Now let me just say right up front "Time For Me To Fly" is one of my favorite REO Speedwagon songs. It's pretty darn near perfect. So imagine my joy and glee when one day I found this 45 in some bin in some thrift store. I should also confess that I have fallen in love with Dolly Parton in the last 5 or 6 years. Up to this point I pretty much had in my mind that I loved early Dolly and that anything from the 80's was pretty much cheese, which is true of most of the country from that point. So with that all in mind there was still an element on chance when I picked this up. Sure it's REO Speedwagon and it's Dolly, but it also says it is from 1989.Well, little did I know then but this recording and that year marked a change for Dolly. She changed record companies and brought in Ricky Skaggs to produce. The results is a return to the rootsy bluegrass style that I love from her early work and from some of her most recent recordings. So on "Time For Me To Fly" a ripping banjo kicks this thing off and the song never lets up. According to All Music Guide Ricky brought in Bela Fleck and Jerry Douglas to get the job done. Dolly jumps in with the lyrics and I think she give Kevin Cronin a run for his money as far as selling the emotion of the lyrics. The funny thing is that while I consider this a bit of a sad song when REO does it, in the hands of Dolly you get the sense that she is smiling through the whole thing. Her spunky persona and attitude bleeds through on each line and instead of being a sad song it becomes a song of defiance and celebration.
The B-Side is taken from the same album "White Limozine" in 1989. It's a song called "The Moon, The Stars & Me" and it is a pretty little number. It also has an old school country flavor to it.
So if you've never given Dolly a chance maybe this will win you over. If you are already a Dolly Fan, maybe this will be a new tune for you like it was for me.
Enjoy!
01 Time For Me To Fly
02 The Moon, The Stars & Me
Both songs and artwork are here.
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