“Well stand back”.
It’s only three words, but if you want to understand why “Rockstar” is so damn good it’s in those words. Dolly Parton and Stevie Nicks are trading licks at the start of “What Has Rock N Roll Ever Done For You” and they proceed to strut their way through it like prime Jagger, they are debating who should “go first” before Parton takes charge – and blows through it like a hurricane.
And this one’s for the dreamers. Literally. The hook line on “Rockstar” itself underlines it – “they say if you can dream it, you can have it”, sings Dolly, and it’s as bombastic as hell.
There’s the odd original elsewhere, like “World On Fire” which surveys 2023 and isn’t impressed. It’s not impressed on stadium-shaking levels, mind you. Most of the rest are collaborations, like “Every Breath You Take” which are familiar to me, and Sting seems to be loving life here, and Journey’s “Open Arms” is an alright sort of power ballad if you like that type of thing.
“Magic Man” is much better, proving Ann Wilson is glorious, too. And Dolly gives it plenty. Speaking of genius’s, they don’t get much bigger than John Fogerty, “Long As I Can See The Light” is a beauty, and for all the controversy, you can’t deny the horn-drenched “Either/Or” with Kid Rock is superb.
And that’s the point. All these people are having the best time. Steven Tyler hasn’t sounded as content as he does on “I Want You Back” in years, “Purple Rain” – one that Parton does herself, is one of the finest songs ever made, but she puts her stamp on the thing and whilst she doesn’t on “Baby, I Love Your Way” then it’s still lovely, warm and Peter Frampton plays on it.
Best of all – along with the Nicks one – is the utterly incredible version of “I Hate Myself For Lovin’ You” that she does with Joan Jett, although Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” isn’t far behind, largely because Chris Stapleton is on it and the boy can sing, my god.
I suppose it was inevitable that Miley Cyrus would turn up at some point (Parton is her godmother) and that they’d do “Wrecking Ball” when they did. They’ve made it sound like a show tune in fairness.
I mentioned Jagger at the start, and with good cause, but its more literal on “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” when Pink and Brandi Carlisle join our hero (and theirs I should think) to sass the be’jeezus out of it.
She’s an American icon of course, and as a result, being honest, some of them like “Keep On Lovin’ You” with REO Speedwagon’s own Kevin Cronin, probably mean more to US audiences and I can never understand the appeal of Blondie so Debbie Harry joining her for “Heart Of Glass” sort of passes me by. Like Q***n which I haven’t listened to.
I am much more pre-disposed to Elton John, mind you, and “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” couldn’t be better, or bigger, if it tried. Indeed, he’s typical, given that he gives his time and lets Dolly loose with one of his own, so to speak, like Mellisa Etheridge does on “Tried To Rock N Roll Me”.
Maybe because of who she is, no one here is shy of taking on a classic, either. Stairway To Heaven” dials up the prog, good luck to her (and Lizzo and Sasha Flute).
And another of the originals is one of the more surprising, “Bygones” which sees her team up with Rob Halford and John 5 – hellbent for leather or not, it’s
pretty cool, as well as being a world away from Priest.
Parton revisits some of her staples here, too. “My Blue Tears” has some fine flute, and Simon Le Bon to boot, this time, so cool, and if it never strays too far from the ethos of the originals, then in the case of “What’s Up?” that’s to it its credit, because Linda Perry turns up to do her thing brilliantly, and even when they do alter the trajectory, like on “No Good” – with Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow – then the piano and the playing is class and carries it home anyway.
Look, the deluxe version of this is massive. Two and a half hours thanks very much, but there’s no letting up. Not a bit. Pat Benatar reprises her own “Heartbreaker” but the guitar from Neil Giraldo steals the show, as does Michael McDonald’s voice on “Bittersweet”.
I’ve listened to this record way too much over the last few weeks and I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s one song that stands head and shoulders above the others here, for the simple reason that if you’re gonna do this, do it OTT. And “I Dreamed About Elvis” with Ronnie McDowell makes “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” look like a lot of fuss about nothing.
The surviving Beatles visit “Let It Be”, and if I’ll never be a Beatles fan, then Skynrd doing “Free Bird” most certainly is. And it’s the full 11 minutes too, possibly a little too on the nose to say she’s turning it up to 11?
Whatever. I just have.
And there’ll be those who question “Rockstar” and ask “why, what’s the point? The answer is simple: “why not?” And “because Dolly said so.”
On this evidence, the damn woman is Queen of Rock N Roll. “Rockstar”? Please, half the world is queuing up just to be on it.
Rating 9.5/10
