| TRIO |
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| Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris |
| By devoting herself to Nelson Riddle and operetta, Sun City stalwart Linda Ronstadt has made boycotting painless; but her long-promised hookup with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, Trio (Warner), will be hard to resist for those with a weakness for the vocal luxuries of the mainstream record biz. An acoustic-country album meandering from "Farther Along" and Jimmie Rodgers to Kate McGarrigle and Linda Thompson, Trio is a literally thrilling apotheosis of harmony- three voices that have thrived and triumphed individually engaged in heartfelt cooperation. Free of tits, glitz and syndrums for the first time in a decade, Parton's penetrating purity dominates the album as it once did country-music history. The only one of the three who's had the courage of her roots recently, Harris sounds as thoughtful up front as she does in the backup roles that are her forte. And while Ronstadt's big, plummy contralto will always hint of creamed corn, she's a luscious side dish in this company. |
| Ratings for this album from the Playboy Critics: |
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Robert Christgau 8 Vic Garbarini 6 Nelson George 6 Dave Marsh [not cited here] Charles M. Young 7 |