DOLLY PARTON: “Heartsongs” (Blue Eye/Sony Music)

PATTY LOVELESS: “When Fallen Angels Fly” (Columbia)

THERE IS no doubting that Dolly Parton is an astute woman. From her humble beginnings she has emerged highly successful not just artistically but financially as well.

She is one of country music’s most distinctive voices and a very credible writer, but for a long time her work has moved towards the mainstream and beyond into the kind of pop crossover that has critics wondering if she will ever return to her mountain roots and the kind of artistic heights she reached on Trio with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. Now on this twenty-three track she has done just that.

The gingham dress and acoustic guitar on the cover, signal a return to roots – but it goes much deeper than a cosmetic job. Once you get beyond the “down-home” introductions there is very fine music to be heard, so much so that this can justifiably be hailed as her best album ever.

Recorded live at her theme park Dollywood, it is very much an acoustic/bluegrass album. She’s accompanied by a large cast of players and singers including the excellent harmonies of Alison Krauss, Suzanne Cox and Rhonda and Darrin Vincent. Others involved include Carl Jackson, David Lindley, Jerry Douglas and special guests Altan. The material ranges from some of her early material like ‘Coat Of Many Colors’, ‘Applejack’ and ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home’ to songs that have a special meaning for her family and friends.

While this may sound overtly sentimental, the music more than makes up for it. If you’re a Parton fan you’ll love this; if like me, you’re not exactly counted among the converted, then this is a very good place to start. It’s just a pity my favourite Parton song, ‘Jolene’, wasn’t included.

While in no way can Patty Loveless be considered a newcomer – this is her seventh album since 1987 – compared to a career like Dolly Parton’s she’s only at the beginning. When Fallen Angels Fly is her second since switching from MCA to Columbia and like the last album it’s produced by her husband, bassist and former Hot Band player Emory Gordy Jr.

Gordy has also brought in many of the A Team session players to work on the album, not least among them, Richard Bennett on acoustic and electric guitar.

The material has been well chosen to suit the soulful emotion of Loveless’ voice, like the evocative title cut ‘When Fallen Angels Fly’ which comes from the pen of Billy Joe Shaver. There’s also a distinctive Jim Lauderdale song, ‘Halfway Down’, which is one of a handful of vibrant up-tempo numbers on the album, another being the humorous Gary Burr penned song (and US single) ‘I Try To Think About Elvis’.

There are a couple of songs from Gretchen Peters, both well conceived tales of relationships. ‘Ships’ is about a couple on vacation in Las Vegas not looking for but finding each other, while by way of contrast, ‘You Don’t Even Know Who I Am’ focuses on the other end of a relationship where both parties recognise they no longer know each other. Both are powerful ballads full of plaintive steel and acoustic guitar, with the arrangements perfectly suited to the mood of the song.

Tony Arata also contributes a couple of numbers, the back to basics ‘A Handful Of Dust’, and ‘Here I Am’, another of those ballads of failed romance which Loveless handles so well. There is some fine blues harp playing from Jimmy Hall on ‘Feelin’ Good About Feelin’ Bad’ which help to make it a standout cut with its mix of hardcore honky tonk and r’n’b. Actually the album could do with more chances being taken like this because though it’s a fine piece of work, the final analysis is that it’s still playing that little bit too safe.

However, When Fallen Angels Fly is moving in the right direction and a couple more hits should give this underrated singer the confidence to further explore the parameters of her music and maintain her audience.

• Stephen Rapid