Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind

Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Linda Ronstadt Aaron Neville | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 1989)
• Original Release Date: October 3, 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002H7E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,426 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Still Within the Sound of My Voice

2. Cry Like A Rainstorm

3. All My Life

4. I Need You

5. Don't Know Much

6. Adios

7. Trouble Again

8. I Keep It Hid

9. So Right, So Wrong

10. Shattered

11. When Something is Wrong With My Baby

12. Goodbye My Friend

Editorial Reviews

CD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly great, but dang those 80s production touches!, February 24, 2004

By 

John Stodder "a.k.a. Juan La Princi" (livin' just enough) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (Audio CD)

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, September 11, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (Audio CD)

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!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Easy Listening" doesn't have to mean Vapid!, September 18, 2002

By 

D. Hawkins (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (Audio 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.