Dolly Parton – Little Sparrow

Dolly + Alison Krauss = a gift from heaven. Beautiful harmony.

Not perfect, but damn solid. Didn’t get why people were complaining about Halos And Horns until I got this and saw how much of a downgrade the H&H press is. Nice thick high quality matte finish gatefold jacket, printing quality isn’t GREAT but it’s good by VMP standards. Not a single click on my copy, very rich and deep sound. I can really pick apart the delicious vocal harmonies in a way I couldn’t prior to hearing this vinyl. All sides are perfectly flat and mostly centered (side D was slightly off but not enough to affect playback) Minor IGD which is puzzling considering the grooves don’t go anywhere near the label but maybe it’s a problem w my stylus idk, it’s not too noticeable. Discs look stunning too, first disc is a more simple lavender marbled but second disc really lives up to the “galaxy” title, absolutely gorgeous. This is probably the best possible vinyl release this album could get, it’s a shame Halos And Horns wasn’t given quite the same level of care (tho I still stand by that it’s a good press, yes it’s overpriced but so is every VMP release) but anyways. Love Little Sparrow, so glad I was finally able to snag one after missing the first drop. Hopefully we eventually get a Grass Is Blue reissue to complete the trilogy, I know it got a press in 2014 but that was a decade ago and it’s hella rare now. Maybe there’s rights issues?? If anyone knows please lmk. I feel like otherwise VMP would’ve reissued that one alongside her sisters but I digress, im happy we finally got vinyl pressings of the other two.

Just got a repress, don’t pay scalper prices. If you missed this one there will likely be another

After over a year on the waiting list I jumped and bought a 1st pressing only to have a repress announced a week later, I still placed a preorder, I’ll keep my 1st press sealed and use my repress copy for play.

for those that missed this the first time around, VMP just announced a pre-order for a repress.

This was back in stock briefly on Vinyl Me Please this week.

What a gem! This is the era of Dolly that I was least familiar with but I was immediately all in with this album. The pressing looks beautiful and sound great. Despite the lack of physical listening notes (my biggest complaint with the Vinyl Me, Parton limited track), the gatefold jacket provides all the credits and looks great. The purple galaxy vinyl looks cool and sounds great!

A wonderful pressing! No surface noise on my copy and the mastering is phenomenal. I’ve always loved this album but I think I enjoy it even more now.

My first reaction was "Wow, this sounds great!" If you don't love Dolly Parton, just listen to Side A of this album and you will be won over completely. I was thinking to myself that this was going to be one of my favorite VMP records of all time. Then the noise started cutting in. Yes, VMP stans, I cleaned it. It's not noisy because I didn't clean it. It's noisy because the quality control sucks.

VMP was very good about replacing this noisy record (they are always very good about it) and the second copy was much quieter than the first, although it still was not completely quiet. Side D has some occasional weird sort of scratchy noises, loud and disruptive. But at least this copy does not have that rotational clicking...that's what I really can't stand. I decided to keep this copy even though it's not perfect. As frequently happens with VMP, I will live with a noisy record even though I shouldn't have to. I have gone down the road of getting as many as five replacements before and my experience has been that when a pressing has noise problems, you are never going to get a quiet one. When you get one that has a level of noise that is acceptable to you, that's when you stop and call it good enough. Otherwise, just ask for a refund...and I have done that before and VMP will give you one...eventually.

This is a wonderful album. Dolly Parton is in superb voice for this set. Tremendous clarity and detail. Soundstage is very narrow. No notes or booklet...you are referred to online notes, which seems chintzy for such an expensive album. Cover photo looks grainy and cheap. The vinyl is beautiful to look at, less beautiful to listen to.

This was one of the albums in the Vinyl Me Parton I honestly didn't know much about it - what a delightful surprise! The press is fantastic and the packaging in this series so far has been really well done. I hope VMP keeps up the great work!