Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris – The Complete Trio Collection (Deluxe) (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:26:53 minutes | 2,43 GB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Rhino
The threesome released two albums together, Trio (1987) and Trio II (1999), which have combined to sell more than five million copies worldwide and win three Grammy® Awards. Both of these classic albums have been newly remastered for a three-CD collection packed with rare and unreleased music produced by Harris. The bonus disc is loaded with 20 songs, including alternate takes and completely unreleased recordings from the trio spanning both album sessions.
Talking about the first time she harmonized with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt in 1975, Dolly Parton said, “We all got to singin’ and it was absolutely incredible. It gives me chills, even now.” Given Parton’s remarkable life and career, one would imagine it would take a lot to prompt that reaction, but there’s no false modesty in Dolly’s words. Parton, Harris, and Ronstadt were all splendid vocalists on their own, but they’d also shown a talent for collaborating with others throughout their careers. And when the like-minded women decided to make an album together, they created something rare, a collaboration between three major stars that never smacks of ego. Parton, Harris, and Ronstadt brought out the best in one another on their brilliant 1987 album, Trio, with the group harmonies sounding even more glorious than their lead vocals. (Trio also found Parton and Ronstadt working with better and more flattering material than they’d had on their solo albums in quite a while.) Trio was enough of a success that the singers carved out time in their busy schedules to make another album together, 1999’s Trio II, with similarly impressive results. Ronstadt’s health prevents her from making another Trio album in the 21st century, but Rhino Records have given us the next best thing with The Complete Trio Collection. This three-disc set brings together Trio and Trio II in full with a bonus disc of 20 outtakes and alternate versions recorded during the sessions for the original albums. Both Trio and Trio II have aged quite well, especially the first album with its emphasis on acoustic, bluegrass-influenced arrangements that blend well with three-part harmonies. (As Harris quips in the liner notes, they were playing Americana music before it had a name.) And if disc three often covers material that appears elsewhere in the set, Parton, Harris, and Ronstadt tried enough different approaches to these songs that the variants still sound fresh, and the performances are a knockout throughout. At the end of an unreleased take of “You Don’t Knock,” Harris quietly says, “That one felt real good,” and like Dolly, she speaks the truth. For fans of the original Trio albums, buying The Complete Trio Collection to get the disc of unreleased takes might seem a bit excessive, but for anyone with a taste for great country or folk singing who has never heard Parton, Harris, and Ronstadt’s work together, this set is nothing less than essential. – Mark Deming
Tracklist:
01. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – The Pain Of Loving You (Remastered) (02:35)
02. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Making Plans (Remastered) (03:38)
03. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – To Know Him Is To Love Him (Remastered) (03:46)
04. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Hobo’s Meditation (Remastered) (03:19)
05. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Wildflowers (Remastered) (03:36)
06. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Telling Me Lies (Remastered) (04:25)
07. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – My Dear Companion (Remastered) (02:55)
08. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Those Memories Of You (Remastered) (04:01)
09. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – I’ve Had Enough (Remastered) (03:32)
10. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Rosewood Casket (Remastered) (03:01)
11. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Farther Along (Remastered) (04:18)
12. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Lover’s Return (Remastered) (03:59)
13. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – High Sierra (Remastered) (04:22)
14. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (Remastered) (03:17)
15. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – After The Gold Rush (Remastered) (03:31)
16. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – The Blue Train (Remastered) (04:58)
17. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – I Feel The Blues Movin’ In (Remastered) (04:31)
18. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – You’ll Never Be The Sun (Remastered) (04:44)
19. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – He Rode All The Way To Texas (Remastered) (03:07)
20. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Feels Like Home (Remastered) (04:50)
21. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – When We’re Gone, Long Gone (Remastered) (03:59)
22. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Wildflowers (Alternate Take 1986) (03:27)
23. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Waltz Across Texas Tonight (Unreleased 1994) (03:51)
24. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Lover’s Return (Alternate Mix) (03:59)
25. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Softly And Tenderly (Unreleased 1994) (05:23)
26. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Pleasant As May (Unreleased 1986) (02:36)
27. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – My Dear Companion (Alternate Take 1986) (02:58)
28. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – My Blue Tears (Unreleased 1998) (02:42)
29. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Making Plans (Alternate Take 1986) (03:38)
30. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – I’ve Had Enough (Alternate Mix 1986) (03:32)
31. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Grey Funnel Line (Unreleased 1986) (02:08)
32. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – You Don’t Knock (Unreleased 1986) (03:26)
33. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Where Will The Words Come From (Unreleased 1985) (02:51)
34. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (Dolly Lead – Alternate Take 1994) (03:32)
35. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Are You Tired Of Me (Unreleased 1986) (02:36)
36. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (03:51)
37. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Mr. Sandman (02:19)
38. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Handful Of Dust (Unreleased 1993) (02:59)
39. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Calling My Children Home (Unreleased Acapella Version 1986) (03:11)
40. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – In A Deep Sleep (Unreleased 1986) (03:02)
41. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris – Farther Along (Alternate Mix 1986) (04:08)