"[Backwoods Barbie] is an important reminder of the breadth of her singing and songwriting talents."
- Billboard
"Her upcoming album spotlights her superb songwriting...This autobiographical title track "Backwoods Barbie" is both wry and poignant."
- USA Today
"This country diva proves she still got it."
- Ok! Magazine
"The CD's standout tune, "Better Get to Livin'," is, like "9 to 5" before it, a crackling anthem: a call to action for those who need to get right in life, because our time in this world is short. "You better stop whinin', pinin', get your dreams in line and then just shine, design, refine 'til they come true," she sings over a banjo in that voice of hers, still powerful and clear after all these years. She's like the life coach you never realized you needed. But don't look to cry on any padded, rhinestone-covered shoulders—especially hers. Dolly's got no patience for anyone peddling sob stories about being "overweight, underpaid or underappreciated," no sympathy for those who have let all of the pep go out of their step. "Your life's a wreck, your house is a mess, and your wardrobe way outdated," she sings at the bridge. "Better get to livin'." Talk about an unlikely admonishment in a song lyric: what's worse than a broken heart? Why, mousy hair and sweat pants! The most delicious touch, by the way, isn't on the album at all. It's in the video for "Better Get to Livin'," which features kitschy comedienne Amy Sedaris with a carnival-theme backdrop. Dolly has never cared much about being cool, but she loves throwing a wink our way every now and then."
- Newsweek
"She’s still ambitious. After a string of bluegrass-rooted albums and concept albums (“For God and Country” and remakes of other people’s hits on “Those Were the Days”), “Backwoods Barbie” aims to return Ms. Parton to mainstream country radio. It has a modern Nashville production full of glossy guitars and full-scale buildups, with a couple of pop remakes (Smokey Robinson’s “Tracks of My Tears” and Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” with a pronoun change) as insurance...But she’s far more appealing when she sings about country’s classic subject, infidelity. The fragile flutter in her voice and the reedy strength behind it make her as convincing as ever in the power-country ballads “Made of Stone,” in which she’s the betrayed wife, and “Cologne,” where she’s the other woman. She reaches back to honky-tonk in the easy-swinging “Lonesomes” and in “I Will Forever Hate Roses,” an old-fashioned country waltz about a goodbye bouquet. And she finds the loneliness in the Celtic-rooted “Only Dreamin’ ” amid pennywhistles, strings and a backup chorale. Once again she’s the voice of rural innocence all dressed up in big-city trappings, and still coming through as herself."
- The New York Times
"Three of the songs – the positive, sprightly "Better Get to Livin'," the tender, autobiographical title track, and the heartbreaking ballad "Cologne" –are new masterpieces for the country legend. And whether you're religious or not, you'd connect to the uplifting message in "Jesus & Gravity," written by Nashville's Craig Wiseman and Betsy Ulmer. As usual, Ms. Parton sings it all with such down-home conviction. Her voice remains a national wonder."
- The Dallas Morning News
