Because I’m a Woman ends the album and Dolly does that one herself.

4 Videos Included:

Shine is shot in b&w and color. Dolly is walking down a country road in the woods. This is a bluegrass song. Nickel Creek provides the music for Dolly. Later in the video Dolly is walking next to the train tracks. (3:48)

I’m Gone shows lots of different scenes of Dolly. Dolly is playing the banjo, guitar, the fiddle and harmonica. Sometimes on the screen there would be 4 or 8 of her. She is shown in different glamorous outfits. There are lights, stars and bright colors. One scene Dolly screams as an alien tries to abduct her. (4:04)

Color Me America has a beautiful eagle flying. This video shows clips of the eagle and clips of Dolly. Dolly is singing into a studio microphone. There is light shining down on her hair. America the Beautiful is worked into the ending of the song. It is a nice touch with a choir of background singers. (3:12)

Dagger Through the Heart is another bluegrass song. It has a close-up of Dolly and then it’s just Dolly on the screen with a black background. Near the end of the song you see tears welling up in her eyes and then one single tear rolling down her cheek.

Jolene is a video of Mindy Smith singing. Dolly is sitting outside of an old log house as she writes the words to Jolene in a big book. There are various clips of Mindy as the video is done. She is playing her guitar, lying in bed, catching her man kissing Jolene and standing outside in the woods. The video ends with Dolly closing the book. (3:58)

Misc. Information:

Director: Patrick Isbey
Producer: Jon Grimson
43 Minutes Total
Not Rated

Final Thoughts:

The menu was very easy to get through. The sound and picture were great. I enjoyed watching the interviews with Dolly as well as seeing the videos.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8