Linda Ronstadt and Fleetwood Mac

[Nikolaj]

Interesting, a bit, to debate Ronstadt- she was not really a 'singles' artist at all, she was a major album artist. She had a string of Top 5 albums that leave nearly all female vocalists of that era in the dust. Yes, there was a formula regarding her single releases that at the time was criticized, but it worked getting her singles onto radio, and the singles were really tools to sell the albums. She had a number of hit singles, but selling albums was the point, not selling singles.
She covered a lot of contemporary writers noted already, as well as James Taylor, a stellar 'I Will Always Love You', and was the voice that brought attention to John David Souther's 'wow' songwriting ability. 'Heart Like A Wheel' as an album had a huge impact at the time, and 'You're No Good' sold the album.
As early as 'Prisoner In Disguise' an attempt was made to not have her first single be another 'oldie'- Neil Young's "Love Is A Rose" was the a-side of the single, and it was well-liked, but the b-side 'Heat Wave' is what took off. 'Rose' actually was a great choice, but radio seemed to want another oldie, and so it continued. 'Lose Again' and 'Someone To Lay Down Beside Me' were excellent songs and just moderate hits as singles, while 'That'll Be The Day' was the Top 20 single. All were from 'Hasten Down The Wind' which was a huge album, the albums were 'the thing'.
'Simple Dreams' and 'Living In The USA' were also Top 5 albums, and, again, I think the point of the singles was to get something new onto radio, to promote there was a new Ronstadt album, just to make about 7 times the money from an album selling than from a single selling. She was also a huge stadium act from 1975 to 1980, and the voice was chilling, and a thrill, to behold live. Not tons of presence necessarily, as a performer, but her vocal ability was really something. Check youtube for the some of the notes she hits in late 70s concerts, an entire late 70s overseas show (Denmark?) shows her in peak form.
Linda also was the first major artist to cover Elvis Costello, and though her 4 or 5 Costello songs were received with mixed reviews, Costello cashed the checks and his fame grew. My favorite was 'Party Girl' which somehow one or two critics dismissed, but it was amazing live, and on record. Back to Neil Young, I can think of no other singer who covered his work so well. From 'I Believe In You' to 'Look Out for My Love', Linda's Neil Young covers were excellent. She had a good ear for a song and especially a songwriter, and the voice was considered the best voice in pop-rock at the time. The singles that Luke does have a point about, also bug her. She said recently that her son said to her 'Mom you were an oldies singer' when he looked at a cd that had been sent to her (another compilation release) and she seems to resent the formula of singing an old hit to sell an album, and I think also has a problem with the sexy image used to sell the albums, probably most notably, Hasten Down The Wind--- but the contents of the albums were a must hear for any teenager I knew in the 70s. She was 'the' rock chick, before Stevie, and for a handful of years, along with Stevie. But Linda didn't love the genre, and Stevie did, and did it so well.
For Stevie to be compared to Ronstadt- if indeed, anybody here was doing that, is no insult at all. Linda R was great.
We can all be happy Stevie never felt the need to leave rock and dismiss it as being such a distasteful experience as Linda has done. "I never considered myself a rock and roll singer" she said not long ago, and she doesn't care if she ever records another album, wants NO part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in the last interview I read, said she hopes to become a board member of the Arizona Symphony.
Wonder what Stevie will sing on The Grammy's!!