Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton – Just Between You And Me (1968/2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

“Just Between You and Me” is Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton’s first duet album, released in January 1968, shortly after Parton joined Wagoner’s band and became a regular on his weekly television show. The album’s single was a cover of Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing on My Mind”; the album and the single reached the top ten on the country albums and singles charts, respectively. The title song, written by Jack Clement, had been a top-ten hit for Charley Pride earlier in 1967. Parton originally wrote “Put it Off Until Tomorrow” for artist Bill Phillips.

Dolly Parton has become such a global brand, with such an iconic back story and archive of monster hit songs, it often seems as though she went straight from the poverty of her Appalachian homestead to the limelit glory of arenas in one tidy arc.

But there’s a crucial stage in her career that’s simultaneously well known and overlooked – the 13 years she spent working with Porter Wagoner on television, on the stage and in the recording studio. This time allowed Parton to develop her persona, improve her stagecraft and understand what made a song popular. Dolly and Porter achieved an enormous output, cutting 13 albums in as many years. They fell into some predictable formats – the spoken recitation, usually showcasing Wagoner’s rich baritone (eg Jennie’s Afraid Of The Dark) but sometimes allowing Parton a say; the laughter-inflected repartee song (Run That By Me One More Time) – but showcased loads of prime material from top-notch songwriters; not just country, but folk and soul too.

When Porter and Dolly began recording in 1967, Porter was the bigger star and Dolly watched his TV show every week as a fan. By the time of their last duets in 1976, Dolly was one of the biggest stars that country music had ever seen, and Porter’s biggest hits were his duets with Dolly. Their work was sometimes playful, sometimes romantic, sometimes tortured, and sometimes unbearably sad, much like their personal and professional relationship.

Tracklist:
01 – Because One of Us Was Wrong
02 – The Last Thing on My Mind
03 – Love Is Worth Living
04 – Just Between You and Me
05 – Mommie, Ain’t That Daddy
06 – Four O Thirty Three
07 – Sorrow’s Tearing Down the House (That Happiness Once Built)
08 – This Time Has Gotta Be Our Last Time
09 – Before I Met You
10 – Home Is Where the Hurt Is
11 – Two Sides to Every Story
12 – Put It Off Until Tomorrow

Produced by Bob Ferguson. Engineered by Jim Malloy.
Recorded in September 1967 at RCA Studio “B”, Nashville, TN.

Download:

mqs.link_PrterWagnerDllyPartnJustBetweenYuAndMe19682017Qbuz2496.rar