“Underneath that sweet, doll-faced exterior, there was something fierce and furious about AnnieLee Keyes. Some dark pain powered those pipes; Ruthanna was sure of it…” Oh yes! Dolly Parton has teamed up with bestselling novelist James Patterson to write a thriller. Published on 7 March, the book is a deliciously hokey yarn about a young singer-songwriter (AnnieLee) struggling to shake off her murky past and make a career in Nashville.
Always alert to a slick marketing opportunity, the 76-year-old country music star realised that fans would love an album inspired by the characters in Run Rose Run. As one of the all-time great narrative songwriters, she’s clearly had a blast, and harnessed the mystery-plot momentum for these 12 original songs.
Parton’s 48th (count ’em!) record starts at a skittering, screwball bluegrass pace with “Run”. Sounding as fresh as ever, Parton takes the wheel in her no-nonsense, rhinestone-encrusted life coach mode, as she urges her heroine: “Refuse to be controlled by anyone... heal the past and keep improving/ Make a plan and then stick to it!” Banjo and fiddle skid giddily in her wake as she repeats: “Run! Run! Run! C’mon!” Well, you don’t argue with Dolly, do you?
Every track is delivered with Parton’s weapons’ grade grit and propulsion. Over the wailing harmonica of the line-danceable single “Big Dreams and Faded Jean”, she vows to “put out my thumb and wish for luck/ To hitch a car, a semi-truck”. There’s a slow-dance duet with Ben Haggard called “Demons” (in which AnnieLee falls for an army veteran-turned session musician with huge biceps and a sensitive soul). Together, the duo swap confidences about the pain in their past. Haggard sounds swaggeringly more weatherbeaten than his 29 years, just as the quavering-voiced Parton sounds young enough to be trembling in his arms.
Songs such as the bouncy “Driven” and gutsy stomper “Woman Up (And Take it Like a Man)” are perfectly on-brand for a woman who has always believed there’s nothing she couldn’t do if she put her mind to it. She has fun with a little gothic blues on “Snakes in the Grass”: against the murky slide of a steel guitar she warns of the venomous characters lurking in the music business. “Be careful where they step, ’cos I’ve been there myself... They strike in a flash, so you better watch your assssss!” she hisses.
And, of course, there’s a happy ending with “Dark Night, Bright Future”, a bluegrassy bookend to “Run”. We fade out with the soppy, Disney-style ballad “Love or Lust”. As ever, you’re left marvelling at Parton’s ability to capitalise on her slick professionalism without ever compromising her huge heart and sparkling spirit.
