The most successful female music performer of the 1970s and early 1980s, Linda Ronstadt - despite having given up touring and recording due to poor health - remains among the most respected and acclaimed interpreters of song to have made a name in the rock age. And what singles Linda out from numerous others who came before, during or after, was the lady s near perfect choice of material. Even at the height of Ronstadt s commercial appeal when she was dubbed by Rolling Stone magazine the highest paid woman in rock, she never once lowered the bar and recorded the kind of pedestrian, knocked-off material, composed by in-house writers, which often formed the day s preferred choices for her contemporaries. Linda would grace every album she released with songs by masters of composition like Lowell George, Glenn Frey & Don Henley, Neil Young, The McGarrigle Sisters and other writers of quality. And when music changed in the late 1970s, Linda changed too and employed the songs of Elvis Costello and Warren Zevon - new kids in town, but ones whose compositional skill Linda recognised immediately. In 1980 she even recorded the old Knickerbockers 1965 garage hit Lies , and made it sound like the raunchiest, rawest new wave anthem this side of the first Blondie album. By 1984 however Linda was inclined to look back, and not for her the cheesy synth-driven plastic pop of the day, which even some of those mentioned above were experimenting with (and in many cases, now wishing they hadn t). Instead, Ronstadt went back to The Great American Songbook and released a trio of albums interpreting songs that in many cases had provided a lot of the true inspiration for the contemporary tunes she had previously performed. This three disc collection, featuring a total of four live FM broadcasts, recorded in 1974, 1975, 1980 and 1984 respectively, covering the most pivotal eras of the girl s career, all illustrate perfectly the strength of material Linda Ronstadt would always perform and always perform quite superbly. As Christopher Loudon in Jazz Times noted in 2004: "(she) is blessed with arguably the most sterling set of pipes of her generation ... rarest of rarities a chameleon who can blend into any background yet remain boldly distinctive ... It's an exceptional gift; one shared by few others
Disc: 1
1 |
Colorado 05:18 |
2 |
That'll Be The Day 02:53 |
3 |
Love Has No Pride 04:44 |
4 |
Silver Threads and Golden Needles 03:57 |
5 |
I Fall To Pieces 03:51 |
6 |
Willin' 03:19 |
7 |
Desperado 03:49 |
8 |
When Will I Be Loved 03:20 |
9 |
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) 02:27 |
10 |
Band Intros 01:10 |
11 |
Long, Long Time 05:39 |
12 |
You're No Good 04:15 |
13 |
Heart Like A Wheel 03:07 |
14 |
Colorado 05:04 |
15 |
Silver Threads And Golden Needles 03:05 |
16 |
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) 02:38 |
17 |
Desperado 03:45 |
18 |
When Will I Be Loved 02:22 |
19 |
Long, Long Time 04:50 |
20 |
You're No Good 03:51 |
21 |
Heatwave 02:58 |
22 |
Heart Like A Wheel 03:06 |
23 |
It Doesn't Matter Anymore 03:24 |
Disc: 2
1 |
Can't Let Go 03:27 |
2 |
Party Girl 04:15 |
3 |
It's So Easy 03:01 |
4 |
Willin' 04:04 |
5 |
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) 03:13 |
6 |
Just One Look 03:33 |
7 |
Look Out For My Love 04:06 |
8 |
Mad Love 03:52 |
9 |
Cost Of Love 03:06 |
10 |
Blue Bayou 04:47 |
11 |
Lies 03:16 |
12 |
Faithless Love 03:58 |
13 |
Hurt So Bad 03:45 |
14 |
Silver Threads And Golden Needles 05:00 |
15 |
Poor Poor Pitiful Me 04:22 |
16 |
You're No Good 06:26 |
17 |
How Do I Make You 02:53 |
18 |
Back In The USA 04:26 |
19 |
Heatwave 03:21 |
20 |
Desperado 04:09 |
Disc: 3
1 |
I've Got A Crush On You 03:44 |
2 |
What's New 03:46 |
3 |
Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now 03:38 |
4 |
Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry 05:21 |
5 |
Falling In Love Again 03:34 |
6 |
Someone To Watch Over Me 05:23 |
7 |
Daddy 02:53 |
8 |
Mr. Sandman 02:07 |
9 |
I've Got a Guy (Girl) In Kalamazo 02:23 |
10 |
Dream (When You're Feeling Blue) 03:48 |
11 |
Choo Choo Ch'Boogie 02:41 |
12 |
I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance 04:11 |
13 |
Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be) 04:14 |
14 |
Goodbye 06:28 |