Single Review: Dolly Parton, “Together You and I”

When Dolly Parton writes a song, chances are it’s going to be a great one.  Only Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson rival her in that regard.

“Together You and I” is no exception to the rule. It’s a beautiful love song, with imagery that’s sweet without being sappy.  She sings it wonderfully, with those little trills that have caused more goosebumps in the past forty years than a million cool breezes on warm summer nights.

But where she’s stumbled has rarely been with the pen or the pitch.  It’s the production.   She’s made some great pop singles and some great country singles and some great bluegrass singles.  This, unfortunately, isn’t one of them.

Perhaps if she’d used an arrangement that made it sound less like an outtake from the Straight Talk soundtrack, I’d be writing something different.  But as it stands, this one’s a bit of a disappointment, and all of the blame lies with the noise going on around her.

Written by Dolly Parton

Grade: C+

Listen: Together You and I

5 Comments

  1. I have to agree here. I’m a big Dolly fan, so I really wanted to like this. I wasn’t particularly taken by the lyrics this time around, but I think a better arrangement would have made a great deal of difference.

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