Album cover. RCA Victor (LSP-4490) (1971)
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Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
Two of a Kind RCA Victor (LSP-4490) February 8, 1971 Side 1
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Recording
Recording sessions for the album began at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 2, 1970. Three additional sessions followed on December 8, 9 and 14. "There'll Be Love" was recorded on May 6 during a session for 1970's Once More.
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May 6, 1970
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December 9, 1970
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Content
"Curse of the Wild Weed Flower" is of note for being an anti-marijuana song, one of the few country songs of the period to discuss drugs. While no singles were released from the album, "Oh, the Pain of Loving You" was included as the B-side of the 1971 single "The Right Combination", with "Oh" being dropped from the song's title. Dolly would later re-recorded the song under this abbreviated title with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris as part of their 1987 album Trio. The song's title was further abbreviated to "Pain of Lovin' You" when it was recorded by The Grascals (featuring Dolly) in 2011 for their album Country Classics with a Bluegrass Spin. The album's liner notes were written by Don Howser, longtime announcer on The Porter Wagoner Show.
Release
The album was released February 8, 1971, on LP, cassette, and 8-track.
Critical reception
The review published in the February 20, 1971 issue of Billboard said, "The highly successful country duo comes up with another LP destined for top programming and sales, and should soon be riding at the top of the charts. They turned in first-rate performances of "Two of a Kind", The Fighting Kind", "Oh, the Pain of Loving You" and "Curse of the Wild Weed Flower", among others."
Cashbox published a review in the issue dated February 13, which said, "Having already won just about every award possible for a vocal duo, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, certainly "Two of a Kind", are back on the right track again with their first LP release of the new year. Porter and Dolly are capable of delivering soft, moody ballads, or up-tempo rockers with the utmost of sincerity and smoothness. Among the more outstanding tracks are "Oh, the Pain of Loving You", "Is It Real", "Today, Tomorrow and Forever", and the title track, "Two of a Kind", but the entire album is a classic and will be one of their biggest ever."
AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars.
Cashbox published a review in the issue dated February 13, which said, "Having already won just about every award possible for a vocal duo, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, certainly "Two of a Kind", are back on the right track again with their first LP release of the new year. Porter and Dolly are capable of delivering soft, moody ballads, or up-tempo rockers with the utmost of sincerity and smoothness. Among the more outstanding tracks are "Oh, the Pain of Loving You", "Is It Real", "Today, Tomorrow and Forever", and the title track, "Two of a Kind", but the entire album is a classic and will be one of their biggest ever."
AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars.
Billboard review, February 20, 1971.
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Cashbox review, February 13, 1971.
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Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 33 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart dated March 6, 1971. It peaked at number 13 on the chart dated May 8, its tenth week on the chart. The album charted for a total of 14 weeks. It also peaked at number 142 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes and RCA recording session records.
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Reissues
The album was reissued on CD in 2008 with 1969's Always, Always. It was released as a digital download on November 2, 2010. The album was included in the 2014 box set Just Between You and Me: The Complete Recordings, 1967–1976. The album was reissued by BGO Records in 2019 on a two CD set with Once More, Together Always, and The Right Combination • Burning the Midnight Oil.