Customer Reviews

Linda Ronstadt

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

the "How Do I Make You" single? And come to think of it, where is "Lago Azul," the Spanish language version of "Blue Bayou"? I already own most of this collection in one format or another -- LP, cassette, 8-track tapes. For me, as I suspect it will be for other die-hard Ronstadt fans, it is Disc #4 that is the most interesting, since this is the disc containing the most previously unreleased material. I imagine that that it is an enormously ambitious undertaking to put together a box set that does justice to such an eclectic career as Linda Ronstadt's, and this one pretty much does the job. It's all here: the hits, the forays into other genres & languages, the duets & the movie themes. Please don't retire, Linda!

Linda Ronstadt's career has spanned over 30 years, with 35 released albums in folk-rock, country, rock, pop, Latino, and classic ballads.

This box set provides a great compilation of her great hits across all years and genres. The last (of 4) CD in the set is titled "Rarities," and includes unreleased material as well as some pieces released but little known. Among these are recordings of Randy Newman's musical "Faust" - a duet with Kermit the Frog - a haunting Phillip Glass/Suzanne Vega piece recorded with the Kronos Quartet - and songs recorded with the bluegrass band The Seldom Scene.

The collaborations with Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Aaron Neville are extraordinary numbers of perfectly blended voices. Some of her later solo pieces have a soft, almost new-age sound to them. Quite entrancing is her lullaby rendition of Queen's "We Will Rock You."

For baby boomer fans from the '70's and '80's like me, there are dozens of songs by the Ronstadt "posse": Andrew Gold, Waddy Wachtel, Wendy Waldman, Anna & Kate McGarrigle, and Nicolette Larson.

There are almost 5 hours of music in this set. Only her 2000 Christmas album is not represented.

Caution: the liner notes [box set booklet] are a serious disappointment. No lyrics are given. The artist biography is anorexic. The information on the songs (composer and musicians) is printed in microscopic typeface.

Despite the drawbacks of the printed material, I heartily recommend this set. Ronstadt is a performer of astonishing talent and range.

One can certainly quibble about the song selection in this box set. For my part, I would have liked to see "I Knew You When", "When Something is Wrong With My Baby", "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me", "The Tattler", anything from "Don't Cry Now", and another of the amazing vocals from "Canciones de Mi Padre". That's just for starters - the point is, with as richly diverse a career as Linda Ronstadt's, you're not going to be able to put out a 4 CD retrospective and include every fan's favorites. Something's going to get slighted.

What this collection does do is provide a broad perspective of all the facets of her career. I don't see how one could listen to the 4 CDs start to finish and not gain renewed respect for her considerable artistry. I'm not saying everything she ever touched is perfect, by any means, but she has shown consistent versatility, intelligence and taste, not to mention a vocal gift from the Gods.

I had not heard a lot of the rarities on side 4, and they show fresh dimensions of her talent. Particulary, the selections from Randy Newman's "Faust", Philip Glass & Suzanne Vega's "Freezing" and the acapella version of the traditional "The Blacksmith" are haunting. And "Honky Tonk Blues" and "Lightning Bar Blues" are terrific unreleased country rockers from the mid-70's that its great to hear.

I admit I'm prejudiced - I fell in love with Linda's voice the first time I heard it ("Different Drum"). I've followed her career faithfully from then and enjoyed every unpredictable step along the way. I certainly hope she stops all this foolish talk of retirement. "Western Wall" proves she can keep making quality music for many years to come, and its my fervent wish that she will!

If you don't buy this collection for any other reason buy it for the excellent sound quality. It's a fairly comprehensive presentation of Ronstadt's material except the the sound in most cases is much better than on the original CD releases. Also included is a disc of unreleased rare material that makes this boxed set a must for any Ronstadt fan. The only negative thing is that there are no selections from the incredible Don't Cry Now album and not enough material from the #1 album Heart Like A Wheel, but well worth the price for anyone who loves Linda Ronstadt's voice.

Could one box set ever hold the myriad manifestations of Linda's exceptional voice? I agree that there are a few omissions here: "Rambler Gambler," Spanish "Blue Bayou," "Desperado" (? ), duet with Smokey Robinson from Motown 25, but there are gems as well: Linda and Emmylou tearing it up on "Honky Tonk Blues"; a wonderfully raunchy live "Tumblin' Dice," a touching live "Keep Me From Blowin' Away" with the Seldom Scene. It's amazing to traverse the musical landscape Ronstadt has pursued: from wrapping her voice around the aging Sinatra in "Moonlight in Vermont" to the Nelson Riddle work, to Spanish excursions to Phillip Glass to Little Feat's raucous "All That You Dream." As this box set so clearly illustrates, there will never be another singer as versatile as Linda.

This box set contains many rarities and unreleased tracks, as well as a great overview of her solo albums and collaborations with others. It focuses on ALL of Ronstadt's musical genres, not just on rock. Hence, it is missing some of her (rock) hits, so it would help to get (or keep) her 2 Greatest Hits albums for a complete hits collection. But you won't feel cheated by this box. It covers rock, pop, country, folk, Mexican canciones, Latin pop, Early Americana, lullabies, operetta, and standards from the Great American Songbook. And the rarities disc alone is worth the price. Ronstadt possesses one of the greatest voices of our generation, and her incredible work gathered in this box is all the proof anyone needs.

Half of the material of this set was new to me, but after a couple listenings I am admiring her for the many genres she was able to sing so well. The 4th CD blew me away, and I enjoyed listening to a lot of material new to me on the 3rd CD of the set.

I only wished it was longer, as I used to have her "Greatest Hits volume 1" and "Greatest Hits volume 2" on LP; and wished that all those cuts were on this set as well.

Since her folk-rock debut in 1967, Linda Ronstadt has been one of the greatest voices in pop music history. The 1999 Linda Ronstadt Box Set does as good a job as possible of reflecting Linda's vast career.

Although one can quibble at the number of hits and classic album tracks that are missing ("Desperado", "I Will Always Love You", etc.), there's still pretty much everything else in the way of those, including the deliciously macabre "Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me", the intensely haunting "Blue Bayou", and Linda's songwriting masterpiece "Try Me Again." I will agree with those who say that it puts a lot more emphasis on her Nelson Riddle and Latin music projects than they wanted.

It is the Rarities section, however, that is the real revelation here--not surprisingly. "Border Town" and "Falling Star" are both great 1978 tracks, as is "Lightning Bar Blues", a real bar-band country-rocker with Linda on fiddle. If ever there is a decision to put out another single Rarities CD of Linda's, then it should include not only "Rambler Gambler" (as one other reviewer has suggested) but also her REALLY rarely heard 1971 single "She's A Very Lovely Woman."

All in all, the Box Set rates a 5-star rating--and it clamors to force Linda's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I was a big Linda fan during her hits period of the late 70s, so when I heard there was finally going to be a box set I was very excited. Well, Christmas morning I got this as a gift and I was absolutely SHOCKED at the glaring omissions! No-IT'S SO EASY, SILVER THREADS, I FALL TO PIECES, DESPERADO, TRACKS OF MY TEARS, HOW DO I MAKE YOU, WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW, I'LL BE YOU BABY TONIGHT, and I could go on and on! You could make a best of cd just from the missing tracks! Don't tell me the rarities, Nelson Riddle, or Spanish stuff is more important than these tracks! All in all very dissapointed. Don't waste your money, buy the individual Greatest Hits cds!

Linda Ronstadt has dominated radio airwaves all over the world for more than thirty years. I own some of her albums, and being interested in outtakes & rare tracks by excellent performers such as Linda Ronstadt I was looking forward to the release of the four-CD set.

The biggest disappointment, apart from some very awkward selections, was the lack of background information which is usually an additional & very welcome bonus for fans willing to spend that much money on a single item. This box sets offers you some nice (though not very recent)pictures but very little on musician credits or recording dates.

Linda Ronstadt has recorded some exceptionally fine music (she did miracles with Jimmy Webb tunes, for example) but also a lot of tracks way below her talent - and this exactly what this box set reflects.