Honky Tonk Country

Nearly 30 years after an unknown singer made the album Dolly Parton Sings Country Oldies, which for all practical purposes was a Kitty Wells record, Parton joined with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette to revive the old-time, traditional female country sound, even hauling Miss Kitty along for a sparkling reprise of "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," the song that made Wells a star. This particular trio feels more at home with campy recitations than with hip, new songs, and doesn't dare get as harmonically ambitious as the one Parton enjoys with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt on Trio and Trio II. But as the queens of third-generation country, after Wells and Patsy Cline, they create a presence all their own, Lynn's plaintive urgency meeting Wynette's relaxed sensuality in the middle, and Parton mediating it all. No wonder Cline "drops by" for another round of "Lovesick Blues." Too much fun!