Dolly Parton - Dumplin' (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2018) Hi-Res

Stories are meant to be shared and passed on through generations. As they're told and re-told, they transform—details change shape and become less important. It's no longer just about the narrative—it's about feeling. This is something Dolly Parton is intimately familiar with, because if a woman of the South understands anything, it's the art of telling a good story. And the good storytellers—the truly remarkable ones—share a few things in common: they tell you something familiar, they teach you something new, and they surprise you in a way that you weren't expecting.

That's what the soundtrack to Dumplin' (due out on December 7) aims to do. The movie tells the story of a plus-size teenager (Danielle Macdonald) entering the beauty pageant circuit that made her mom (Jennifer Aniston) locally famous. And a week before the film debuts in select theaters, RCA Nashville has released its soundtrack: a Dolly Parton-driven collection that hits all the notes of a good story. With six revamped classics and six newly written ones, it's Dolly's songbook that serves as the titular character's inspiration. But it doesn't feel like a soundtrack per se. The Dumplin' album feels like an ode to something bigger.

With the Dumplin' soundtrack, the narrative is embedded in a career's worth of music. The collection of 12 songs feels like a rite of passage—one that celebrates Parton's five decade career along with the fact that at 72-years-old, she still has wisdom to share. And in this revamped Americana tradition of storytelling, she's replaced a knowing front porch chat by inviting younger artists and contemporaries into the studio with her.

In the six rerecorded singles, Parton partners with younger voices to help breathe new life into songs recorded 40 years ago. With the likes of Elle King and Sia, Parton willingly takes backseat, often singing harmony to let the all-female lineup shine on their own merits. At times, tracks like the Miranda Lambert duet of "Dumb Blonde" feel more ornamental than anything, but it's only because other moments on the album carry so much more weight.