Dolly Parton
Hungry Again

Usually, when it comes to ripping apart an album, I have no qualms about swinging the machete; generally, it's also quite an entertaining exercise, except when the ones being critiqued are artists you particularly care about: for example, it's always a great displeasure to speak ill of a piece of music history like Dolly Parton, but alas, when it needs to be done, it needs to be done because having a big name and a great tradition behind isn't enough to continuously release utterly useless and sterile albums like the subject of this review: "Hungry Again" from 1998.

Wikipedia dixit: "the album represented an attempt by Parton to rejuvenate her then largely stagnant recording career."; to summarize, Dolly's last album of new material before this half-flop was "Something Special" from 1995, which I still don't own, but whose tracklist includes a masterpiece, the wonderful ballad "Teach Me To Trust" that alone is worth more than "Hungry Again" in its entirety, followed by the decent covers album "Treasures", which I've already reviewed, and which still showcased a performer in great form despite some stylistic missteps, "Walking On Sunshine" above all; if before "Hungry Again" the career of the blonde girl from Tennessee was going through a stagnant phase, after the release of the aforementioned album I would even dare to speak of a stranding, because that's exactly the idea this album gives, with its polished and modern sound which in theory should hide Dolly's lack of creative inspiration, but in reality, it only makes one long for the spontaneity, warmth, and genuine rustic atmosphere of the albums from the early '70s like "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy", "Joshua", "In The Good Old Days" or "Love Is Like A Butterfly".

If nothing else, the voice is more or less always there, and it manages to make a good impression in ballads like the acoustic and reflective title track, the ecstatic and autobiographical "Blue Valley Songbird", certainly the highlight of the work, and "I Still Lost You", "I'll Never Say Goodbye" and "Paradise Road", all very honest songs that are pleasant to listen to, but definitely too, too little for an icon of Dolly's magnitude, especially since the pieces that in theory should be the most engaging and catchy, like "I Wanna Go Back There", "Time And Tears" and "The Camel's Heart" simply lack any drive and energy, ending up becoming tiring after just 3-4 listens. On the whole, the short and intense "When Jesus Comes Calling For Me" can be saved, a piece a bit (a bit too) mawkish lyrically but musically impeccable with its harmonica riff and spiritual hymn atmosphere, if nothing else much better than the two singles released, "The Salt In My Tears", a modest disposable pop-rock ditty that also had a quite chirpy music video, and "Honky Tonk Songs", completely bland and anonymous country rock that denotes a truly astonishing lack of inspiration. Just to close in (so to speak) style, a total and ruthless rejection for the song that ends the album, the atrocious "Shine On", a kind of pseudo-gospel choral absolutely plastic and irritating with a catechism text from the CEI; in a few words, the worst of the worst and, I feel confident in stating this, the worst song ever written by Dolly Parton that this time around, and I'm very sorry, receives a big thumbs down.

To sum up, an album on the verge of decency to be carefully avoided, and probably Dolly herself feels the same, as she went on to release albums like "Halos & Horns" and even the latest "Backwoods Barbie", which eat this "Hungry Again" for breakfast. If you truly want to know this wonderful singer at her artistic peak, as I have already reiterated, decisively aim for something more aged which, even if speaking culinarily would be a contradiction, will prove to be much fresher, tastier, and enjoyable.