Customer Reviews

Cry Like a Rainstorm - Howl Like the Wind (Audio Cassette)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of those albums from the 1980s where you wish you could get into a time machine and go back to the production crew and scream: "Don't! No tinkly keyboards! No synth drums! No Jaco Pastorius-style bass! I know you don't believe me, but in a few years this is going to become as dated as that silly haircut you're wearing."

So great are the songs and singing performances on this album, this may be the most poignant example of bad 80s contamination. Nonetheless, this album gets five stars because, most of the time, it overcomes the problem, and on a few cuts, manages to avert it (maybe someone DID show up in a time machine.) Some of the very best songs are little known. The duets with Aaron Neville are rightfully celebrated--including the hits "Don't Know Much" and "When Something is Wrong with my Baby"--they are wonderful performances.

But this album also represented a comeback/last hurrah for a couple of great songwriters. Jimmy Webb, whose "Easy for You to Say" is one of Ronstadt's best songs, is the writer of four songs to this collection, and all of them are terrific. One of them, "Adios," is a masterpiece, capturing with rich irony and sadness the end of the Southern California dream. The fact that it's not only Linda Ronstadt, the 70s LA queen, but that she's backed by the (then-reclusive) Brian Wilson, the inventor of the Southern California pop scene-- it's all too much! But it dances elegantly on the head of a pin, with a melody that will haunt you.

The other masterpiece on this album is by a writer that Linda Ronstadt has covered previously many times, Eric Kaz's "Cry Like a Rainstorm." This is a really daring cut with a nearly dissonant melody line that gives Ronstadt a chance to open up vocally and emotionally. It's an unbelievable performance, heightened by the addition of a gospel choir, a full orchestra, and some big guitar and drum work. It could be overkill, but the song is sturdy enough to handle it, and Ronstadt has the ability to switch effortlessly from operatic power to folk delicacy.

Two cuts by British pub rocker Paul Carrack (co written by Nick Lowe) break the intense mood, and are charming. Although it was produced by her 70s producer Peter Asher, the orchestra, choir, Neville and the more adult-focused songwriting make this is a unique and essential album in her canon.

This CD, which was released in 1989, is a great collection of twelve great Linda Ronstadt tunes. As a matter of fact, four of them are duets with the great Aaron Neville, and the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra backs all of them up. This is a great CD, one that shows off Ms. Ronstadt's copious talents to good effect. I highly recommend this CD!

Growing up in the 70's I of course heard Linda Ronstadt singing on the radio, and even as a little kid, I could tell she had an amazing voice. But even I was not expecting this masterpiece of song interpretation she gave us in 1989. Like many others, I heard her sing "Don't Know Much" on the radio with Aaron Neville and I was immediately hooked. After hearing her tear it up with Aaron on "All My Life," I knew I had to get the album. There's nothing close to a throwaway on here, and her versions of "Adios," "Goodbye My Friend," and "I Keep it Hid" will bring a chill to your spine or a tear to your eye. They're that good!! It's great that this album found such a warm reception because it's one of those rare instances, especially in the world of adult contemporary, where the sales of an album can mirror the artistic integrity inside.

I just happened to hear about this CD several years ago, when I called a Marin County (California) radio DJ and asked him, "Who wrote that song (Adios) that I just heard?".

He told me it was a cut on the Linda Ronstadt CD, titled, "Cry Like a Rainstorm.....", and I rushed to order the CD itself.

This album is in my opinion the very best Linda Ronstadt compilation that's out there. "Adios" itself is an unbelievably beautiful Jimmy Webb song, about the beauty of the California coast, and most of the other cuts are almost as perfect...

But then with Aaron Neville sharing several of the vocals and Jimmy Webb and Karla Bonoff (just to name a few who wrote for this CD) doing the writing...wow....

And if you plan on driving Highway 1 up (or down) the California coast, be sure and have this CD in your car, to play as you drive past all that beauty...and turn up the volume....

After the success of her duet 'Somewhere Out There', Linda Ronstadt returned to pop after detours into various other styles of music(Latin,traditional pop,etc.). With CRY LIKE A RAINSTORM,HOWL LIKE THE WIND, Ronstadt reaffirms her position as the pre-eminent interpretive singer of her generation. Though her previous country-rock leanings are unusually absent, the adult pop realm, represented here by both ballads and uptempo numbers, suits her magnificently. She continues to garner some very strong material, with songs from Jimmy Webb and longtime Ronstadt reliable Karla Bonoff taking up seven slots on the album. All are first-rate, with special mention to Webb's soaring 'Still Within The Sound Of My Voice' and Bonoff's heartbreaking treatise on death on the album's closer 'Goodbye My Friend'. Ronstadt also managed to re-introduce the public to Aaron Neville's glorious voice, represented on four duets here, the best being 'All My Life'(another Bonoff composition). Ronstadt's vocal work remains impeccably pristine, one of pop's most crystalline instruments even to this day. A strong entry in Ronstadt's already prestigious catalog, and a must for even the most casual fans of great adult pop.

No apologies here! I love melodious so-called adult contemporary pop; now I understand why my parents loved Johnny Mathis so much...This album is absolutely glorious. Linda Ronstadt, never one of my favorite singers (I do not care for her re-treads of the big-band era), has never been so at the top of her game, and is provided a wealth of wonderful songs, not a dog among them. Pairing with Aaron Neville proved to be not only a commercially viable idea, the sound they produce together is intoxicating. My absolute faves here are Still Within The Sound Of My Voice, which one again proves that no pop writer can craft as tuneful and melancholy a song as Jimmy Webb, and the Karla Bonoff-penned duet w/Neville, All My Life, which, in its utter simplicity, makes you want to cry.

Linda Ronstadt's work on "Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind" confirms the fact that she has one of the greatest female singing voices of the 20th Century. "Shattered" is quite possibly the most beautiful ballad I have ever heard and is perfectly executed by Ronstadt in every respect. The sweeping symphonic arrangements add to the overall dramatic impact and power of the songs and her vocals. Aaron Neville's voice is adequate although sometimes unfortunately an irritant (he has never been one of my favorite male vocalists). Ronstadt's work deserves merit and attention, however, and is well worth the purchase price of this beautiful album.

This album was released in 1989, her first studio album of non American songbook songs or Spanish songs, since 1982's GET CLOSER album. In those 7 years she released 3 albums of songs from the American Songbook with Nelson Riddle, and a few Spanish albums. This album was quite successful for Linda, and spun off a few hits, not to mention the accolades she received for the project.

The album is produced by Peter Asher. There are a number of songs with Aaron Neville, and the two compliment each other well. The big hits from the album with him were "All My Life" and "Don't Know Much". "Adios" was also a solo hit for her. The first track, "Still Within The Sound Of My Voice" is a beautiful ballad with a great arrangement, that shows Linda's strong vocals. The title track is another winner, a great inspirational ballad. Another notable ballad is the album closer "Goodbye My Friend", very poignant and sad at the same time.

Overall a strong album, and good comeback, for Linda Ronstadt with this release.

After a number of years of experimenting with a huge range of styles of music, from country to rock to Gilbert & Sullivan to the pop standards of the Nelson Riddle sessions and the Spanish-language music from her childhood, Linda Ronstadt re-imerged into the realm of pop/adult contemporary with one of the best pop albums ever made. CRY LIKE A RAINSTORM, HOWL LIKE THE WIND returned Ms. Ronstadt her place as the top interpreter of the singer-songwriter of the 20th century.

With songs by Jimmy Webb, Karla Bonoff, Paul Carrack and even Isaac Hayes, this album is a powerhouse of both songwriting and performance. The several duets with Aaron Neville rank as some of the finest performances of Ms. Ronstadt's career, and the emotional depth of the songs is staggering.

It simply is one of the greatest albums in the history of pop music. Everyone should own this album.

I had always liked Ronstadts material that i would hear on the "oldies" staion but never payed much attention to her...that is until i heard this at a friends house.

Your ears have not lived until youve heard "cry like Rainstorm" cranked up high.
"Adios" never fails to send shivers down my spine and the way she sings those last few notes will floor you again and again. breath-taking !
"Still within the sound.." is incredible. Lindas voice weaves and soars with emotion that really touches you.
Its no wonder she and Arron Neville sound so great together. This set is Linda at her best, a MASTERPIECE !