Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris have three careers unparalleled in music history. Together they have sold over 200 million albums worldwide and performed for decades in front of countless fans around the globe. It s no surprise that when their three voices united to release their debut collaboration, the results were remarkable. 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.

FLAC / LOSSLESS

CD1 – Trio (1987):

01. The Pain Of Loving You (2:34)
02. Making Plans (3:39)
03. To Know Him Is To Love Him (3:47)
04. Hobo’s Meditation (3:19)
05. Wildflowers (3:37)
06. Telling Me Lies (4:25)
07. My Dear Companion (2:57)
08. Those Memories Of You (4:01)
09. I’ve Had Enough (3:33)
10. Rosewood Casket (3:02)
11. Farther Along (4:10)

CD2 – Trio II (1999):

01. Lover’s Return (4:00)
02. High Sierra (4:22)
03. Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (3:17)
04. After The Gold Rush (3:32)
05. The Blue Train (4:59)
06. I Feel The Blues Movin’ In (4:31)
07. You’ll Never Be The Sun (4:44)
08. He Rode All The Way To Texas (3:08)
09. Feels Like Home (4:50)
10. When We’re Gone, Long Gone (4:00)

CD3 – Unreleased & Alternate Takes, Etc.:

01. Wildflowers (Alternate Take 1986) (3:28)
02. Waltz Across Texas Tonight (Unreleased 1994) (3:51)
03. Lover’s Return (Linda Solo – Unreleased 1994) (4:01)
04. Softly And Tenderly (Unreleased 1994) (5:23)
05. Pleasant As May (Unreleased 1986) (2:36)
06. My Dear Companion (Alternate Take 1986) (2:58)
07. My Blue Tears (Unreleased 1998) (2:43)
08. Making Plans (Alternate Take 1986) (3:38)
09. I’ve Had Enough (Alternate Mix 1986) (3:33)
10. Grey Funnel Line (Unreleased 1986) (2:09)
11. You Don’t Knock (Unreleased 1986) (3:26)
12. Where Will The Words Come From (Unreleased 1985) (2:53)
13. Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (Dolly Lead – Alternate Take 1994) (3:33)
14. Are You Tired Of Me (Unreleased 1986) (2:35)
15. Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (3:52)
16. Mr. Sandman (2:20)
17. Handful Of Dust (Unreleased 1993) (3:00)
18. Calling My Children Home (Unreleased Acapella Version 1986) (3:11)
19. In A Deep Sleep (Unreleased 1986) (3:03)
20. Farther Along (Alternate Mix 1986) (4:07)

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