Blue Smoke

by Dolly Parton

Overview

The Blue Smoke comes rolling across the Smoky Mountains, the area of Tennessee that Dolly Parton calls home. She named her 42nd studio album after that smoke -- she also used it for the name of her 2014 tour of Australia and New Zealand, where this 2014 album first appeared (it saw stateside release later in the summer) -- and while it's not autobiographical, it certainly adds up to a tidy portrait of Parton in 2014. Unlike some of her new millennial albums, Blue Smoke doesn't specialize in one specific sound -- it is neither a bluegrass nor pop record but rather splits the difference, touching upon each sound, along with threading in other signatures like superstar duets with old friends (Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson both show up, singing songs that appear on their own 2013 albums) and splashy, silly covers of recent pop hits (this time, it's a version of Bon Jovi's "Lay Your Hands on Me"). Compared to 2011's Better Day, the album this follows, this is heavier on covers -- in addition to the Bon Jovi hit and Rogers' commissioned nostalgia, there's the traditional "Banks of the Ohio" and a bluegrass take on Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" -- but Blue Smoke is anchored on Parton's originals, which run the gamut from the steady-rolling old-timey title track through the super-slick pop "Home" to "Lover du Jour," a clever spin on Guy Clark's "Texas Cooking." Perhaps there are no permanent additions to her canon here, but the remarkable thing is how satisfying an album this is: it sounds good and the songs are sturdy, proof that Parton is far from resting on her laurels. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/04/2014
Label:	Dolly Records / Masterworks / Sony Masterworks
UPC:	0888430306820

Tracks

1. Blue Smoke
2. Unlikely Angel
3. Don't Think Twice
4. You Can't Make Old Friends
5. Home
6. Banks of the Ohio
7. Lay Your Hands on Me
8. Miss You - Miss Me
9. If I Had Wings
10. Lover Du Jour
11. From Here to the Moon and Back
12. Try

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dolly Parton   Primary Artist,Vocals
Willie Nelson   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Kenny Rogers   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Terry Eldredge   Vocals (Background)
Paul Franklin   Guitar (Steel)
Steve Mackey   Bass (Electric)
Bob Mater   Drums
Steve Turner   Drums,Percussion
Aubrey Haynie   Fiddle,Mandolin
Bobby Terry   Guitar (Acoustic)
Kristin Wilkinson   Strings
Christian Davis   Vocals (Background)
Dennis Crouch   Bass (Upright)
Mickey Raphael   Harmonica
Jim "Moose" Brown   Piano
Tommy White   Guitar (Steel)
Pamela Sixfin   Strings
Michael Davis   Keyboards
Jamie Johnson   Vocals (Background),Vocals (Background)
David Davidson   Strings
Pat Buchanan   Harmonica,Guitar (Electric)
Carl Jackson   Vocals (Background)
Richard Dennison   Piano,Vocals (Background)
Mike Brignardello   Bass (Electric)
Karen Winkelmann   Strings
David Angell   Strings
Dann Huff   Guitar (Electric)
Kathryn Plummer   Strings
Danny Roberts   Mandolin
Monisa Angell   Strings
Anthony LaMarchina   Strings
Sonya Isaacs   Vocals (Background)
Bobby Wood   Synthesizer
Eric Darken   Percussion
Jimmy Mattingly   Fiddle,Mandolin
John Mock   Harmonium
Greg Morrow   Drums
Chad Cromwell   Drums
J.T. Corenflos   Guitar (Electric)
Steve Hinson   Lap Steel Guitar
Vicki Hampton   Vocals (Background)
Mary Kathryn Van Osdale   Strings
Kent Wells   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Steve Gibson   Guitar (Electric)
Sarighani Reist   Strings
Jim Hoke   Harmonica
Jimmie Lee Sloas   Bass,Bass (Electric)
Randy Kohrs   Dobro
Nick Buda   Drums,Percussion
Derek Wells   Guitar (Electric)
Zeneba Bowers   Strings
Tom Rutledge   Guitar (Acoustic)
Val Storey   Vocals (Background)
Wei Tsun Chang   Strings
Stefan Petrescu   Strings
Jay Weaver   Bass (Upright)
Scott Vestal   Banjo
Monty Allen   Vocals (Background)
Jennifer O'Brien   Vocals (Background)
Stuart Duncan   Fiddle
Rebecca Isaacs Bowman   Vocals (Background)
Paul Hollowell   Piano,Keyboards
Bryan Sutton   Guitar (Acoustic)
Charlie Judge   Piano,Strings,Synthesizer
Seanad Chang   Strings
Ilya Toshinskiy   Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Patrick Murphy   Vocal Engineer,Overdub Engineer,Mixing,Engineer,Vocal Engineer,Overdub Engineer,Mixing,Engineer
Stephen Marcussen   Mastering
Traditional   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Russell Terrell   Engineer
Michael Davis   Engineer
Mike Stankiewicz   Assistant Engineer
Kirt Webster   Publicity
Sorrel Brigman   Assistant Engineer
Mike Lancaster   Engineer,Assistant
Taylor Tharpe   Assistant
Adam Grover   Assistant Engineer
Ernesto Olvera   Assistant
Ryan Hanna King   Composer
Johnathon Jost   Assistant
Mac Whiting   Cover Painting
Dolly Parton   Composer,Lyricist,Executive Producer
Richard Dennison   Vocal Arrangement
Todd Tidwell   Engineer
Will Brierre   Assistant
Buddy Cannon   Producer
Dann Huff   Producer
Butch Carr   Mixing,Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Drew Bollman   Engineer,Assistant
Andrew Mendelson   Mastering
Steve Marcantonio   Mixing,Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Kent Wells   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Drum Programming
Justin Niebank   Mixing
Mark Needham   Mixing
Caitlyn Smith   Composer
Seth Morton   Assistant,Engineer
Christine Winslow   Production Assistant
Kyle Dickinson   Engineer,Assistant,Vocal Engineer
Kii Arens   Design
Drew Douthit   Assistant
Natthaphol Abhigantaphand   Assistant Engineer
Mike "Frog" Griffith   Production Coordination
Daniel Bacigalupi   Assistant Engineer
Ryan King   Composer
Don Schlitz   Composer
Shannon Finnegan   Production Coordination
Sean Neff   Digital Editing
Jon Bon Jovi   Composer
Richie Sambora   Composer
Shawn Daugherty   Engineer,Assistant
Allister Ann   Photography