Dolly Parton: Jolene

Without question, “Jolene” was one of Dolly Patton’s biggest hit singles. Jolene the album was Parton's thirteenth solo studio album.

Jolene was released around the time Dolly was pursuing a solo career, having left the Porter Wagoner weekly TV series and road show. While the album has a few standout songs, none match the energy and vocal strength of "Jolene". "I Will Always Love You" was the album's second single, and like "Jolene" became a number-one country single. Lyrically, “I will always love you” is the winner on the album. The album itself ranks in Parton’s top 5, with Coat of Many Colors being her best.

This pressing was offered by Vinyl Me, Please record club. Effectively, VMP is an exclusive retailer, not unlike similar releases that Walmart and Target offer from time to time. Like most of VMP’s records, this reissue was pressed on colored vinyl and manufactured by the original label. In this case blue vinyl manufactured by Sony Music Entertainment under the RCA label.

The quality of the manufactured vinyl is good (Memphis Record Pressing). The sound quality of the pressing is average and no better than a typical non colored vinyl pressing released through Sony under the RCA label. The sound is nothing spectacular and very blah. Typical for a record mastered at GZ Media.

The packaging is the selling point. This blue vinyl version was released in 2019 as a limited edition. However, like it seems to be the case nowadays, nothing is truly limited. If you prefer purple, VMP released that version November 2023.

It is clear that VMP is about offering unique collectible editions of select records with little to no additional quality gain. If you are looking for a great audiophile pressing, this version of Jolene from VMP is not the answer. However, if you want colored vinyl and a presumably limited edition pressing, then VMP may be your go to. The question you’ll have to answer for yourself is if Jolene from Vinyl Me, Please is worth paying a premium?

TRACK LIST
1 Jolene
2 When Someone Wants to Leave
3 River of Happiness
4 Early Morning Breeze
5 Highlight of My Life
6 I Will Always Love You
7 Randy
8 Living On Memories of You
9 Lonely Comin' Down
10 It Must Be You
11 Cracker Jack
12 Another Woman's Man
13 Barbara On Your Mind
14 Last Night's Lovin'

Maybe this record serves as a nice conversation piece, but it is not a record you will drop a needle on and say, "WOW!". 💸

💰 Invest
 💵 Consider
💸 Pass