Linda Ronstadt vs. Stevie Nicks

[JWS]

If you're going to do a comparison of early women rockers, like the other one with Grace Slick, you have to mention Linda Ronstadt. She was one of the early female lead singers with a male group, the Stone Poneys, before going off on a solo career. At about the same time that Stevie was joining FM, 1974, Linda launched a string of huge solo hits. I realize she is more folk/country rock, but she has had a lasting legacy. Linda, like Stevie, is still around singing today. Grace Slick retired. Linda and Stevie are about the same age and probably crossed paths on the California circuit. IMO, Linda's solo career was every bit has good as Stevie's (and she didn't end up in Betty Fords, or similar, as far as I know).

[DavidMn]

I prefer Stevie, but Linda is a helluva singer, up there on my list of favorite female voices.:nod:

[Rickypt]

Linda's solo work has certainly been much more diverse than Stevie's. But they both dated high profile men and have battled weight problems.

They also have a Tom Petty connection, as Linda has covered "The Waiting".

And this quote from Linda indicates that they had something else in common:

"I had to have my nose cauterized twice- I think they shot sodium nitrate up there- I'm okay now. I don't put anything up my nose anymore, except occasionally my finger."

[JWS]

Linda's solo work has certainly been much more diverse than Stevie's. But they both dated high profile men and have battled weight problems.

They also have a Tom Petty connection, as Linda has covered "The Waiting".

And this quote from Linda indicates that they had something else in common:

"I had to have my nose cauterized twice- I think they shot sodium nitrate up there- I'm okay now. I don't put anything up my nose anymore, except occasionally my finger."

You are right of course, about the weight problems. I remember a magazine photo of Linda in a bikini at her Malibu beach house. This was late 70's and she, Linda, was quite slim and trim. On the other hand, no one has ever seen Stevie as she is always dressed head to toe in long skirts, shaws, and robes. I read somewhere that when Stevie is swimming at her pool, no visitors, man or woman, is allowed to see her.

As for Linda's quote about her "nose trouble". I was not aware of that.

[Karlie]

Linda, definitely. She's probably my favorite female singer. Even though she didn't write most of her songs, her voice is amazing! :thumbsup:

[DeeGeMe]

They've got a hell of a lot more than that in common. Three words for you my friends: John David Souther.

Linda didn't write her own songs though. She's got a phenomenal voice and knows how to select songs, and take risks like no one else, but she was never a songwriter--just knew how to recognize talent. She's one of my other favs though. I listen to her songs a lot in fact, although I wouldn't say I'm a fan of hers the way I am with Stevie.

[BombaySapphire3]

I heard the stories about Linda doing alot of coke back then which for a huge rock star and part of the El Lay scene (The Eagles began as her backing band)it seemed nearly unavoidable .I think the major differences are that Linda did not want to be a rock star and Stevie did.Linda was and is a far more technically gifted vocalist ,one of the best ever IMO and wrote very few songs .Stevie got caught up in and lost in the entire rock star thing so much so that the lines blurred between who she had been and her stage persona .I don't think this ever happened with Linda,in fact she was not terribly wild about performing live in general.

[JWS]

They've got a hell of a lot more than that in common. Three words for you my friends: John David Souther.

Linda didn't write her own songs though. She's got a phenomenal voice and knows how to select songs, and take risks like no one else, but she was never a songwriter--just knew how to recognize talent. She's one of my other favs though. I listen to her songs a lot in fact, although I wouldn't say I'm a fan of hers the way I am with Stevie.

You are absolutely right about the song writing. When you take that into account, Stevie is the superior of the two. Personally, I think Stevie has, or had at one time had, the better sounding voice. But, you can't question Ronstadt's range

[maygirl]

Isn't Linda from Arizona too?:confused:

[Ghost_Tracker]

If you're going to do a comparison of early women rockers, like the other one with Grace Slick, you have to mention Linda Ronstadt. She was one of the early female lead singers with a male group, the Stone Poneys, before going off on a solo career. At about the same time that Stevie was joining FM, 1974, Linda launched a string of huge solo hits. I realize she is more folk/country rock, but she has had a lasting legacy. Linda, like Stevie, is still around singing today. Grace Slick retired. Linda and Stevie are about the same age and probably crossed paths on the California circuit. IMO, Linda's solo career was every bit has good as Stevie's (and she didn't end up in Betty Fords, or similar, as far as I know).

How about Pat Benatar??? Granted, really no solo career and her husband wrote all or at least most of her songs but - still - wow - talk about influence!!!

By the way - yeah, Linda Ronstadt is also from Arizona. And Waddy Wachtell used to be her guitarist. So there's at least two connections there. :)
Similar looks and dress, too ( i.m.o. ) I think maybe R's really shy, though, whereas Stevie is - uhmmm - determined to not let her shyness get in her way???

[Ghost_Tracker]

I heard the stories about Linda doing alot of coke back then which for a huge rock star and part of the El Lay scene (The Eagles began as her backing band)it seemed nearly unavoidable .


:eek: I did NOT know that!!! :shocked:

[Ghost_Tracker]

They've got a hell of a lot more than that in common. Three words for you my friends: John David Souther.

Linda didn't write her own songs though. She's got a phenomenal voice and knows how to select songs, and take risks like no one else, but she was never a songwriter--just knew how to recognize talent. She's one of my other favs though. I listen to her songs a lot in fact, although I wouldn't say I'm a fan of hers the way I am with Stevie.


I get the impression that Ronstadt was never really interested in developing a "fan base" in the way Stevie was. She did a show, said "Thanks have a nice DAY," went home, and forgot about it - or at least gave that impression. Stevie, on the other hand - well, she's STEVIE! :rolleyes:
And even if she doesn't feel it in some sort of incredible, mystical way, 24/7, 365 per year, she expresses a lot of love for her fans, and works very hard to keep that "connection" intact and strong. Bottom line, fans sense that her love is genuine. Not slamming Ronstadt or saying she doesn't care at all, but that type of thing was never really a priority for her.
I still claim that Stevie's a LOT more intelligent than most people realize - and - yeah - I think that's related, when 'ya really think about it. . . .

[JazmenFlowers]

I love Linda. Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind is an amazing CD; my favorite by her. Her voice is truly phenomenal. Winter Light is good too.

I would say tho that Linda isn't as interesting as Stevie and doesn't have the same presence that Stevie has; and I really dig singers that are strong writers with something to say that I can relate to.

I still prefer Stevie's voice, performances and musical mazes...imagine that ;)

[Ghost_Tracker]

I love Linda. Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind is an amazing CD; my favorite by her. Her voice is truly phenomenal. Winter Light is good too.

I would say tho that Linda isn't as interesting as Stevie and doesn't have the same presence that Stevie has; and I really dig singers that are strong writers with something to say that I can relate to.



Welll, I really do feel that Linda R. has never had the self-confidence
that Stevie so clearly has. Check out this pic. for example -
http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/revsimp1.htm (I'll upload it later when I can) - that's from the inside cover of her album "Simple Dreams" - the entire photo showed the rest of the crew (including Waddy W.) off to the side,
hanging out, and she's sort of looking over her shoulder at them, wondering what to do to get them to hang out with her - she seems to be thinking "Should I SAY something? Go over and TALK to them? Wait for them to talk to ME?" etc. Yeah, I realize this could have been "posed" but it really does look to me like a spontaneous photo and seems to be "as real as it gets." Even if it is posed, I think it's a reflection of her personality - shy and maybe kinda insecure. I love 'er too, though . . . . :nod:
My DAD has always had a huge CRUSH on her, although he'd never admit it! :lol:

[dissention]

Welll, I really do feel that Linda R. has never had the self-confidence
that Stevie so clearly has

You must have never seen a Linda Ronstadt concert. She's a tough bitch who does what she wants. Confidence? She's got enough to spare.

[markolas]

I love Linda. And I hope no one stones me, but I think I'm kinda over Stevie. :eek:

[gold_dustgypsy]

I love Linda. And I hope no one stones me, but I think I'm kinda over Stevie. :eek:

:eek: Take that back! :]

[JazmenFlowers]

I love Linda. And I hope no one stones me, but I think I'm kinda over Stevie. :eek:
oh fooey!

no, seriously, when I first got into FM/SN I went in spurts but now a day does not go by that I don't rock out to some La Nicks.

if you're over it, at least you can appreciate what her music has given/meant to you

[CelticGypsy]

Check the necklace Linda is wearing in the bottom photo. Looks familiar:) She and Stevie have alot in common:) :nod:

http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/index.html

[JWS]

Check the necklace Linda is wearing in the bottom photo. Looks familiar:) She and Stevie have alot in common:) :nod:

http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/index.html
From that very site the following statement

"Linda achieved her greatest commercial success in the mid-'70s when she became the first female rock superstar and became the top-selling female vocalist for that decade. During this era, she became known as The Queen of Rock and The Queen of Country Rock."

That's news to me. I always thought Stevie Nicks was the "Queen of Rock". Has anyone ever heard of LR called that?

[BombaySapphire3]

From that very site the following statement

"Linda achieved her greatest commercial success in the mid-'70s when she became the first female rock superstar and became the top-selling female vocalist for that decade. During this era, she became known as The Queen of Rock and The Queen of Country Rock."

That's news to me. I always thought Stevie Nicks was the "Queen of Rock". Has anyone ever heard of LR called that?
I vaugely recall Linda being referred to as the Queen of rock in the late 1970s and she was huge then and topped the Rolling Stone reader's polls at that time .Stevie was called the Queen of Rock and Roll by Rolling Stone in 1981 ,by then Linda's 'rock' career had cooled after the overreaching misfire "Mad Love' where Linda tried out New Wave and proved, while vocally gifted as usual ,she was no Debby Harry.Linda 's 1982 album "Get Closer' sold very poorly and she then swicthed successfully to Standards leaving Nicks and Benatar to vie for the title.

[JWS]

I vaugely recall Linda being referred to as the Queen of rock in the late 1970s and she was huge then and topped the Rolling Stone reader's polls at that time .Stevie was called the Queen of Rock and Roll by Rolling Stone in 1981 ,by then Linda's 'rock' career had cooled after the overreaching misfire "Mad Love' where Linda tried out New Wave and proved, while vocally gifted as usual ,she was no Debby Harry.Linda 's 1982 album "Get Closer' sold very poorly and she then swicthed successfully to Standards leaving Nicks and Benatar to vie for the title.

Two "Queen of Rock"?!!!

[BombaySapphire3]

Two "Queen of Rock"?!!!
I was just speaking in terms of early 1980s popularity .Pat and Stevie actually tied in the Rolling Stone Reader's poll in 1981 .I cursed myself for not sending in a ballot that year.Pat took it in 1982 and Stevie by a wide margin in 1983.IMO Pat was never Queen of anything but shrieking and spandex.:lol:

[Rickypt]

And Waddy Wachtell used to be her guitarist.

I believe Kunkel and Glaub also played with Ronstadt.

I imagine that boning Henley would be another connection.

Regarding confidence, I've seen Linda in concert and she exudes nothing but. Plus she's not afraid to spout her political views and tell people who don't share them that they are stupid!

[BombaySapphire3]

.

Regarding confidence, I've seen Linda in concert and she exudes nothing but. Plus she's not afraid to spout her political views and tell people who don't share them that they are stupid!
which regarding the Iraq invasion she was right on the money .I do disagree with her about one thing though.Stupid is too mild a word.

[BombaySapphire3]

From that very site the following statement

"Linda achieved her greatest commercial success in the mid-'70s when she became the first female rock superstar
Sheesh! Havn't the people on that site ever heard of Connie Francis?!!!

[DWIG]

I have been a long time fan of Linda Ronstadt's, but have to admit, she cannot hold a candle to Stevie. I agree with the previous comments that Linda technically is a wonderful vocalist, and has sang on some of my favourite albums (Trio-with Dolly & Emmylou, Hasten down the wind, Simple dreams) but she does not have the heart or soul that Stevie does. Stevie has the whole package. The voice, the songwriting ability and the image.
However, i have never seen Linda Ronstadt live (living in the UK!), but she is someone i would dearly love to see. Don't think it's going to happen though, as , i have read she has terrible stage fright (another similarity to Stevie!)

[amber]

I would tend to agree with what you said, except that as far as "having the whole package" Stevie is probably most deficient in the area that is Ronstadt is most proficient - technical ability.

I like them both, but it's hard for me to compare them because...in some important ways they are too dissimilar. Partly in the way that I have experienced them in my life, but more concrete ways, too.

Anyway, as my first sentence alluded to, my sensibility experiences them in such a way that they balance each other out and I enjoy each very, very much. It's like, together they could make the ubersinger.

Of course I listen to Stevie more, and am more passionate and attached to all things Stevie, but several of Linda's songs/vocals are my very favorite around, and really move me. And I really don't know much of her body of material, mostly the main songs - to me that indicates the high quality of her work. But now that I've heard about it I must hear the album where she tries to go...New Wave?

Oh, man. I just know that's going to be awesomely cheesy-with-good-vocal and I'm going to love it. :laugh: :woohoo:

Also? Linda was so, so cute. Just cute. Cutie cute.

[DWIG]

Listen to Mad love - that should show you!

[cliffdweller]

How about Pat Benatar???

Oh lord, don't bring up Pat...someone may rail you for comparing Stevie to such a contrived, corporate rocker! :p:xoxo:

But yes, both Stevie and Pat can belt with the best of them. Personally, I think Stevie is definitely the more creative of the two, but when it comes to vocal ability, we all have to admit that Pat has better range and is a better overall singer than Stevie, although even given that, I still enjoy Stevie's voice more.

As far as Linda and Stevie are concerned, the people who said that Linda was not interested in maintaining a fan base and preferred to keep her career more low profile than Stevie's hit the nail on the head. Linda really preferred to keep her personal life under wraps and concentrate more on being a consumate vocalist and interpreter of others' songs than being a songwriter or pop icon. I respect her for this, I also loved the interview she gave not long ago when after being asked by the interviewer how she felt about her influence as a country artist Linda without batting an eye said something to the effect of, "if you want to be influenced by a real country artist, pick up a Kitty Wells record, I am NOT a country singer, don't lay that on me." She is so incredibly humorous and frank in her interviews and will completely shut down if the interviewer asks her anything about her personal life. As far as personalities go, that is one thing she definitely does NOT share with Stevie...Stevie will talk your ear off about her relationships ad nauseum even if it is the canned stuff we hear all the time.

[jannieC]

I love Linda. And I hope no one stones me, but I think I'm kinda over Stevie. :eek:
Just out of curiosity, how long have you been a Stevie fan? (Not stoning, just genuinely curious. :) )

[chiliD]

From that very site the following statement

"Linda achieved her greatest commercial success in the mid-'70s when she became the first female rock superstar Sheesh! Havn't the people on that site ever heard of Connie Francis?!!!

Good one!!

Or Brenda Lee

Or Etta James

Or Carla Thomas

Or, Diana Ross (as a Supreme)

Or, if they're THAT myopic, what about JANIS JOPLIN?

[dissention]

I would tend to agree with what you said, except that as far as "having the whole package" Stevie is probably most deficient in the area that is Ronstadt is most proficient - technical ability.

I like them both, but it's hard for me to compare them because...in some important ways they are too dissimilar. Partly in the way that I have experienced them in my life, but more concrete ways, too.

Anyway, as my first sentence alluded to, my sensibility experiences them in such a way that they balance each other out and I enjoy each very, very much. It's like, together they could make the ubersinger.

Of course I listen to Stevie more, and am more passionate and attached to all things Stevie, but several of Linda's songs/vocals are my very favorite around, and really move me. And I really don't know much of her body of material, mostly the main songs - to me that indicates the high quality of her work. But now that I've heard about it I must hear the album where she tries to go...New Wave?

Oh, man. I just know that's going to be awesomely cheesy-with-good-vocal and I'm going to love it. :laugh: :woohoo:

Also? Linda was so, so cute. Just cute. Cutie cute.

I never knew you were such a Linda fan. Do you have Western Wall, the album that her and Emmylou recorded together about six years ago? It's really great. :nod:

[gldstwmn]

If you're going to do a comparison of early women rockers, like the other one with Grace Slick, you have to mention Linda Ronstadt. She was one of the early female lead singers with a male group, the Stone Poneys, before going off on a solo career. At about the same time that Stevie was joining FM, 1974, Linda launched a string of huge solo hits. I realize she is more folk/country rock, but she has had a lasting legacy. Linda, like Stevie, is still around singing today. Grace Slick retired. Linda and Stevie are about the same age and probably crossed paths on the California circuit. IMO, Linda's solo career was every bit has good as Stevie's (and she didn't end up in Betty Fords, or similar, as far as I know).

Waddy Wachtel and Russ Kunkel also worked in the studio with Linda.

[gldstwmn]

I read somewhere that when Stevie is swimming at her pool, no visitors, man or woman, is allowed to see her.

She was joking.

[gldstwmn]

Isn't Linda from Arizona too?:confused:

Yes. I think she's from Tucson.

[gldstwmn]

You must have never seen a Linda Ronstadt concert. She's a tough bitch who does what she wants. Confidence? She's got enough to spare.

Last time I saw her she sang the entire show sitting down because of her back problems. She was still flawless, though.

[The Tower]

And I really don't know much of her body of material, mostly the main songs - to me that indicates the high quality of her work. But now that I've heard about it I must hear the album where she tries to go...New Wave?

Oh, man. I just know that's going to be awesomely cheesy-with-good-vocal and I'm going to love it. :laugh: :woohoo:
I bought that album Mad Love when it was first released. Not very good. Way too much yelling for me.

I love Linda- although her penchant for singing every style of music under the sun leaves one to sift through her catalog for gems. Her early period is uneven and her vocal technique was still developing. I'm not really a huge fan of her 70's popular peak- with a few glimmers of greatness here and there. Too many stinky J.D. Souther songs and nostalgia covers. I love all three of her Nelson Riddle albums.

Linda's best period is probably her late 80's through the 90's efforts. Feels Like Home is probably her best album ever- I think every song on that one is a keeper. Her cover of Petty's "The Waiting" is :blob2: :] :blob1: Trio is awesome. The Western Wall Sessions with Emmylou Harris is fantastic. We Ran isn't too bad. Waddy is all over that record- production, songwriter, the works.

I don't think Linda and Stevie are really comparable. They just happen to be from the same era and have used many of the same session musicians. Other than that, their catalog and their musical composition are pretty much different animals.

[markolas]

Just out of curiosity, how long have you been a Stevie fan? (Not stoning, just genuinely curious. :) )

Since about 1998 or so.

And it's not that I'm no longer a fan, I'm just not as knocked out by her as I used to be. The fact that it looks like she's not going to do another album, and is content to just rehash her old warhorses for endless concert tours has a lot to do with it.

Plus, artists like Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell have a much larger and more varied body of work than Stevie. I still like Stevie, I just find myself listening to her less and less.

[JWS]

Also? Linda was so, so cute. Just cute. Cutie cute.

As far as cuteness or beauty goes, it's a real toss up. Personally, I think Stevie has the better smile and facial expressions on stage, but that is just me. For example, that scene at the end of "Red Rocks" where Stevie is holding up a bird, OK the white winged dove, that refuses to fly away...her facial expression was just awesome IMO. I just haven't seen enough of Linda on stage to gauge.

[JazmenFlowers]

Since about 1998 or so.

And it's not that I'm no longer a fan, I'm just not as knocked out by her as I used to be. The fact that it looks like she's not going to do another album, and is content to just rehash her old warhorses for endless concert tours has a lot to do with it.

Plus, artists like Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell have a much larger and more varied body of work than Stevie. I still like Stevie, I just find myself listening to her less and less.
geez... :0

[markolas]

geez... :0

See, now everyone hates me.

[amber]

I never knew you were such a Linda fan. Do you have Western Wall, the album that her and Emmylou recorded together about six years ago? It's really great. :nod:

No, doll. Like I said, I'm a fan without having heard the bulk of her material. :)
I don't know if I should get that; it might be the most beautiful album in the world, causing my head to explode in a mountain of tears.
J/K - I would love to hear that. :nod: Though maybe not as much as her new wave album....:D

Yeah, I think some people here said that Linda's voice sounds a bit clinical, or cold, but to me it doesn't. I think it can contain a lot of pathos. Maybe sometimes it sounds cold, but I haven't heard that song. (except, maybe, in Pirates of Penzance w/Kevin Kline. But I saw that in highschool, and her part seemed almost operatic, and the higher the notes, the colder the sound.:laugh: Yes, I just made that rule up.)
Thanks for the tip. I actually wrote that down.

[amber]

As far as cuteness or beauty goes, it's a real toss up. Personally, I think Stevie has the better smile and facial expressions on stage, but that is just me. For example, that scene at the end of "Red Rocks" where Stevie is holding up a bird, OK the white winged dove, that refuses to fly away...her facial expression was just awesome IMO. I just haven't seen enough of Linda on stage to gauge.
You could be right, I haven't seen linda onstage at all. But I just meant her face, cute button nose, round brown eyes, little cheeks....like a stuffed teddy bear...:p Stevie is just as cute,but not as round/cute. I don't doubt Stevie is more expressive.

[JazmenFlowers]

See, now everyone hates me.
Not at all. Like I said earlier, I went through periods of needing to break away from FM/SN, but it was never because I wasn't thrilled with her setlists.

I do think she'll do another album, just give her time...

I just don't get the attitude that some have over her setlist...I just don't...I don't know what people expect. Yes, there are some artists (like the fabulous Tori Amos) that change their setlists nightly, but the majority don't...at least not the ones I've encountered.

As far as large and varied body of work, I can understand that...that's why I have my 3 divas...rock (Stevie), pop (Christina) and easy listening (Barbra) - to keep me satisfied ;)

I hope that you get a spark tho that makes you feel like something's missing...I always did.

[SillyDreamer]

I bought that album Mad Love when it was first released. Not very good. Way too much yelling for me.

I love Linda- although her penchant for singing every style of music under the sun leaves one to sift through her catalog for gems. Her early period is uneven and her vocal technique was still developing. I'm not really a huge fan of her 70's popular peak- with a few glimmers of greatness here and there. Too many stinky J.D. Souther songs and nostalgia covers. I love all three of her Nelson Riddle albums.

Linda's best period is probably her late 80's through the 90's efforts. Feels Like Home is probably her best album ever- I think every song on that one is a keeper. Her cover of Petty's "The Waiting" is :blob2: :] :blob1: Trio is awesome. The Western Wall Sessions with Emmylou Harris is fantastic. We Ran isn't too bad. Waddy is all over that record- production, songwriter, the works.

I don't think Linda and Stevie are really comparable. They just happen to be from the same era and have used many of the same session musicians. Other than that, their catalog and their musical composition are pretty much different animals.


It's so interesting to see how Linda's (well, really everyone's) work strikes people in different ways. I LOOOOOVE Mad Love, but could really take or leave We Ran. Western Wall is interesting, and I love both artists dearly, but it always struck me as inconsistent and a missed opportunity--"For a Dancer," for example, is the definition of a phoned in performance in my opinion. Which is upsetting because Emmylou and Linda are normally experts at making someone else's work their own. Of course, WW has it's highlights for me as well; "All I Left Behind" is about as beautiful a song as Emmylou Harris has ever written.

But back to Linda... here's my collection: Cry Like a Rainstorm (love it, save one or two songs), Feels Like Home (same thing), Get Closer (JUST bought and haven't gotten to yet), Greatest Hits 1 (excellent, of course), Heart Like a Wheel (just about a perfect album), Mad Love (it's not for everybody but I adore it), The Very Best Of, We Ran (eh), Western Wall (see above), and Winter Light (took me a long time to get into, but now it's a favorite).

I also thought it was interesting that nobody has mentioned one very special artist that both women worked with-one Lindsey Buckingham.

[JWS]

I also thought it was interesting that nobody has mentioned one very special artist that both women worked with-one Lindsey Buckingham.

I didn't know Linda Ronstadt ever worked with LB. When was this? Was he just a studio musician on one of her albumns?

[cliffdweller]

No, doll. Like I said, I'm a fan without having heard the bulk of her material. :)
I don't know if I should get that; it might be the most beautiful album in the world, causing my head to explode in a mountain of tears.

Oh it will, but not because of Linda's songs. Emmylou Harris has some real gems on that album, most notably sad is "All I Left Behind" and then the Roseanne Cash song, "Western Wall." AILB makes me tear up every time I hear it, kinda like "Red Dirt Girl" off of the Emmylou album of the same name.

[cliffdweller]

I'm not really a huge fan of her 70's popular peak


Oooh, I am. She covered a lot of great songwriters' stuff during that time, like Neil Young, Warren Zevon, and Jackson Browne. Her version of "Birds" by Neil is just absolute greatness. It's a tearjerker that's for sure, so Amber watch out!

[dissention]

AILB makes me tear up every time I hear it, kinda like "Red Dirt Girl" off of the Emmylou album of the same name.

But there won't be a mention in the news of the world
About the life and the death of a red dirt girl
Name's Lillian
Who never got any farther across the line than Meridian

Now the stars still fall on Alabama
Tonight she finally laid
That hammer down
Without a sound
In the red dirt ground

I. Get. Chills.

[cliffdweller]

But there won't be a mention in the news of the world
About the life and the death of a red dirt girl
Name's Lillian
Who never got any farther across the line than Meridian

Now the stars still fall on Alabama
Tonight she finally laid
That hammer down
Without a sound
In the red dirt ground

I. Get. Chills.

YOU just gave me chills!! I find a lump in my throat every time I listen to that song. I CANNOT listen to it without crying. Seriously.

Let's face it, Red Dirt Girl is a masterpiece. Michaelangelo is another beautiful song on that album--those lyrics are absolute poetry. What a songwriter she is, what an AMAZING songwriter.

[dissention]

YOU just gave me chills!! I find a lump in my throat every time I listen to that song. I CANNOT listen to it without crying. Seriously.

Let's face it, Red Dirt Girl is a masterpiece. Michaelangelo is another beautiful song on that album--those lyrics are absolute poetry. What a songwriter she is, what an AMAZING songwriter.

That ENTIRE album is a masterpiece. Emmylou at her absolute greatest. What bowls me over every time I hear it is the fact that she wrote every song but one. And then she wrote every song on "Stumble Into Grace," if I'm not mistaken. The woman hadn't written any of her own songs before that except for one album. She had all of that songwriting talent and didn't start showing it off until thirty years into her career? Shocking. I can't praise her enough, she's so good that words fail. I mean, just reading the lyrics to Michelangelo is amazing.

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were older
You were looking like Picasso
With a scar across your shoulder
You were kneeling by the river
You were digging up the bodies
Buried long ago
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed you were a pilgrim
On a highway out alone to find
The mother of your children
Who were still unborn and waiting
In the wings of some desire
Abandoned long ago
Michelangelo

Were you there at Armageddon
Was Paris really burning
Could I have been the one to pull you
From the point of no returning
And did I hear you calling out my name
Or was it forgotten long ago
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were riding
On a blood red painted pony
Up where the heavens were dividing
And the angels turned to ashes
You came tumbling with them to earth
So Far below
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were dying
In a field of thorn and roses
With a hawk about you crying
For the warrior slain in battle
From an arrow driven deep inside you
Long ago
Michelangelo

Did you suffer at the end
Would there be no one to remember
Did you banish all the old ghosts
With the terms of your surrender
And could you hear me calling out your name
Well I guess that I will never know
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were weeping
And your tears poured down like diamonds
For a love beyond all keeping
And you caught them one by one
In a million silk bandanas that I gave you long ago
Michelangelo

[DrK]

Having seen both Linda and Stevie in concert, it's comparing apples and oranges in terms of personality, music, etc. During her early years, Linda was usually very mechanical, just sang her songs -- hardly spoke to the audience. (I saw her before she became a superstar and played clubs, when she was a superstar, all the way to a 2004 fundraiser. She's gotten better about interacting with the audience over the years.) Stevie has always interacted with her audience.

Back in 1976 or 1977, when I saw Linda in concert, we had front row seats -- ironically, I had the same front row seats when I saw Stevie back in 1998. However, seated in the audience in the third row was Stevie Nicks.

[Tango]

I didn't know Linda Ronstadt ever worked with LB. When was this? Was he just a studio musician on one of her albumns?

http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/album/album.cgi?ALBUMID=451865

Linda's "Get Closer" album. The site says Lindsey played the accordian.

Lindsey was friends with Waddy Wachtel and probably others on the album. It's a virtual who's who in terms of musicians.

Peter Asher Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Percussion
Linda Ronstadt Main Performer, Vocals (Background), Vocals
Bruce Wildstein Assistant Engineer
Andrew Gold Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Harmony Vocals, Percussion, Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Guitar (Electric)
Kenny Edwards Vocals, Bass, Bass (Acoustic)
Kosh Art Direction, Design
Dan Dugmore ?, Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Edie Lehmann Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Aaron Rapoport Photography
David Grisman Mandolin
Doug Sax Mastering
Bob Glaub Bass
Dolly Parton Vocals
Lindsey Buckingham Accordion
Dennis Karmazyn Cello
J.D. Souther Vocals
Ron Larson Art Direction, Design
Jim Taylor Vocals (Background)
Rick Shlosser Drums
Richard Wachtel Guitar, Vocals
Val Garay Engineer, Mixing
Patti Austin Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Barbara Rooney Assistant Engineer
Rick Marotta Drums
Don Grolnick Organ, Synthesizer
Debbie Pearl Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Stuart Taylor Engineer
Niko Bolas Assistant Engineer
Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Emmylou Harris Vocals
George Massenburg Engineer, Mixing
Waddy Wachtel Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Brian Ahern Producer
Russ Kunkel Drums
Rosemary Butler Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Gloria Boyce Coordination
Bill Payne Conductor, Keyboards, Piano, String Arrangements, Wurlitzer, Organ, Fender Rhodes
Jim Horn Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
Jerry Peterson Saxophone
James Taylor Guitar

[amber]

Oooh, I am. She covered a lot of great songwriters' stuff during that time, like Neil Young, Warren Zevon, and Jackson Browne. Her version of "Birds" by Neil is just absolute greatness. It's a tearjerker that's for sure, so Amber watch out!
Yeah.
I have to take Emmylou in very small doses, b/c I don't like to cry all the time.

[JWS]

http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/album/album.cgi?ALBUMID=451865

Linda's "Get Closer" album. The site says Lindsey played the accordian.

Lindsey was friends with Waddy Wachtel and probably others on the album. It's a virtual who's who in terms of musicians.

Peter Asher Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Percussion
Linda Ronstadt Main Performer, Vocals (Background), Vocals
Bruce Wildstein Assistant Engineer
Andrew Gold Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Harmony Vocals, Percussion, Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Guitar (Electric)
Kenny Edwards Vocals, Bass, Bass (Acoustic)
Kosh Art Direction, Design
Dan Dugmore ?, Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Edie Lehmann Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Aaron Rapoport Photography
David Grisman Mandolin
Doug Sax Mastering
Bob Glaub Bass
Dolly Parton Vocals
Lindsey Buckingham Accordion
Dennis Karmazyn Cello
J.D. Souther Vocals
Ron Larson Art Direction, Design
Jim Taylor Vocals (Background)
Rick Shlosser Drums
Richard Wachtel Guitar, Vocals
Val Garay Engineer, Mixing
Patti Austin Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Barbara Rooney Assistant Engineer
Rick Marotta Drums
Don Grolnick Organ, Synthesizer
Debbie Pearl Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Stuart Taylor Engineer
Niko Bolas Assistant Engineer
Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Emmylou Harris Vocals
George Massenburg Engineer, Mixing
Waddy Wachtel Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Brian Ahern Producer
Russ Kunkel Drums
Rosemary Butler Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Gloria Boyce Coordination
Bill Payne Conductor, Keyboards, Piano, String Arrangements, Wurlitzer, Organ, Fender Rhodes
Jim Horn Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
Jerry Peterson Saxophone
James Taylor Guitar

I note also James Taylor and Dolly Parton. This was 1982...I don't know if Dolly was a big name yet outside of country circles.

[DavidMn]

I note also James Taylor and Dolly Parton. This was 1982...I don't know if Dolly was a big name yet outside of country circles.I think she was. I believe 9 to 5 came out in 1979 or so.

[cliffdweller]

That ENTIRE album is a masterpiece. Emmylou at her absolute greatest. What bowls me over every time I hear it is the fact that she wrote every song but one. And then she wrote every song on "Stumble Into Grace," if I'm not mistaken. The woman hadn't written any of her own songs before that except for one album. She had all of that songwriting talent and didn't start showing it off until thirty years into her career? Shocking.

EXACTLY what I was thinking. I couldn't believe she busted out with Red Dirt Girl after so many years of scant songwriting. She must've been VERY inspired. Thanks for posting the Michaelangelo lyrics!!

[JazmenFlowers]

Michelangelo
this is a fabulous song...very, very moving

you know something cool about all this ____ vs. Stevie is that it's making me pull out songs from Slick, Harry, Ronstadt and Harris I haven't listened to in years...it's fun

[amber]

Omigod, that's an outrageous swirl/twirl in your sig!

[The Tower]

Oooh, I am. She covered a lot of great songwriters' stuff during that time, like Neil Young, Warren Zevon, and Jackson Browne. Her version of "Birds" by Neil is just absolute greatness. It's a tearjerker that's for sure, so Amber watch out!
Well, I said I wasn't a huge fan.... Of all the albums Linda albums I own, here are my grades.

Her first three albums are "meh".

Don't Cry Now = B
Heart Like A Wheel = A
Prisoner In Disguise = C+ (uneven and "Heat Wave" really hurts...)
Hasten Down the Wind = B-
Simple Dreams = B+
Living In The USA = C- (bleh)
Mad Love = D ("Hurt So Bad" really does hurt so bad. Jeezus woman, stop yelling)
What's New = A+
Lush Life = A-
For Sentimental Reasons = A++
Trio = A+
Cry Like A Rainstorm... = B
Winter Light = B-
Feels Like Home = A+
We Ran = B-
Trio II = B+
Western Wall = B
A Merry Little Christmas = B
Hummin' to Myself = B- (It would have been lower, but "I'll Be Seeing You" is so fantastic that it brought up the grade).

[JazmenFlowers]

Omigod, that's an outrageous swirl/twirl in your sig!
danke darling

[dissention]

Well, I said I wasn't a huge fan.... Of all the albums Linda albums I own, here are my grades.


You sure do own a ****load of her albums for not being a huge fan, babe. :laugh:

[The Tower]

You sure do own a ****load of her albums for not being a huge fan, babe. :laugh:
Well, unlike Stevie, Linda actually continues to be productive. Since 1985 Stevie has released eight albums (four of which are with Fleetwood Mac - greatest hits and the box set don't count and The Dance shouldn't count cuz it's a retread and she really wasn't there for Tango, so that one probably doesn't count....). In the same time period Linda has released thirteen albums not counting the Xmas one. Granted, Linda doesn't write her own material- however, Stevie hasn't really written her own material on her own since Belladonna, so whatever I guess.

I love Linda's voice, so when she releases an album I usually buy it.

[JWS]

Well, unlike Stevie, Linda actually continues to be productive. Since 1985 Stevie has released eight albums (four of which are with Fleetwood Mac - greatest hits and the box set don't count and The Dance shouldn't count cuz it's a retread and she really wasn't there for Tango, so that one probably doesn't count....). In the same time period Linda has released thirteen albums not counting the Xmas one. Granted, Linda doesn't write her own material- however, Stevie hasn't really written her own material on her own since Belladonna, so whatever I guess.

I love Linda's voice, so when she releases an album I usually buy it.

Stevie has an excuse...she was on Klonopin for 8 years during that time. In her on words she says she was too tired to do anything but sit around or lay in bed.

[amber]

You sure do own a ****load of her albums for not being a huge fan, babe. :laugh:
took.words.right.out.of.mouth.
glad I read first before answering.
But if I had answered, I would've said "you sure have a lot of her albums for someone who isn't a huge fan."
Yep.
I decided I want Heart Like a Wheel and Mad Love. I like yelling.
And I don't like Desert Angel.
Just saying.
:laugh:

[BombaySapphire3]

That ENTIRE album is a masterpiece. Emmylou at her absolute greatest. What bowls me over every time I hear it is the fact that she wrote every song but one. And then she wrote every song on "Stumble Into Grace," if I'm not mistaken. The woman hadn't written any of her own songs before that except for one album. She had all of that songwriting talent and didn't start showing it off until thirty years into her career? Shocking. I can't praise her enough, she's so good that words fail. I mean, just reading the lyrics to Michelangelo is amazing.


Emmylou did write sporadically years before "The Ballad of Sally Rose "album .One such song was "From Boulder to Birmingham " written in the early 1970s as a reaction to the death of her musical mentor, the toweringly influential Gram Parsons .The song is as affecting as anything she has written since .One theory I have is that most songwriters seem to put out their seminal work in their 20s to mid 30s .Stevie would seem to be a perfect example of this.Since Emmylou wrote so infrequently at that age she seemed to have her great song ideas stored up for much later on .I can't think of how else to explain such brilliance seemingly almost out of the blue and so late into her career.

[markolas]

Not at all. Like I said earlier, I went through periods of needing to break away from FM/SN, but it was never because I wasn't thrilled with her setlists.

It's not just the setlists...she's just not adventurous as an artist, and I think she admits as much. But someone like Linda Ronstadt has just been so prolific and has done so many different things...country-rock, pop standards, Mexican music...and Joni Mitchell (who really rocks my world) is even more so. But Stevie just kind of does the same old, same old. Which is fine, but without her making any new music...the older stuff isn't holding my attention. Bella Donna a masterpiece, however, and I think it'll always be one of my favorite albums.

I do think she'll do another album, just give her time...

If she does, I'll totally buy it, but I just don't know if she will.

[markolas]

I like Linda Ronstadt, but will admit to only owning a few of her albums. The first Greatest Hits, Heart Like a Wheel...and Western Wall & the first Trio album. I've always thought her mid-70s period was the best...admittedly, I haven't heard much of her Nelson Riddle stuff or the Mexican albums. I may have to work on that after I've gotten all of Joni's albums. :D

[The Tower]

Stevie has an excuse...she was on Klonopin for 8 years during that time. In her on words she says she was too tired to do anything but sit around or lay in bed.
Meh. I don't buy it. Her "lay in bed" crap was supposedly Epstein-Barr wasn't it? Stevie managed to put together The Other Side of the Mirror while on Klonopin and that is tied as my favorite album of hers. I'll give her the two and 1/2 years from 1994 to The Dance to recover and get back into shape. But all that time to finally release TISL? The box set couldn't have required that much. Everything was pretty much done. A week or two tops to assemble that thing. Stevie could have had two solo albums in the 90's in between Street Angel and TISL (1996 & 1999) and she could have released a solo album in 2005 easy.

Feh. She's lazy.

took.words.right.out.of.mouth.
glad I read first before answering.
Hello, woman... I believe that this was what I said:
I'm not really a huge fan of her 70's popular peak- with a few glimmers of greatness here and there.

But if I had answered, I would've said "you sure have a lot of her albums for someone who isn't a huge fan."
Yep.
I have lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of records, cassettes and compact discs. Probably over 1,000 by now. I am a huge fan of Linda- she's definitely in the top five in terms of the greatest female singers, strictly based on the voice on its own merit.

I decided I want Heart Like a Wheel and Mad Love. I like yelling.
Heart Like a Wheel is a very classic mid-70's album- very good, too. For some odd reason, I have a feeling you'd just be allll gooey over Mad Love. It's kind of "Go-Go's plus Laura Branigan divided by Quarterflash to the square root of Blondie (the very square root- it was a pathetic new wave attempt). So, it sounds right up your alley, Bunsie.

And I don't like Desert Angel.
Just saying.
:laugh:
That's cuz you're a Frontliner who puts it all on the li-hine and is waited for in Egypt. But, at least you're consistent- hey, and that's good. So what is this, when you can, what about me?

It's not just the setlists...she's just not adventurous as an artist, and I think she admits as much.
It's my Number One Stevie Pet Peeve.... her laziness.

But someone like Linda Ronstadt has just been so prolific and has done so many different things...country-rock, pop standards, Mexican music...and Joni Mitchell (who really rocks my world) is even more so.
I have all of Joni's albums. Sometimes it's hard for me to listen to her stuff, knowing that she's retired. But, I worship the **** out of her nonetheless.

But Stevie just kind of does the same old, same old. Which is fine, but without her making any new music...the older stuff isn't holding my attention. Bella Donna a masterpiece, however, and I think it'll always be one of my favorite albums.
:nod:

Just last night I sat down at the piano and played the beginning of "Bella Donna" and chills just went WHOOP up my spine...

"And the lady's feeling just like the moon that she loved
Don't you know that the stars are a part of her...
Whoa, and the lady's feeling just like the MOOON that she loved!!!"

Good **** that Stevie.

[amber]

Heart Like a Wheel is a very classic mid-70's album- very good, too. For some odd reason, I have a feeling you'd just be allll gooey over Mad Love. It's kind of "Go-Go's plus Laura Branigan divided by Quarterflash to the square root of Blondie (the very square root- it was a pathetic new wave attempt). So, it sounds right up your alley, Bunsie.
.

I love you, Towie. :)
Hey, I thought it was "don't you know that the stahs ahah a paht of us.." ? (I absolutely could not spell those words properly, I apologize)

anyway - you sure got my number on Mad Love. :laugh: Although, it would be more perfect if it was lightely sauteed with Bonnie Tyler and just a dash of Benatard.
Oh, and for the record, I believe that Stevie had issues with Klonopin and getting out of bed and all that. I don't really believe that someone who toured incessantly for years and years with FM and her own band, and who worked to support herself and Lindsey, could really be that lazy. Many scientific accounts say Klonopin can be nast, and I believe she had epstein barr as well. Stevie just strikes me as someone who would go go go as much as she could for the most part. Gemini's usually do. Especially if they have rising Aries and moon in Capricorn. All that is actually the antithesis of lazy.:laugh:
Also, if she was depressed (which I'm sure she was) that can make people very lethargic as well. My mom used to nap the **** out of her days b/c of that. :shrug: I guess there could be a certain amount of resting on her laurels by that point, but I wouldn't really go so far as to say she was consistently lazy.

[JazmenFlowers]

It's not just the setlists...she's just not adventurous as an artist, and I think she admits as much. But someone like Linda Ronstadt has just been so prolific and has done so many different things...country-rock, pop standards, Mexican music...and Joni Mitchell (who really rocks my world) is even more so. But Stevie just kind of does the same old, same old. Which is fine, but without her making any new music...the older stuff isn't holding my attention. Bella Donna a masterpiece, however, and I think it'll always be one of my favorite albums.



If she does, I'll totally buy it, but I just don't know if she will.
aight bro...np

[BombaySapphire3]

Oh, and for the record, I believe that Stevie had issues with Klonopin and getting out of bed and all that. I don't really believe that someone who toured incessantly for years and years with FM and her own band, and who worked to support herself and Lindsey, could really be that lazy. Many scientific accounts say Klonopin can be nast, and I believe she had epstein barr as well. Stevie just strikes me as someone who would go go go as much as she could for the most part. Gemini's usually do. Especially if they have rising Aries and moon in Capricorn. All that is actually the antithesis of lazy.:laugh:
Also, if she was depressed (which I'm sure she was) that can make people very lethargic as well. My mom used to nap the **** out of her days b/c of that. :shrug: I guess there could be a certain amount of resting on her laurels by that point, but I wouldn't really go so far as to say she was consistently lazy.
Ok so if we give her that she had her problems with Klonopin and Epstein Barr in the late 80 -early 90s, what is causing her aversion to want to do anything creative now?She has enough of a fan base that almost any record label would support her putting out new material I believe .I can't give up on her and be 'over her' because she meant so much to me in the past but I am of the generation that grew up with her at her zenith .I can't see her holding on to newer fans indefinitely by not doing anything other than tour as an oldies type act.I alreadly see the inevitable erosion among some of the younger Ledgies on here.

[dissention]

Emmylou did write sporadically years before "The Ballad of Sally Rose "album .One such song was "From Boulder to Birmingham " written in the early 1970s as a reaction to the death of her musical mentor, the toweringly influential Gram Parsons .The song is as affecting as anything she has written since .One theory I have is that most songwriters seem to put out their seminal work in their 20s to mid 30s .Stevie would seem to be a perfect example of this.Since Emmylou wrote so infrequently at that age she seemed to have her great song ideas stored up for much later on .I can't think of how else to explain such brilliance seemingly almost out of the blue and so late into her career.

Listening to her self-penned songs, I was a bit taken aback when I read the liner notes to "Stumble Into Grace" where she thanks, I believe, Jill Cunniff and says something along the lines of "Songwriting does not come easy to me." Geez, Emmylou, I had no idea when listening to your songs. And I say that without a hint of sarcasm. Those songs are so brilliant that they seem like the work of a veteran songwriting pro.

[dissention]

It's not just the setlists...she's just not adventurous as an artist, and I think she admits as much. But someone like Linda Ronstadt has just been so prolific and has done so many different things...country-rock, pop standards, Mexican music...and Joni Mitchell (who really rocks my world) is even more so. But Stevie just kind of does the same old, same old. Which is fine, but without her making any new music...the older stuff isn't holding my attention. Bella Donna a masterpiece, however, and I think it'll always be one of my favorite albums.

That's one of the most insightful things I've read on here in a while. And that's precisely how I feel. It's to the stage where even when she does release new stuff, the songs are just newly packaged retreads of stuff she did years earlier. I think I said before that I thought she's been plagiarizing from herself for eons. I don't see any growth as an artist in her. Yes, I still get tremendous enjoyment out of the past stuff (up until RAL, that is), but she ceased being a vital artist a long while ago, imo. I don't think it makes you or I or anyone else less of a fan simply because of viewpoints like that, either.

If I were to disagree with anything you said, I'd disagree with your assertion that it's fine to do the same old, same old. It's not fine, it's downright lazy.

[markolas]

It's my Number One Stevie Pet Peeve.... her laziness.

I dunno what it is. I think she picks one thing that works and then doesn't deviate. Which is fine for what it is, but I need some diversity.

I have all of Joni's albums. Sometimes it's hard for me to listen to her stuff, knowing that she's retired. But, I worship the **** out of her nonetheless.

I've been a fan for about 10 years...I'd heard everything up to 1977, and a few songs from her '80s albums, then everything from 1994 on...until recently. Then, I heard the Wild Things Run Fast album, and something about it just gave me a whole new appreciation of her. There are a couple of songs that are something akin to "blue-eyed soul" that are just great. It made me realize completely that people who call her a folk singer really have no idea what they're talking about.

Just last night I sat down at the piano and played the beginning of "Bella Donna" and chills just went WHOOP up my spine...

There isn't a clunker on the album, IMO. And it's probably the only album of hers where that's the case. Although I do like RAL. :lol:

[amber]

Ok so if we give her that she had her problems with Klonopin and Epstein Barr in the late 80 -early 90s, what is causing her aversion to want to do anything creative now?She has enough of a fan base that almost any record label would support her putting out new material I believe .I can't give up on her and be 'over her' because she meant so much to me in the past but I am of the generation that grew up with her at her zenith .I can't see her holding on to newer fans indefinitely by not doing anything other than tour as an oldies type act.I alreadly see the inevitable erosion among some of the younger Ledgies on here.

I dunno. She's old? My parents are exactly her age, and they sit around in chairs a lot. And they're somewhat healthy.
As far as the newer fans - there is so much Stevie material out there that it's going to take me a very long time to see/hear it all. That will keep the youngin's busy for a bit of awhile, too. Some will move on.

And Markolas? You don't have to laugh because you like RAL.:cool:

[BombaySapphire3]

I dunno. She's old? My parents are exactly her age, and they sit around in chairs a lot. And they're somewhat healthy.
Emmylou Harris is a year older than Stevie and I remember Diss saying that the album she is working on now is her most adventurous yet.But maybe Emmylou is the shining exception to the rule.:shrug:

[dissention]

there is so much Stevie material out there that it's going to take me a very long time to see/hear it all.

There ain't THAT much. For someone who claims to be so prolific, her actual output is pretty paltry. Unless you're talking about demos and stuff like that, to which I say sure, there's plenty of it, but it takes a strong stomach & effort to listen to and collect it. :laugh:

[amber]

Emmylou Harris is a year older than Stevie and I remember Diss saying that the album she is working on now is her most adventurous yet.But maybe Emmylou is the shining exception to the rule.:shrug:

Perhaps. She looks really healthy, too. I have read much about her personal life, so I don't know about her drug use and all that, but if she did less that would be a factor. Also, she sings in a way that is not too damaging to her vocal chords - so she is not limited by her vocal capacity like Stevie is. I think Stevie in some ways has a more staid sensibility, but I think in other ways she is very spontaneous and adventurous and unusual. Just perhaps not in all the ways we would've hoped. :laugh: Hey, Stevie doesn't break her song mold, and Emmylou doesn't dervish manically around the stage and do things with her voice that are ill advised, yet beautiful, yet terrible, yet otherworldly, and extremely erratic. You can't have it all.

I cannot currently think of any real good argument for the state of some of Stevie's lyrics. I might have to concede that one. I can say, however, that Stevie was writing bad lyrics quite a while before she became famous (Amber), and writing her worst and best lyrics simultaneously throughout the late seventies early - mid 80's. So, I look at it as something intrinsic, not laziness.
Hey, that was a pretty good justification after all! :woohoo:

[amber]

There ain't THAT much. For someone who claims to be so prolific, her actual output is pretty paltry. Unless you're talking about demos and stuff like that, to which I say sure, there's plenty of it, but it takes a strong stomach & effort to listen to and collect it. :laugh:

That is exactly what I am talking about. Plus all the video footage. I haven't seen but a midge. I mean, hello, I have six different versions of Blue Lamp rehearsal with the Heartbreakers, and two other Blue Lamp rehearsals besides. A few different Gypsies, etc. etc. till the end of time. There'd still be a considerable body there without the demos that never got released.
Sir Snarkalot. :D

[dissention]

That is exactly what I am talking about. Plus all the video footage. I haven't seen but a midge. I mean, hello, I have six different versions of Blue Lamp rehearsal with the Heartbreakers, and two other Blue Lamp rehearsals besides. A few different Gypsies, etc. etc. till the end of time. There'd still be a considerable body there without the demos that never got released.
Sir Snarkalot. :D

Starshine!! You used to be silver!!

Just for you. :p

[JWS]

Whoa Nellie! This thread was about a comparison between Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks. How does Emmylou and others enter into this?

[amber]

Starshine!! You used to be silver!!

Just for you. :p

:lol: :lol:

You won't believe this, but I actually just came back to edit my post and put: "Starshine! Oh you used to be silver!" in big letters. :shocked: Seriously, I stopped in the middle of constructing a grilled cheese to do it.

It's never not funny. :shrug:

[JazmenFlowers]

it seems like we are running out of original criticisms...

...so, we've covered her laziness, her sucky setlists, her lack of varied projects, lack of "adventure" and small catalog...

come on guys...how else can we slice it?

[BombaySapphire3]

Whoa Nellie! This thread was about a comparison between Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks. How does Emmylou and others enter into this?
You obviously have not been around on the Ledge for very long.Going from Stevie/Linda to Emmylou is a very minor digression compared to where alot of threads go on here.:lol:

[dissention]

:lol: :lol:

You won't believe this, but I actually just came back to edit my post and put: "Starshine! Oh you used to be silver!" in big letters. :shocked: Seriously, I stopped in the middle of constructing a grilled cheese to do it.

It's never not funny. :shrug:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

It came onto my Winamp playlist and I just HAD to.

PS: If you have a CD burner, you know that you can burn that MPEG I sent you onto a blank CD to watch in your DVD player, right? It would be way more fun than sitting in front of a monitor. :laugh:

[amber]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

It came onto my Winamp playlist and I just HAD to.

PS: If you have a CD burner, you know that you can burn that MPEG I sent you onto a blank CD to watch in your DVD player, right? It would be way more fun than sitting in front of a monitor. :laugh:

Oh, sweetiedarling, my monitor is my DVD player. My TV has video. But - I don't have to sit in front of it because I bolted the flatscreen to the wall on a swivel arm - I just face it toward the couch and voila.
Doesn't it have to be a DVD cd or something?

[amber]

it seems like we are running out of original criticisms...

...so, we've covered her laziness, her sucky setlists, her lack of varied projects, lack of "adventure" and small catalog...

come on guys...how else can we slice it?

But have you heard Starshine?



:laugh:

There's not really another way to slice it, I guess.
:xoxo:

[dissention]

Oh, sweetiedarling, my monitor is my DVD player. My TV has video. But - I don't have to sit in front of it because I bolted the flatscreen to the wall on a swivel arm - I just face it toward the couch and voila.
Doesn't it have to be a DVD cd or something?

That's ingenious. :thumbsup:

No, it can be just a regular blank CD if they're MPEG files.

[markolas]

That's one of the most insightful things I've read on here in a while. And that's precisely how I feel. It's to the stage where even when she does release new stuff, the songs are just newly packaged retreads of stuff she did years earlier.

For the most part, yeah...but, it's to the point where I think...why expect anything else? Like, when people here talk about how cool it would be for Rick Rubin to produce an album for her...it's a nice idea, but it'll be a cold day in hell. Stevie thinks of herself as a big, flashy rock star...she's never going to cut her hair, tour small clubs, and release a stripped-down album without all the bombast, as great as it might be if she did. I honestly don't think a new album from her would knock me out. TISL was the best thing she'd done in quite a number of years, but I have a feeling a follow-up to it would be anti-climactic. Even though I'd totally buy it. :D

I think I said before that I thought she's been plagiarizing from herself for eons. I don't see any growth as an artist in her.

I agree, but I don't know if I really expect that of her. I'm not sure why. I think it might be because it was a bit late in the game when I got into her, so I already knew that she did her best songwriting (for the most part) from 1975-81 and then went downhill.

I don't think it makes you or I or anyone else less of a fan simply because of viewpoints like that, either.

I don't think it does either. I mean, I like RAL, and even parts of Street Angel. :p

If I were to disagree with anything you said, I'd disagree with your assertion that it's fine to do the same old, same old. It's not fine, it's downright lazy.

Yeah, but she's far from the only one. She found a niche and she stayed there, and I've just never expected anything else. I think my biggest peeve is probably that she's too concerned with selling records and pleasing her audience. Joni Mitchell (I hate to keep bringing her up, but I can't think of anyone to better make my point) basically alienated her entire audience when she did the album with Charles Mingus, but she didn't give a ****. She did it because she loved the music. Everything else was secondary. And I don't think Stevie feels that way. She wants people to like her.

[JWS]

You obviously have not been around on the Ledge for very long.Going from Stevie/Linda to Emmylou is a very minor digression compared to where alot of threads go on here.:lol:

True...I haven't been around here long...but I have been a contributor to other message boards (not dealing with Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac) and off topic posts have been deleted or redirected to another area. I've noticed some of these threads have over 100 posts and maybe 30 or so are on topic. Hey, I don't care...if everyone wants to go off talking about everything under the sun that's OK with me. lol

[JWS]

I'm getting this thread back on track with this. Linda Ronstadt was a star way back in 1966 with the Stone Poneys at the extreme young age of 20. Stevie Nicks was 27 before she piggybacked her way into Fleetwood Mac stardom with LB.

Has anyone ever thought what would have happened to Stevie if Mick Fleetwood and FM had not come calling for LB? Well, in an interview, SN says BN would have had made it big on their own, but I don't think so. Stevie was very lucky, and talented.

[JazmenFlowers]

She wants people to like her.
I don't think that's necessarily so. I think it's more that Stevie's music is, in part, created for her listeners - as she has said to create a "little world to escape to for a minute of your time", it's not that she wants people to like her...just my opinion

[JazmenFlowers]

I'm getting this thread back on track with this. Linda Ronstadt was a star way back in 1966 with the Stone Poneys at the extreme young age of 20. Stevie Nicks was 27 before she piggybacked her way into Fleetwood Mac stardom with LB.

Has anyone ever thought what would have happened to Stevie if Mick Fleetwood and FM had not come calling for LB? Well, in an interview, SN says BN would have had made it big on their own, but I don't think so. Stevie was very lucky, and talented.
I don't think BN would have made it big, but I think Stevie would have been a star in some way, regardless. She's too charismatic and talented, not to mention gorgeous. FM was a very, very lucky turn of the cards, but I think she would have made it anyway, maybe just not to the magnitude that she did with FM.

[The Tower]

I love you, Towie. :)
I love you too, honey.

anyway - you sure got my number on Mad Love. :laugh: Although, it would be more perfect if it was lightely sauteed with Bonnie Tyler and just a dash of Benatard.
Here I go to all the trouble to make this big mathematics analogy and you muck it all up with culinary stuff. Whatever....

Oh, and for the record, I believe that Stevie had issues with Klonopin and getting out of bed and all that. I don't really believe that someone who toured incessantly for years and years with FM and her own band, and who worked to support herself and Lindsey, could really be that lazy. Many scientific accounts say Klonopin can be nast, and I believe she had epstein barr as well. Stevie just strikes me as someone who would go go go as much as she could for the most part. Gemini's usually do. Especially if they have rising Aries and moon in Capricorn. All that is actually the antithesis of lazy.:laugh:
I'm sure all that has a lick of truth to it as well. However, Stevie's actions have revealed her laziness. I think she had something to prove 1975-1980. Her solo career was the beginnning of the end in terms of her songwriting craft. Every once and awhile she would snap out of her narcissism, but not often.

it seems like we are running out of original criticisms...

...so, we've covered her laziness, her sucky setlists, her lack of varied projects, lack of "adventure" and small catalog...

come on guys...how else can we slice it?
Oh, jeezus Jason enough already. Your signature and stance has already made your post redundant. No one is attacking. In my post I talked about the gorgeousness of Bella Donna. Did you notice that??? No.

I've been a fan for about 10 years...I'd heard everything up to 1977, and a few songs from her '80s albums, then everything from 1994 on...until recently. Then, I heard the Wild Things Run Fast album, and something about it just gave me a whole new appreciation of her. There are a couple of songs that are something akin to "blue-eyed soul" that are just great. It made me realize completely that people who call her a folk singer really have no idea what they're talking about.
Yeah, well.... she never really was one. She was penned into that mold without even having a chance to voice her own opinion. Just because she sang in a soprano register and sang her voice to a lone guitar never made her a folk singer, although people saw her as just that. Her songwriting and tenacious intellect liberated her from that sterotype fairly quickly. She singlehandly created the singer/songwriter/confessionalist, which Stevie has greatly benefitted from.

And Markolas? You don't have to laugh because you like RAL.:cool:
Oh, yes he does- that album is crap.

I don't think that's necessarily so. I think it's more that Stevie's music is, in part, created for her listeners - as she has said to create a "little world to escape to for a minute of your time", it's not that she wants people to like her...just my opinion
Oh, she wants people to like her alright.

[Ghost_Tracker]

Oh, she wants people to like her alright.



*GT places finger on nose and points* . . . . :nod:

[Miss Vicky]

After reading a bit of this thread, I dug through my parents' LP collection and got out LR's "Greatest Hits" and "Hasten Down the Wind."

Granted, these two records probably aren't the best representation of Linda's work, but I have to say I had very mixed feelings about the music. The first thing that struck me was that between the two albums, I only recall seeing one track that Linda had any songwriting credit for. Instead, I saw names like Warren Zevon, Paul Anka, Phil Everly, and Glenn Frey and Don Henley and judging by a lot of other people's responses, it seems safe to say that Ronstadt makes quite the habit of recording covers.

Don't get me wrong, Linda has a great voice, but it's hard for me to have any respect for someone who relies so heavily on other people's work, even if they do them well. I've made it no secret that I am not a Stevie Nicks fan, but between the two I have to give my vote to SN simply for the fact that most of her songs are original, even if not always great.

[DavidMn]

After reading a bit of this thread, I dug through my parents' LP collection and got out LR's "Greatest Hits" and "Hasten Down the Wind."

Granted, these two records probably aren't the best representation of Linda's work, but I have to say I had very mixed feelings about the music. The first thing that struck me was that between the two albums, I only recall seeing one track that Linda had any songwriting credit for. Instead, I saw names like Warren Zevon, Paul Anka, Phil Everly, and Glenn Frey and Don Henley and judging by a lot of other people's responses, it seems safe to say that Ronstadt makes quite the habit of recording covers.

Don't get me wrong, Linda has a great voice, but it's hard for me to have any respect for someone who relies so heavily on other people's work, even if they do them well. I've made it no secret that I am not a Stevie Nicks fan, but between the two I have to give my vote to SN simply for the fact that most of her songs are original, even if not always great.Fair enough. I can certainly respect that, even if I dont necessarily agree.:nod:

[~*BellaDonna*~]

Sigh. This is like asking me which of my children I love more. I just can't do it...

[Macfanforever]

Atlease Linda tried other music types and won and get top hits and a truck load of number 1 hits .Stevie and the Mac stick to the same old music and never wanted to expand to other music genders and did not accept written tunes from outside sources except a few and did not get any more number 1 hits.The handful of country flavored tunes from her and the Mac like After The Glitter Fades and Macs country flavored were not pushed to the stations and badly promoted .They could of been potential hits if they were pushed promoting them properly.

[TsnFan4Ever]

Linda is from Tucson and is a few years older than Stevie and had her first hit record ("Different Drum") around 1967 (I went to middle school with her cousin). She was already in LA and was already successful in her solo career with the guys who later became the Eagles as her back-up band when Stevie and Lindsey were starting their music career in northern CA.

Stevie is from Phoenix originally but her father was a corporate executive so she grew up in AZ, Texas and California (family frequently relocated because of his promotions). Stevie and Lindsey joined Fleetwood Mac in the mid-70's and the rest, as they say, is history.

It's ironic that Linda and Stevie have many friends in common (including Waddy and Don Henley) but apparently either haven't met or don't remember meeting. Both are very intelligent, articulate women who have strong opinions and because of their focus on their careers, have remained mostly single throughout their lives.

Sadly, Linda was forced into retirement prematurely for medical reasons. Hopefully Stevie will have a very long-lasting career. I hope someday they will be able to hang out together. It would be so interesting to hear the stories they'd be able to share and feel confident that they would have a strong connection.

[He's So Unusual]

I've never warmed to Linda Ronstadt. She had a great voice, but she's just a bit meh. Other than a couple of songs I don't think she was ever that popular in the UK.

[markolas]

Wow, this thread is a blast from the past! Sounds like I was pretty hard on Stevie then - I don't think I meant to be.

I have listened to more Linda Ronstadt in the last 10 years...she's pretty great. She almost single-handedly resurrected the Great American Songbook in the '80s with her Nelson Riddle albums. I don't think anyone believed those songs could be made popular again, but she did it. It's criminal how swept under the carpet they were in the '60s and '70s.

She and Stevie definitely had a lot of connections in the Southern California rock scene in the '70s. I sometimes wonder who slept with more Eagles, Linda or Stevie. :laugh:

Comparing them really is like comparing apples & oranges, though.

[porkpie]

I love Stevie, but Linda is arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, female vocalists of all time. However, their back catalogues compliment each well with the crossover in band members, collaborators, etc.

[Missy]

I notice this thread was started about 10 years ago I am very sad that Linda is now suffering from illness. To me they were very different artists despite being similar eras and having common associates.

There are some pretty young singers around nowadays but so many of them seem to be autotuned. In the 1970s though there seemed to be quite a few female artists who were not only very attractive, they also had the talent to match. Another one was a young Ann Wilson. I think these girls back in that day had as much if not more sex appeal than the young artists today, and they weren't going around practically naked all the time to prove it.

The live clips of LR with The Eagles in the 1970s amaze me with her power and range. Technically, she was far more accomplished than Stevie. Just about the only thing they had in common with their voices I think was they both used some vibrato. But Stevie has the edge on songwriting. Stevie was very prolific for a time but then seemed to lose a whole decade under the influence of Klonopin. If you are a writer of your own material and are a perfectionist, it can take longer to put out records. Touring is also a very grueling lifestyle and many performers have fallen prey to energy enhancing drugs since the 1950s to keep up the pace.

I'd pick Stevie as my personal fave but have a lot of respect for Linda Ronstadt regardless. I pray that she is doing relatively okay and that one day we have better methods of treating these conditions.

[~*BellaDonna*~]

I notice this thread was started about 10 years ago I am very sad that Linda is now suffering from illness. To me they were very different artists despite being similar eras and having common associates.

There are some pretty young singers around nowadays but so many of them seem to be autotuned. In the 1970s though there seemed to be quite a few female artists who were not only very attractive, they also had the talent to match. Another one was a young Ann Wilson. I think these girls back in that day had as much if not more sex appeal than the young artists today, and they weren't going around practically naked all the time to prove it.

The live clips of LR with The Eagles in the 1970s amaze me with her power and range. Technically, she was far more accomplished than Stevie. Just about the only thing they had in common with their voices I think was they both used some vibrato. But Stevie has the edge on songwriting. Stevie was very prolific for a time but then seemed to lose a whole decade under the influence of Klonopin. If you are a writer of your own material and are a perfectionist, it can take longer to put out records. Touring is also a very grueling lifestyle and many performers have fallen prey to energy enhancing drugs since the 1950s to keep up the pace.

I'd pick Stevie as my personal fave but have a lot of respect for Linda Ronstadt regardless. I pray that she is doing relatively okay and that one day we have better methods of treating these conditions.
You're right and I agree with you 100%. :nod:

[Tango]

This is a current update on Linda Ronstadt- it's tragic that she lost her golden voice. This link includes a current video of Linda:

http://abc7news.com/entertainment/linda-ronstadt-opens-up-about-parkinsons-disease/1287434/

If you pay attention, there is also a bit of a clip of the late, amazing Glenn Frey with the Eagles.