Recorded on her 2008
Backwoods Barbie tour, the 2009 CD/DVD set
Live from London is
Dolly Parton's first live release since 2004's
Live and Well. That generous 23-track collection arrived on the heels of her turn-of-the-millennium trio of bluegrass albums and appropriately drew deeply on that trilogy, whereas this casts the net a little wider, retaining some of that mountain music but adding more classic hits along with several selections from
Backwoods Barbie, of course. That 2008 album was her poppiest in a spell, so it follows that
Live from London is also a big glitzy production, with
Parton coming out to the strains of
"Hello Dolly" and supported by legions of backing vocalists, guitarists, and keyboardists. It's not intimate; it's a crowd-pleasing extravaganza delivered by an old pro who knows how to give the audience, whether they're in the arena or listening at home, exactly what they want. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine