Customer Reviews

Hummin' To Myself

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Four years after her last album, 2000's A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, Linda Ronstadt is back with HUMMIN' TO MYSELF, which returns her to the pop/jazz standards genre that she had mined quite successfully three times in the mid-1980s with the late Nelson Riddle.

This time around, however, Linda is working with a jazz ensemble and not a large-scale orchestra, and the results give her even greater vocal flexibility now than the Nelson Riddle recordings gave her twenty years before. Working with long-time friends George Massenburg and John Boylan, Linda gives nothing less than her very best on the album's eleven tracks. The swing element is much more in evidence this time around than it had been on the Nelson Riddle albums, particularly on "Never Will I Marry" (which she had tried to record for a failed standards album all the way back in 1980), and on the Cole Porter standby "Get Out Of Town." She also takes on in very subtle fashion the Julie London classic "Cry Me A River", and gets very poignant on the album's final track, "I'll Be Seeing You."

As has been the case throughout her entire career, Linda has made it a priority to be true to herself and to the spirit of the song, and that tradition continues on HUMMIN' TO MYSELF, working with stellar musicians like Bob Mann, Alan Broadbent, Jim Horn, Peter Erskine, and others to produce the finest collection of pop and jazz standards by any pop/rock veteran out there. Even if Linda is not the most natural of jazz/pop singers in the strictest sense, she does have a natural feel for these songs; and the fact that the sound of the album has more in common with the jazz of the late 1960s than the World War II era has more than a little to do with how brilliantly HUMMIN' TO MYSELF sounds.

After nearly thirty-eight years worth of recordings, it is brilliant to know that Linda is still in fine form. HUMMIN' TO MYSELF is vigorously recommended.

Is there anything Linda Ronstadt cant do? Let's see, she started as a country singer, drifted into pop/rock, dabbled in New Wave and operetta, American songbook standards, Mexican/Spanish language and now jazz. What's left? Rap and Opera? There's still time, Linda! Unlike Streisand, who mostly played it safe on her last CD, Linda has never been afraid to take chances. Take the tricky arrangement on Never Will I Marry. What 60-something singer would risk tackling this, and be able to pull it off?? This is a great set, with expert back up and arrangements. My only big complaint is its too short. Maybe there's another session waiting for us down the road? Among the more sublime cuts: Never Will I Marry; Cry Me A River; Hummin to Myself; DayDream; I've Never Been In Love Before; Get Out of Town and I'll Be Seeing You (one of my favorite songs, I only wish she had repeated the verse, its too short). There isnt a bad cut on here. One could argue technically, Linda isnt a jazz singer, but with a voice like this, why split hairs? Her voice is still beautiful and as crystal clear as a bell. Exquisite.

As a teenage boy who was smitten by Linda, as I'm sure most young guys were in the 70's, not much has changed from then until now, except for the fact I have a much better appreciation of her incredble god given talent.

I admire and respect a slew of singers from all genres of music but in my opinion, in my lifetime Linda Ronstadt is the finest singer on earth. When she hits those high notes she literally takes my breath away. And she does that quite often on this new...and absolutely wonderful album of pop standards. Her amazing voice is totally to the forefront here, backed by a wonderful band of musicians.

If you love Linda, and even if you are new to her, give this album a try. Linda is from an era when women actually had to be able to SING to get into the business..unlike today. Her musical catalog so far is nothing short of jaw dropping. She has done it all and continues to do so.

Now all that said, I hope her next album will be a return to rock.

There's no singer on earth like Linda. This album is highly recommended.

In the mid-eighties Linda Ronstadt,at the time the arguably most famous woman in rock,took the world by surprise when she recorded a trilogy of albums filled with pre-rock pop and jazz standards under the guidance of legendary conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle(of to name but a few,Frank Sinatra,Nat "King" Cole and Judy Garland fame). All three albums reached platinum status and introduced this great music to an entire new generation of music lovers. Now,with "Hummin'To Myself" Linda makes her return to the Great American Songbook. Not that she ever left this type of music behind,because she has kept on singing these songs in concert ever since,making the predictable remarks that she's now only jumping on the bandwagon created by Rod Stewart misinformed at best and just plain meanspirited at worst.

Anyway,"Hummin'To Myself" is quite different from the Riddle trilogy in that on these Linda was accompanied by an orchestra,and were more of the traditional pop variety,whereas on "Hummin'" Linda is accompanied by a small ensemble of expert musicians and qualifies as a "pure" jazz album. This does not mean that all of a sudden Linda starts scatting,or that she has become an improviser. On the contrary,Linda always stays close to the melody "as it is written" and uses the extraordinary beauty of her voice to demonstrate in a quite un-demonstrative way (contrary to what we are used to from so many power-ballad divas these days) how gorgeous these songs really are. More or less the same approach as that of,say,Jane Monheit or even Ella Fitzgerald on most of her songbook albums.

It has to be said that Linda has grown A LOT as a singer of this type of music since the days of her Riddle albums. Although those were not without merit,Linda sometimes sounded a tiny bit out of her element and stiff on occasion. No such problems here though. If you didn't know any better you would think that the lady has sung this music all of her life. It's in the uptempo material that her progress is the most spectacular. On Tracks like "Never Will I Marry" and "Get Out Of Town" she swings harder and with much more confidence than she did on any of the Riddle stuff.

The ballads are brilliant too. Songs like "Tell Him I Said Hello","Miss Otis Regrets" and "Cry Me A River" are beautifully phrased and benefit greatly from the gorgeous and creamy sound of Linda's voice. This is not the music of a rock singer who tries to sing jazz. This is a "valid" jazz album by one of the best singers of the last 40 years.

Much,but not all of the praise must go to Ronstadt. The arrangements by Alan Broadbent (who also plays the piano) are attractive and varied,and the musicianship from the instrumentalists is first class throughout. Clearly a labour of love from all those involved. Warmly recommended!

Part of appreciating this lady is not TRYING to understand her but just listening to the music she makes. As a rock star she could growl with the best of them and as she learned her interpretive trade she could sing with the best of them. This CD is really really excellent: Soulful, Very Well Sung, Great Sound Engineering, Good Song Selection and Unique.
The songs on this CD come in clearly. It's recorded in high form with some of the highest recording techniques around. Thanks to George Massenburg (engineer). Likewise, this CD can be played anywhere: restaurant, dinner party, pool party, summer, winter, etc. So this CD has good ambience.
Tell Him I said Hello - Originally recorded by Betty Carter. This is a soft sounding gem of a song.
Never will I Mary - A swingining hip tune.
Cry Me A River - No posturing. great tune. well sung.
Hummin to Myself - Great toe tapping, unique song.
Miss Otis - I like this songs interpretation. It's about a women that was strung up and hung. Very Dark.
I fall in Love to Easily - Very classy and sophisticated singing.
Blue Prelude - Bluesy Song
Day Dream - Never heard this song before but I like the light interpretation
Never been in Love - good interpretation. simple, straight.
Get out of Town - soulful, bluesy, rocking
I'll Be seeing you - Great straight forward interpretation

This really is a Soulful, Bluesy and Intimate Linda Ronstadt. I would highly recommend this CD.

I just received this item through airmail from America, because frankly it ain't available in the UK.
I'll keep it brief

Her voice is glorious (the end note of Never Will I Marry and the pitch perfect note at the end of I'll be seeing you, proves my point)

Standout tracks : Never Will I Marry, I'll be seeing you, Get Outta Town, Blue Prelude and Tell Him I said Hello.

Weak Tracks : None

I trully think that Linda's voice is one of the greatest of the last 40 years. Her pitch, clarity and emotion are just perfect and who else thinks that her tone is a little bit like Rosemary Clooney's?

OMG, buy buy buy this album...DON'T DON'T DON'T buy crap like Rod Stewart's feeble attempts. This is the real deal...


BTW, I'm only 19, and English so she does still have the ability to capture new fans!! :D

Ronstadt's first outing for Verve is often a quiet interlude with a small combo. My favorite track is the title tune that was #1 in my own personal top ten! Dan Block's clarinet swings mercilessly making this the most joyful track in the set with Linda's sunny vocals, "I got the words & I got the tune & I like to croon it under the moon!" "Cry Me A River" sounds lovely in her masterful hands while Bob Mann milks the guitar. "Blue Prelude" is another delightful jewel which Christian McBride's bass navigates in these bluesy waters masterfully. Ronstadt sounds like she had a head cold on "Get Out of Town" that somehow suits the zippy arrangement that bursts forth about a minute into the song. I tend to prefer the uptempo numbers; so not every track on this set knocks me flat. However, there are enough shining moments here that it is well worth adding to your the soundtrack of your life! :) Enjoy!

Few pop artists have transcended the different styles of music as successfully as Linda Ronstadt. Who cares if she's nearing 60? Her voice is as powerful, radiant, playful and emotional as she was when she was 21. And Lord can this gal croon! Backed by a superior musical ensemble, Linda floats through this too short collection of lesser known standards from such songwriters as Frank Loesser, Sammy Fain, Cole Porter, Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn, Gordon Jenkins and others with the greatest of ease. Catch the straightforward and symmpathetic rendering of "Miss Otis Regrets," a tale of a doomed woman's fate; her touching poignancy on "I've Never Been in Love Before,", her playful bantering on "Get Out of Town" and of course her touching rendition of "I'll Be Seeing You."
This CD proves that Linda continues to progress while still satisfying her legion of fans. Other vocalists such as Rod Stewart, Bette Midler and others should listen to this gem and Linda's previous big band collections to see how great singers handle great songs.

I have a confession to make. I am prejudiced. When it comes to Linda Ronstadt, I've followed her career since the early 70s and through all her (sometimes strange) bypasses, through the Mexican folk music, the New Wave fad, the Gilbert & Sullivan foray, the Armonica addiction, the rock songs turned to lullabies album, etc...and I find that as much as I admire her amazing versatility as a singer, I always prefer it when she sticks to what she does best--belting out pop tunes with a smooth, West Coast feel.

Of all of her escapes into different musical genres, her ventures into the Great American Songbook, even when accompanied by the Nelson Riddle orchestra, where always my least favorite. They always seemed competent, but not exciting. Like something ageing Baby Boomers who never listened to her in the 70s would buy and not something a true Ronstadt fan would ever listen to.

Fortunately, this CD avoids the "big band" treatment, in favor of a smaller jazz trio feel, and I think it works better for Ronstadt's style. The major stand-out is her strong interpretation of Frank Loesser's "Never Will I Marry", perhaps one of my favorite covers of this song (second only to Nancy Wilson's version with Cannonball Adderley). Ronstadt seems emotionally connected to the song and inhabits it completely.

The rest of the album plays it much safer, and regrettably, the result is pretty lackluster emotionally, even if vocally Ronstadt is still amazingly powerful. I do like what she does with "Cry Me A River" and "I've Never Been In Love Before" (another Loesser standard, which perhaps hints that she should try a full album of Loesser material for her next project-she seems to connect the most with his work), but the album as a whole just does not seem to have the energy necessary to sustain an audience for the full duration.

It's hard to believe but it has been more than two decades since Linda Ronstadt combined with the legendary Nelson Riddle to produce "What's New", truly one of the great albums of the 1980's. As a result of that remarkable project, Linda has carved out a niche for herself on the American music scene. Now Linda is back with a brand new disc featuring more memorable tunes from the Great American Songbook. "Hummin' To Myself" features the songs of legendary songwriters like Frank Loesser, Cole Porter, Gordon Jenkins, Duke Ellington and Sammy Fain. In addition there are a variety of musical styles represented on this spendid CD. And while a number of other former rock and rollers have taken a crack at this sort of thing, very few of them possess the vocal prowess to pull it off. Indeed, after all is said and done Linda Ronstadt was made to sing the standards.
You will find many all-time favorites on "Hummin' To Myself" including a remake of the 1955 Julie London classic "Cry Me A River". An A+ to all concerned on that one. I also thoroughly enjoyed Linda's intimate interpretation of Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets" which I would submit is her finest performance on this disc. Then for a change of pace there is "Blue Prelude", a Gordon Jenkins composition that features Linda in a more jazzy mode and she pulls it off without skipping a beat. "Never Will I Marry" and a personal favorite "I'll Be Seeing You" help to round out this luscious 11 song set.
If you love the standards, "Hummin' To Myself" is a disc you will play again and again. It is perfect for winding down after a hard day at the office or as the background for a romantic dinner for two. Yes, there's no doubt about it, this is another winner for the former Stone Poney. Highly recommended.