Qustion on Linda Ronstadt
 

Thanks to Stevie in part I discovered Linda Ronstadt. I know that she doesn't write her own songs but she's had few enjoyable covers. Lately I've bought her 1980 album "Mad Love" and must say it's quite amazing. I didn't expect Linda Ronstadt to sing in a New Wave/Punk way. I have a question: are there any other albums by this artist worth checking out? I will be grateful for information.

Pretty much anything she did prior to that album is worth checking out: (but, take it with a grain of salt, I was a really big Linda Ronstadt fan back in the 70's. I liked her country/rock material the best, wasn't a big fan of her delving into the 40's standards or her foray into the Mariachi sounding stuff)

Silk Purse
Hand Sown...Home Grown
Linda Ronstadt (w/a majority of the Eagles as her backup band)
Don't Cry Now
Heart Like A Wheel
Prisoner In Disguise
Simple Dreams
Hasten Down The Wind
Get Closer
Cry Like A Rainstorm
Hummin' To Myself (her "jazz" album)

Or, the two she did with The Stone Poneys:
The Stone Poneys
Evergreen, Vol 2

The bolded ones being the ones when (IMHO) she was at her peak of both her voice and popularity.

Since you're seemingly on a path of "discovery", may I also suggest you check out Karla Bonoff (she wrote quite a few songs covered by Linda). Her All My Life: The Best Of Karla Bonoff is a great overview of her career and features almost all the songs that were covered by Linda as well. (it's interesting to hear the similarities & differences of how the songwriter herself presents the songs compared to the more familiar Linda Ronstadt versions).

Thanks a lot for sharing this knowledge:) I am not going to explore her "Great American Songbook" albums, because to be honest I am not into this type of "elevator muzak". On the other hand, I am quite interested in her Spanish-language albums. There was a time when I was a big fan of Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine (my guilty pleasure), so maybe there's something good to discover. I read a lot about "Heart Like a Wheel". Seems like a landmark album of her career, so maybe that will be good starting point. Anyway, thanks again for advice :)

Yes indeed. Ronstadt's best work imo.

She's great.I love her music.She can sing anything that you can give to her.

Not directly related to the opening post, but maybe interesting to some:

NEW YORK (AP) — Linda Ronstadt broke barriers for women as one of the top-selling artists of her generation, and she's going to detail how she did it in a new memoir for Simon & Schuster.

The book publisher announced Thursday that it had acquired her autobiography, titled "Heart Like a Wheel," after her Grammy-winning, multiplatinum album.

In a statement, Simon & Schuster said: "Few singers have been as wide-ranging or distinctive in their artistry."

Ronstadt sold tens of millions of records starting in the 1970s with pop hits like "You're No Good" and "When Will I Be Loved." But she also segued into country, pop standards and mariachi music, among other genres.

She also had high-profile romances with California Gov. Jerry Brown and George Lucas.

The book is due in 2013.
___
Online:
http://www.simonandschuster.com

news.yahoo.com/linda-ronstadt-write-memoir-190117325.html

The thing that surprises me the most is that Linda Ronstadt appeared to be popular only in US. I haven't heard anything by her on Polish radio. Strange, because she had beautiful voice. "Hurt So Bad" and "How Do I Make You" are incredible songs but "I Can't Wait" :) to discover other pearls from her discography (which seems to be quite lengthy).

I'm a big Linda fan and got quite excited and all set to list her best (in my opinion) albums... and then saw that Chili got there before me and that his advice is just what I'd give! I'd definitely go for all of those albums in bold. Linda and I also have the same birthday, which is of interest to nobody but me!

For a general overview of her earlier material and the first few albums on Chili's list I'd recommend the 2-disc collection The Best Of The Capitol Years. It's reasonably priced and includes the albums Silk Purse, Hand Sown...Home Grown, Linda Ronstadt and Heart Like A Wheel. It's a great way to get the earlier stuff. Strangely it doesn't include Don't Cry Now, even though this came before Heart Like A Wheel which was actually recorded on either Reprise or Asylum! (can't remember which)

In general I much prefer her country rock material than her rock n roll covers, although they are fun. Prisoner In Disguise in particular is excellent, especially You Tell Me That I'm Falling Down.

For later stuff I'd also include Feels Like Home (1995) and especially We Ran (1998). There's also a brilliant duets album with Emmylou Harris - Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions from 1999.

Good call on the Karla Bonoff collection too.

Thanks for the tips. I've already ordered "Heart Like a Wheel" and "Feels Like Home" (because it was too cheap to sleep on it :))

Linda may not be the best interpreter of them, but standards are hardly "elevator muzak." :rolleyes:

Anyway...Heart Like a Wheel is probably her best album. Mad Love is an interesting one, too - it was her only foray into new wave music, except for that cover of Elvis Costello's "Alison" on Back in the U.S.A.

She's led an interesting life...hopefully her autobiography will reflect that. :)

I'm not sure whether this is going to be a particularly interesting read or not. If there is one thing everyone can agree about Linda Ronstadt is that she has never opened up about her private life. She has given many interviews- mostly about music, politics and art- but we hardly know anything about her as a person. Could it be that she is harboring some deeply-held, dark secret, or is her private life a complete snooze that isn't worth mentioning (like mine, for example. :lol: )? Well, even if there are no juicy tidbits about her private life in the book, I am endlessly fascinated by her ramblings about music. She really has been a musical journey(wo)man who has seen and done it all. And she takes it all very, very seriously.

I read in a recent-ish interview (2010) that she is completely retired now and that she is basically a full-time mother of adopted children living in San Francisco. There was no mention of her health, but I'd read somewhere that it is not great. I was hoping that Linda would be singing well into her old age, but she admits that she doesn't have the voice anymore. Who knows if she is just being modest or whether she has really lost that voice? :shrug:

{slaps forehead} "D'OH!" I completely forgot about the Back In The USA album! That should be in my bolded album list, too!

Also, the Feels Like Home album, too...that has a great cover of Tom Petty's "The Waiting". :thumbsup:

Maybe you're right...but I am tired of listening ageing music legends singing the same songs over and over again (with slightly different arrangements) :) I used to like Natalie Cole's stuff from the early 90's ("Unforgettable...With Love", "Take a Look") but now I can't stand it anymore. There's too much of this type of music out there. The only decent "cover" album I've heard in a long time is probably "At Last" by Cyndi Lauper (even though it still has got its dull moments as well:))

I remember Ronstadt and Brown went on a big game hunt Africa safari together. There was a photo of them riding an elephant!

Mad Love is an album I really like as well. I've not heard her entire catalogue but would recommend the following albums:

Heart Like A Wheel
Get Closer
What's New
Trio(with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris)
Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind
Winter Light(my personal favourite)
Feels Like Home
We Ran
Trio II
Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions(with Emmylou Harris)

How wonderful! I'm looking forward to reading this.

My brother shares the same birthday. He was born on Linda's 30th birthday. :)

When I saw Linda in concert for the first(and last) time in November of 2003, she performed those pop standards. You wouldn't believe how resentful some people were because she wasn't singing her signature hits and how they openly complained in the venue after the performance. Had those unsophisticated bores actually followed her career, they might have realized that she preferred singing the older songs. Nevertheless, it was one of the greatest concerts I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. (She opened with What's New and closed with Goodbye, which I thought was rather clever.) I also should mention that I was in the very front row! :)

Indeed, she has but I would imagine that this will not be an incredibly candid memoir. Candour isn't Linda's style at all. :laugh:

It will undoubtedly be interesting but I'd imagine that Linda is too reserved to reveal anything too personal.

I'd read that she was diagnosed long ago with a thyroid condition(Hashimoto's disease) and was also recently diagnosed with diabetes.

Linda has a history of being overly modest, especially about her music. I doubt that she has lost that voice but her range is probably not quite as broad as it used to be. However, when I saw her in concert, she was well into her fifties and her voice was excellent.

Linda's voice sounds great on her last and I'm guessing final record Adieu False Heart from 2008.Her cover of' Just Walk Away Renee "on that album would have been a hit back in the day.She is/was such a perfectionist about vocals that any deterioration at all that she detected in her voice may have abetted in her decision to retire.

I guess, I will have to find her album "We Ran". She performs there her version of Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind", which ranks as one of my Top 10 favourite Bruce songs of all time :) Linda's voice is so powerful. Recently, I've watched her performing an old Roy Orbison's song "Blue Bayou" (live from the 70's) and to be honest-she outdid Orbison's original in every single aspect. It seems, that she can sing everything. I wonder if she ever collaborated with Stevie or Fleetwood Mac in the past. Or maybe they were rivals? Can anybody tell anything about it? :)

How could I forget the Trio albums?? Great stuff.

Yup - it sure does!

Excellent list ChiliD.
Simple Dreams is one of
my most favorite albums ever.
I play guitar to it quite often.

PolishStevieFan you might try
to track down the out of print
4 CD box set Linda Ronstadt
released in 1999 I believe.

I can remember drooling over
Linda's poster in Spencer's back
in the day.

Finally, I've got my hands on "Feels Like Home" (for "Heart Like a Wheel" I must wait about two weeks :(). After few listens I can say one thing: "Wow"! If that's not one of her key albums, than how great "Heart Like a Wheel" must be? Her take on "The Waiting" is by far the best song from the album but vocal harmonies with Emmylou Harris on "After The Goldrush" and beautiful "Blue Train" come very close. Linda's voice is pretty in every incarnation-country, rock, pop stylings...this woman can sing it all with great results. I know she's not songwriter but with this kind of pipes she can sing other people's songs beautifully enough. I can't wait to hear "Heart Like A Wheel" and who knows...maybe in future I will get my hands on "The Box Set"...?

linda did the best cover on "Blue Bayou" in 1977.Trio was awesome with Dolly and Emmylou.

Finally! Yesterday I got my used copy of "Heart Like a Wheel" and to be honest...this album really blew me away! It's classic Country/Rock album with many highlights, such as: "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", "Faithless Love" and "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)". The hits: "You're No Good" and "When Will I Be Loved" are great as well but the title track steals the show, being my number one song on the album. Linda's voice is perfect. She sounds so convincing on each and every track and it appears to me, that she hits only the right notes...She knows when to belt and when to sing in a straightforward manner...And the production by Peter Asher is flawless. He made her sound even more beautiful. The only thing that bothers me is why on earth this woman is not popular anymore. With the album like this she should be welcomed to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with open arms...

I wonder if she's ever worked with Stevie...I read that she collaborated with Waddy Wachtel and some of the musicians from The Heartbreakers, so maybe they've had a chance to do something together...Does anyone know anything about it?

The sad part is that she's no longer popular because of her own self. She has said she doesn't like to hear her old hits because they make her cringe. She says when she hears the songs(we love) she thinks to herself how she could have sung them better.

re: pop standards

In general, I don't think her generation of singers are the best interpreters of them. For the most part, these are songs their parents would've listened to, and I think her generation tends to sing them like they're singing church hymns or something.

And I agree with vivfox. Linda's one of the best pop singers who ever lived, but she seems to have a skewed idea of what her best material is.

Well...she's entitled to have her opinion :) But these songs and these interpretations gave her the biggest success and she should be thankful for it. I don't understand why she destroys her legacy in this way. For me, "Heart Like a Wheel" sounds perfect even if there's no original song on this album. I don't care for Paul Anka's version of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"...it's Linda's voice that makes it special for me. It's sad that she can't cherish her past.

When did she say this?


I have a theory that some artists leave
behind the music that made them popular
because it doesn't sell anymore. And quite
possibly they can't actually sing songs
like they could in their heyday.

Same could be said about a certain guitar
player (Lincoln Buckingeggs) who chooses
to release boutique style albums because
they have no chance at failing.

Oh well, we always have the past.

I was a big Linda fan before Stevie in the late 70's, along with Donna Summer and Pat Benatar, but then I found Stevie.... however.....

I did love Heart Like a Wheel and Mad Love - they both are exquisite in very different ways.... and I do love her "standards" albums...

Heart Like A Wheel is probably the classic Linda that I love.... pure... simple... real... a lot of feeling in all of those songs... I always loved "Willing"

and if you give me
weed
whites
and wine

and you show me a sign
then i'd be willing
to be moving

Oh yeah! "Willing" is great song. I've found myself humming this damn song all the time since I got "Heart Like a Wheel":) I wonder why she never got a chance to write any song all by herself. You know, she's great interpreter of other people's songs but on the other hand I wish she had recorded her own songs. Stevie has a legacy and reputation thanks to her songwriting, while Linda relied solely on somebody else's ideas. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it kind of puts her in a different league:) Strange thing with Linda is that she had so beautiful voice yet she's not as renowned as say Barbra Streisand (yawn!) or Diana Ross who also depended on other people's material...

I can't recall ever hearing Paul Anka ever doing his own song. If I'm not mistaken Paul wrote it specifically for Buddy Holly. Who NAILED the song! :nod:

:shrug:

That's interesting! But I found on You Tube Anka's version of this song and it wasn't that great. Of course I will have to check out Holly's version. Thanks for the tip:)

I bought "Winter Light" cheaply few days ago and have been listening to this album ever since. I didn't know that Linda was collaborating on the title track with Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner:shocked: Neither did I know that this song was used in Agnieszka Holland's film "The Secret Garden". That makes this song even more beautiful, considering how I loved that movie as a child. The whole album is very strong and there's only one song that I don't care for and it's her rendition of Dionne Warwick's "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself". It's the kind of song that only two people in the world can sing: Dionne and Dusty Springfield:) But the rest is first class, especially her version of "Oh No Not My Baby" (sounds better than Aretha), Spanish language grand ballad "A Donde Voy" and stellar "River of Tears". There's also another Dionne cover-"Anyone Who Had a Heart" and this time she outdid the original:) There are no country elements of her past but still the album is more than enjoyable. Have anyone of you heard about this album?

Yup. I think Linda regards this album as one of her best. Sure I read that somewhere.

Linda was the top-grossing female touring act of the '70s and she broke all kinds of sales records up until the release of her first Mexiacan folk music record, which is still the top selling non-english language record in the U.S. (2.5 million).
Her three most recent albums failed to crack the top 100 , selling about 75,000 copies each (Soundscan).

It's sad, that since the 90's she hasn't been able to convince public to her music. After listening to more than a few albums of hers and from different phases of her career I must admit, that her album "Winter Light" is still the best!

Two weeks ago I decided to buy Linda Ronstadt's "Classic Albums Series" compiling her five albums:
a). "Prisoner in Disguise"
b). "Simple Dreams"
c). "Living In The USA"
d). "Mad Love"
e). "Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind"

I must say it's just a lot of great music:] "Prisoner In Disguise" is the weakest but on the other hand it gives a chance to listen to Linda singing "I Will Always Love You". I've always linked this song with Whitney Houston. And no matter how I like Whitney's voice I've never been able to like this song. The emotions were not there... But Linda sings this in a down to earth, classic country style, that made me realize the beauty of this song (I have to check out Dolly Parton's original).

"Simple Dreams"-great album. For the present time, it's my favourite album of the 70's era (of course out of Ronstadt's repertoire). The funny fact is that it was the album that knocked FM's "Rumours" out on number one spot on Billboard Charts! Her rendition of "Carmelita" is brilliant. And then there's "Blue Bayou" :)

"Living in The USA" is also great but towards the end it kind of lacks in punch. And her version of "Love Me Tender" is less than stellar :(

"Mad Love"-already got a chance to hear this one. This album rocks in a great way! Love it! Especially "Look Out For My Love" and "I Can't Let Go"...

"Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind" is a nice change of pace, from California Rock to Adult Contemporary teritorry and with great results. Her duets with Aaron Neville are beautiful (especially on a funny 60's inspired song "I Need You"). But the song of the album is "Adios" with Brian Wilson as a background singer.

I really like Prisoner In Disguise - if only for the fantastic You Tell Me That I'm Falling Down. Hey Mister, That's Me Up On The Jukebox is great too. I agree that it's not the best album towards the end but it's got some very strong songs on it.

You haven't heard Dolly's version of I Will Always Love You?! You must listen to it immediately! It's beautifully understated. I can't stand Whitney's version. It's louyd for the sake of being loud.

This is altogether a random list of "Classic albums" - with no Heart Like A Wheel or Don't Cry Now in the set it seems unusual. It's kind of the only place to get Mad Love though.

You are right "You Tell That I'm Falling Down" is first rate song. On "Prisoner in Disguise" there's also "The Sweetest Gift"- a beautiful country song recorded with Emmylou Harris (another artist waiting to be explored). In this "Classic Album Series" there are 5 studio releases and to be honest I'm glad there is no "Heart Like a Wheel" included because I've already owned it:) I have to discover some of Dolly Parton's music. Her voice is just incredible. I have listened one or two compilations of hers and must say that she's got a lot of great songs. Somehow I've never got to listen to her rendition of "I Will Always Love You". Maybe it's because of Whitney's version which always gets on my nerves:)

See above for my comments about Dolly vs Whitney for I Will Always Love You. It's also well worth checking out Dolly's Bluegrass material from between 1999-2002 to acccompany any compliations. The albums are - The Grass Is Blue, Little Sparrow and Halos and Horns.

You're just about to discover Emmylou? Wonderful! :D She is my absolute favourite of the 70s country scene and I have all her material. There's her great work with Gram Parsons on his GP and Grievous Angel albums and then I'd start with her first four solo albums -Pieces Of The Sky, Elite Hotel, Luxury Liner and Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town (my favourite of her earlier albums). These four are essential listening.

There was an earlier solo album, Gliding Bird, but Emmy disowns it and says that Pieces Of The Sky is her real solo debut. Pieces Of The Sky includes an excellent song called Queen Of The Silver Dollar - with Linda on very prominent backing vocals. That album also has Boulder to Birmingham, one of her signature songs.

I'd also highly recommend, especially since you're a Linda fan, their duets album from 1999: Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions.

I've seen Emmy live twice - 2008 and this year - and she's always fantastic. Her most recent album, Hard Bargain, came out this year.

I Read splendid review of Emmylou's latest album in one of Polish music magazines. But I'll start with "Pieces of Sky" and there's something that attracts me towards "Song bird" album... Maybe it's a cover... I don't know but I will have to check it out. Thanks for the tips!