November 18-24, 2004

musicpicks

Holly Golightly/Dolly Parton

by Sam Adams

Rock/pop

All it took was a guest spot on the White Stripes' Elephant to wake the rest of the world up to what Holly Golightly's fans already knew: The British chanteuse has a cool/hot, push-me/pull-you voice that sounds as alluring as it does unattainable. Golightly's belated recognition is surely behind the title of her 10th album, Slowly But Surely (Damaged Goods), as well as the cover photograph of Golightly done up like a bedraggled dancehall queen. But she sounds as fresh and tough as ever, a girl-gang goddess on one song, and the rightful heir to Peggy Lee on the next. Golightly headlines a top-notch garage-rock bill, with The Woggles and Mondo Topless bringing things to a boil.

Unlike her contemporary Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton doesn't need Jack White to point her back to her roots: As her recent return to bluegrass proves, they were never far behind her. Busty, brassy and proud of it, Parton has never shied away from being the butt of her own jokes, which has somewhat obscured the amazing breadth of her talent; there's not a female country singer of her era who wrote so many of her own hits. This, Parton's first Philadelphia show in ages, is part of what we can only hope will be the first of many farewell tours.

Holly Golightly, Fri., Nov. 19, 9 p.m., $12, with The Woggles and Mondo Topless, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-569-9700. Dolly Parton, Thu., Nov. 18, 8 p.m., Wachovia Spectrum, 3601 S. Broad St., 215-336-2000.