The Queens Of Country (Patsy
Cline: Sweet Dreams Still/Loretta
Lynn: Songs Of Inspiration/Dolly
Parton & Friends/MPI DVD set)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+/D/C- Main Programs: B-/B-/B
MPI has
combined three previous DVD releases by three inarguable female legends of
Country Music before the genre became an over-commercialized joke. The Queens Of Country includes Patsy Cline: Sweet Dreams Still, a
compilation of music clips and semi-documentary that show the landmark singer
at her best before her tragic death.
Bonus songs that could have been in the main program and an interview
with her widower are also included.
Songs include Walkin’ After
Midnight, I Fall To Pieces and Crazy.
Loretta Lynn: Songs Of Inspiration has no extras, but is strictly a
collection of Miss Lynn’s spiritual performances including How Great Thou Art, He’s Got
The Whole World In His Hands and Put
You Hand In The Hand. Even atheists
would be amazed at the sincerity, empathy and range in which Lynn sings these
genre classics, in most cases offering definitive performances. It is a nice throwback to a time before the
faith was hijacked by extremists.
Dolly Parton & Friends samples episodes of her
music/variety TV series Dolly and the selected episodes include guests Kenny
Rogers, Rod McKuen and an early teaming of the great trio of Dolly, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou
Harris. The shows have skits, singing
and jokes, all of which are fun and pleasant viewing. You can once again see why Dolly is a legend. Songs include Love Is Like A Butterfly, Feelings,
I Will Always Love You and My Funny Valentine. A bonus gospel song Dolly did on The Porter
Wagner Show is the only extra.
The 1.33
X 1 image on the three discs are pretty good for color analog NTSC tapings, no
matter there age, though some footage is even older and in black and
white. Newer footage is NTSC analog
tape. The Dolby Digital 2.0
throughout is barely stereo and usually monophonic, but the sound is just fine
for its age, though flaws prevail throughout the three discs just the same.
- Nicholas Sheffo
