Customer Reviews

The Stone Poneys Featuring Linda Ronstadt / Evergreen, Vol. 2

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Often thought of as a Sunset Strip version of Peter, Paul, and Mary because of their two-men/one-woman line-up and their basic acoustically-inclined folk-rock sound, the Stone Poneys, though they only stuck around a short time (their break-up happening more or less in the spring of 1968) and were never hugely successful, clearly benefited from the songwriting strengths of the guys, Bobby Kimmel and Ken Edwards, and the vocal strength of their lead singer, a young Arizonan named Linda Ronstadt. And after much prodding, Capitol/EMI has finally seen fit to release the official two albums of the trio, plus tracks from a third Stone Poneys album that was mostly Linda plus members of the L.A. session mafia, onto a complete CD.

This collection shows among other things that, if the Stone Poneys never got to be as successful as Peter, Paul, and Mary, the Byrds, or the Mamas and the Papas, it sure wasn't for lack of trying. Among the original folk-rooted Kimmel/Edwards compositions like "Meredith (On My Mind)" and "Evergreen", which, besides featuring great vocal harmony work also have occasional splashes of sitar, there's a heartfelt version of the Fred Neil composition "Just A Little Bit Of Rain" that gives us the first indication of where Linda would take her big, untrained voice, along with the Pam Polland-composed "I've Got To Know."

And a review of this collection would not be complete without mentioning the song that serves not only as the lynchpin of the piece, but the lynchpin of Linda's entire career, the Mike Nesmith-penned folk-rock classic "Different Drum", which, thanks to going to #1 on L.A. radio late in 1967, would subsequently hit #13 nationally in January 1968. Among the bonus tracks from the third album is the minor hit "Up To My Neck In High Muddy Water", a very early example of the kind of alternative country music that Linda would set the stage for, not only as part of her own musical mix, but also for her future good friend Emmylou Harris, and women like Lucinda Williams and Tift Merritt.

Linda herself isn't proud of a lot of her recordings, particularly these embryonic ones; but even if they don't match what she would subsequently do, in retrospect they showed very early on not only what kind of a vocalist she would go on to be, but also the kind of team player she would be in helping shape the Eagles, working with Dolly and Emmylou on their "Trio" projects, and working with Ann Savoy on ADIEU FALSE HEART. For just those reasons alone, this collection is essential to have.

The Stone Poneys emerged with the Michael Nesmith tune "Different Drum" in late 1967, but was not even the tip of the iceberg of the tunes I was about to hear on the album that spawned the hit single. The opening track, "December Dream" sets the mood of the album perfectly, with a string quartet and harpsichord backdrop and a young Linda Ronstadt singing in her classic lullabye syle. The magic continues in tracks such as "Song About The Rain" and the title cut "Evergreen" in two parts. I've always felt the two parts should always be enjoyed as a whole and have programmed it as such in my music library. Of corse, more commercial tracks ("I'd Like To Know" and "New Hard Times") at first may sound intrusive, but on repeated listenings, I grew accustumed to them. This is one of those albums that, to my mind, stands with Pet Sounds and Rubber Soul. Listen to the music clips and you'll be glad to fork over a small fortune for used copies of this disc. Seriously, though, I do hope they put the three Stone Poneys CDs out again for those who missed them the first time. This is by far the best one of the three, but the other two have some great tracks as well. That said, they serve as a nice prelude to the first four solo albums on Capitol by Linda.

* The version of 'Different Drum' on here is the same stereo version of the 45 edit as on the Capitol US 'Evergreen Volume 2' CD. [The original vinyl LP version has a longer harpsichord solo in the instrumental break, and to my knowledge has never been reissued in its original form on CD.]

*The version of 'Stoney End' is the basic recorded track, sans the string overdubs on the original LP version. Don't know that this version has been released elsewhere before; it's not marked as an alternate mix on the packaging.

I have been searching for these on vinyl but I failed to find them. By the way they are very expensive. Now I am happy to have find them on CD.

I have said a 100 times Linda Ronstadt is the premier female lead vocalist of modern times.Her professionalism is unparalleled in the industry,except Crystal Gayle.This is a very old, rare glimpse at her beginnings.It is sort of a country folk theme,so typical of the 60's.When I gave this 5 stars,I meant that it was 5 star for the time period.This work would not stack up to her newer stuff,The technology just ain't there.Her ADUEI FALSE HEART and HUMMING TO MYSELF keep her rated #1 and are works of tip of the top professionals.If you want to hear some classic Linda , pick up GET CLOSER.
Thank you Amazon for bringing this one to my attention,I am a die hard fan and may be in love with her.

Mournful and somewhat too serious pop folk of 1960s - hard not to think of Peter,Paul and Mary who at least offered some sparks and humor in their music.
Very young Ronstadt is front and centre,thought her voice is pretty,she sounds as she just returned from a funeral,so it's all a bit pretentious (chamber orchestra,harpsichord,string and all) and only "Different drum" lives up things a bit.
Occasional nice harmonies but we heard it all before with "Peter,Paul and Mary" and "Mamas and Papas" so not very original.

Over time, I might remember certain tracks as pleasantly memorable, and others, greater than simply memorable. Evergreen part one and two are two tracks I simply had to purchase and replace into my music collection. The Indian "Sitar" and hauntingly mellow accompanying lyrics and vocal work still prove to be truly worthwhile listening for me on a somewhat regular basis.
Linda's vocals are very nicely performed and the group sounds good. While Different Drum was the more popular track, there are several other good tracks (but in my opinion, for the most part, not exceptionally great). Best to preview some excerpts before purchasing.
I am willing to purchase a cd if I feel the quality of one or several of the tracks are particularly strong over time, and can not be otherwise obtained individually. With the aquisiton of these two "Evergreen" tracks, my list of "must gets" is almost complete now.

This is wonderful stuff. As I told Kenny Edwards about a year ago via email, I wish all of the Stone Poneys material would be re-released (again). That day I just couldn't get the song "Train And The River" off my mind. I didn't know that he wrote it.
Deserves a Box Set. I wish they'd get back together for more.

If you purchase only one album this year make sure it's this one! Linda Ronstadt's beginning here shows why she was destined for stardom.

a real good CD. I like that this CD has the track Some of Shelly's Blues on it. that track is a little hard to find. also Different Drum was nice to find on the CD. the CD seems to be a good recording, and the tracks I know sound just like the original hits. I am sobber, if this has anything to do with my review. I do fail to understand what my Drunk or Sober has to do with my review, but I am man enough to respect another opinion, even if I don't always agree with it. I recomend this CD to anyone who is into the early Linda Rhonstadt in the Stone Poney Days.