Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris-Trio (1987)


 

Artist: Dolly Parton Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris

Title: Trio

Label: Warner Bros.

roFormat: LP

Catalog Number: 9 25491-1

Year of Release: 1987

Country and Year of Edition: US 1987 Specialty Pressing

Sell Price: $28.99

Sell Date: 8/27/26

Condition: VG/VG with original inner sleeve

Discogs Last Sold: 8/27/26 VG+/NM $33.00

Low: $7.99 F/NM 8/26/26

Median: $25.00

Average: $26.46

High: $45.00 NM/NM

Current low price: $10.42 VG/VG (Denmark), $34.95 NM/NM (US)

Curren Number on Sale at Discogs: 18

Have/Want: 7044/727

Where Sold: Raleigh, NC

Time It Took To Sell: 2 years

Where and When Bought: Whatnot auction lot

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B+

Sad To See It Go: No

A common thread from the 5 years of this blog constitutes the old addage "death sells."  In the case of Trio, Dolly Parton hasn't even been put in the ground and both my recently purchase vinyl copy as well as an old record club CD copy sitting in storage 15 years fly like the eagle Dolly once sang about.

Truth be told, I honed in on Trio for my love of all things Emmylou Harris.  I love Dolly in traditional format, but the canonized mid-70's Best of CD I had was enough for me for a long time.  Outside of liking "Two Doors Down" as a kid and seeing 9 To 5 at the movies, I didn't fly much to Dollywood.  She did alot in her later years to appease old fart purists like me,  many years her younger still, but I didn't get to see her in NYC back in 2016 when I had the chance.  There were so many media blared health cancelations and apologizes for them recently, that it seemed like we would be hearing all about them for the next decade.  The "Good Lord" had other ideas.

Ronstadt, now robbed of her voice at 80 and Harris winding down touring at least overseas at 79 are still with us.  This album Trio album highlights the three in mid-80's pastel tinged pantsuit glory with a miraculously stripped production.  As far as seamless vocal integration, you can't really beat these three together in the Country realm.  These are meditations of misery couched in a joy I like and enjoy,  but really don't need to hear a whole lot.  

Back in 1987 the term "Americana" was still not coined and young upstarts in this realm were called "New Traditionalists" I.e. Earle, Yoakam, Lovett, Krauss, and so forth.  This sold well (#6 Billboard, RIAA Platinum in it's year of release), so there was a popular movement for "real" music.  Trio sold it's million while Ronstadt was still on the MOR Pop charts with James Ingram.  This record is done for people who had long established fame and could do what they wanted to.  Ronstadt proved you could do that with her Great American Songbook turn early in the decade so why not feature Dolly will all her history to sing with her contemporaries?

The record kicks off with a revision of younger Dolly's early voice blend with Porter Wagoner, "The Pain Of Loving You."  Porter was still alive when this came out, but like Dolly, passed at age 80 in 2007.  Jimmie Rodgers watches over the ladies as Avie Lee Parton and of course trad help close out the record.  The Pop world is used sparingly with Phil Spector's Dad's gravestone inspired  "To Know Him Is To Love Him."  Established songwriter and performing Folk-Rock upstarts reverred by the NT's like Linda Thompson and the McGarrigle sisters flesh the record out.  You can always expect high level song selection with these three.  Dolly's own "Wildflowers" that closes out side one stands well with these in autobiographical fashion and closes with a beautiful hum.

Wildflowers don't care where they grow.

FOR FURTHER REVIEW:

Emmylou Harris-Luxury Liner (1977)

Linda Ronstadt-A Retrospective (1977)

Linda Ronstadt-Prisoner In Disguise (1975)

Linda Ronstadt & The Nelson Riddle Orchestra-What's New (1983)

Various Artists-Timeless (2001)

Phil Spector-Back To Mono  (1958-1969) (1991)

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