The last of the 2fer import titles includes two of my favorite Dolly RCA albums. The first is 1983's "Burlap & Satin" which includes some of Dolly's classics. The first is the incredible "Appalchian Memories" which she has since changed to "Smokey Mountain Memories", same song, different title. This is the original version and one of her best. The album includes Dolly's pop hit "Potential New Boyfriend" which was a hit at the time but has since become somewhat forgettable. The album includes one of Dolly's tearjerkers in "A Gamble Either Way", it ends with the gospel number "Calm On The Water" which contains a chorus that Dolly would use again years later in her song "High And Mighty".

The second half of this disc is Dolly's last RCA album, "Real Love". The album doesn't really sound like her other albums, she seemed to be on automatic pilot for this one, but it's a great collection either way. The overall theme for the album is clearly "love" as the word appears in four of the albums ten titles. It also includes "I Hope You're Never Happy" which was heard in her movie "Rhinestone", although not by her in the movie. This album also features one of my favorite Dolly album covers.

A word about all of these reissues, all three feature notes and original album cover artwork, front and back, and liner notes. It also interesting to note that, although not intentional the album covers as paired together here all look similar to each other.

Thanks to Stephen Munns for heading this project, perhaps we can get Dolly's 1982 album "Heartbreak Express" on CD in the near future.

love these albums - must have for any collector of Dolly's music.

To coincide with Dolly's European tour of 2007, there were several CD releases including yet another best of compilation and three twofers (of which this is one) featuring six albums, five of which had never been released on CD while the other had only briefly been available in the early days of CD. Three of Dolly's older albums were also released with bonus tracks although only the bonus tracks were new to CD, the main albums having already been made available on earlier releases. Among those Dolly albums not available on CD before 2007, the two Hollywood-era albums I most wanted to have on CD were the two selected for this twofer. I was therefore particularly pleased with this CD.

The first album here, Burlap and satin, dates from 1983 - a time when Dolly felt depressed about various aspects of life. Although Gregg Perry produced this album, he compounded Dolly's woes by quitting the music business altogether soon afterwards. Mellow, reflective songs dominate the album but there are some interruptions to this mellow mood, especially with the disco-styled Potential new boyfriend. A very infectious, upbeat song, it nevertheless only scraped into the country top twenty. The basic theme of the song - one woman's warning to another woman to keep away from her man (or, in this case, potential man) is typical of the songs that helped Dolly, Tammy and Loretta break all the stereotypes of female country singers in the sixties. Of course, the who arrangement and delivery are very different.

There are covers of two country oldies (Send me the pillow that you dream on, I really don't want to know), the second being a duet with Willie Nelson. Apart from the seductive opening track (Ooo-eee), Dolly wrote all the remaining tracks. It seems that Appalachian memories, an outstanding song about Dolly's childhood, has become popular among fans of Dolly's live shows, so one can but wonder what it might have achieved as a single.

Another song that must surely have been considered for single release is One of those days, a song whose sadness is emphasized by the use of plaintive steel guitar, more prominent here than on any other track on this album. As it was, only one single was released from the album, probably because Islands in the stream (included on the Kenny Rogers album Eyes that see in the dark, released later that year) was released as the follow-up to Potential new boyfriend. Even so, another single could have been released instead once that classic had finished its chart run.

Jealous heart, A gamble either way and A cowboy's ways are other brilliant mellow songs. The album concludes with Calm on the water, which despite its title picks up the tempo somewhat, more so as the song progresses. This gospel song is a nice way to end the album.

The second album here, Real love, dates from 1985 and provides a stark contrast with Burlap and satin. It has nine relentless upbeat songs, which are interrupted only by a cover of Once in a very blue moon, a song most commonly associated with folk-country singer Nanci Griffith. I love that song (and Dolly's cover of it) but part of me wishes that ten upbeat songs had been selected. Being Dolly's last RCA album, it might not have been properly promoted (last albums often suffer that fate) but it is clear that this album received its fair share of the RCA promotions budget. Two singles (Real love, Think about love) made number one in the American country charts, another (Don't call it love) wasn't far away and a fourth single (Tie our love in a double knot) made the country top twenty. The title track was released on the album as a duet with Kenny Rogers and was also released that way as a single, but Dolly also recorded a sol version, which was eventually released on a compilation (I will always love you - the essential Dolly Parton volume one) that is long out of print. That collection also includes another rarity - Dolly's original 1976 recording of To Daddy.

Of the other songs, It's such a heartache (written by Even Stevens and Hillary Kanter) is much more cheerful than the title suggests - and don't confuse it with Bonnie Tyler's It's a heartache, a song that several country singers have recorded, but not Dolly - at least not yet. Dolly wrote the remaining songs (We got too much, I can't be true, Come back to me, I hope you're never happy), every one of them an upbeat, fun song whatever the title might suggest.

Two of my favorite Hollywood-era albums on one CD make this pairing my favorite among the three twofers in this batch of Dolly releases.

These two albums together are such a delight! Burlap & Satin has some of the most tender and sweet songs Dolly ever released and Real Love has some timeless greats also. Real Love is my fav out of this collection & every single released from it was superb. These are MUST HAVES for Dolly, Country, or Pop fans alike!

This is Dolly at the top of her game. This cd shows a contemporary side, with a hint the of 50's and 60's era thrown in, to Dolly while still letting her remain country.