Customer Reviews

A Tribute to Nicolette Larson: Lotta Love Concert

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Though she may not necessarily have been considered a superstar, Nicolette Larson was a singer who had a lot of big-name friends whom she supported and who supported her. Her untimely passing in December 1997 at the age of 45, due to a cerebral edema, deeply affected that community of 70s/80s singer/songwriters who were close to her throughout her career and her life. A tribute was held in her memory at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium over a period of two nights in February 1998. Now, after eight years of various entanglements and haggling, the music of those two nights has been compiled onto this fine CD.

Emceed by Robert Hays, this tribute CD brings together many of Nicky's friends together--Carole King; Bonnie Raitt; Jackson Browne; Dan Fogelberg; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Joe Walsh; Little Feat; Jimmy Buffett; Emmylou Harris; and Linda Ronstadt. All of them band together to do Nicky's big 1979 Neil Young-penned smash "Lotta Love" to start things off, and Carole's "You've Got A Friend" to wrap it all up. And in between, we get that whole Los Angeles-based music mafia doing their thing. Walsh (alias Mr. "Hey How Ya Dooin'") does his thing on "Rocky Mountain Way"; Buffett, the original Parrothead, does his 1977 classic "Margaritaville"; and Jackson gives us "Running On Empty" and the meditative "For A Dancer."

As tends to happen, of course, the women really stand out, with Bonnie doing an acoustic version of "Love Has No Pride", and Emmylou giving us "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues." But perhaps the biggest ovation of the night for any of the artists was that given to Nicky's fellow "road warrior" Linda, who had not been seen much in recent times due to health problems. Linda, who is the godmother to Nicky's daughter Elsie Mae, is featured here reprising her heartfelt 1977 classic "Blue Bayou" as a poignant tribute to her fallen friend.

Although it is a pity that these performances took eight long and grinding years to see their legitimate apperances on CD, it is nevertheless nice to have them now than not to have them at all. There was definitely a "lotta love" in the room for one of pop music's most underappreciated (by the public) artists, and it shows on this fabulous recording.

I attended both nights of concerts honoring the life and music of the late Nicolette Larson at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in February of 1998. The first night, I'd bought a ticket to the sold-out show from a scalper and enthralled, I watched the show from the tenth row. The second night, a member of the house band gave me a laminated all access pass and, enraptured (not hyperbole), I watched from the wings of the stage. A live release of the event had been long rumored, but after so many years had lapsed, I'd long since given up hope of ever seeing any keepsake of these wonderful performances surface, save for the roll of photos I snapped, the bootleg cassette that some rabid queen from Long Beach mailed to me later on, and the backstage stories I duly diarized when I got home that night. (It's not everyday that Mary Kay Place walks in on me when I'm standing at a urinal.) So at long last - arriving on Valentine's Day, no less - Nicolette is getting her due. This set boasts mainly the big hits - e.g., Ronstadt & Blue Bayou, Browne & Running on Empty, Buffett & Margaritaville (would have thought Come Monday a more appropriate choice, given the circumstances). But take it from one who was there: to pare down to a single disc, hard decisions had to be made and more magical moments somehow ended up on the cutting room floor, such as Ronstadt's spine-tingling take on Jimmy Webb's Adios, which mystifies me not just because it was vocal perfection (despite her onstage disclaimer that it was past her bedtime) but because its sentiment reflected the evening's most fitting tribute to her friend, former roommate, and singing sister. Emmylou Harris, who only appeared on the second of the two evenings, gave a brief dedication to Nicolette explaining why she selected Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, but that too was sadly omitted. Larson is remembered most for her biggest hit, Lotta Love, on which Carole King, Bonnie Raitt, and the astonishingly good Valerie Carter & Rosemary Butler trade off verses. [By the way, don't believe the liner notes: unless they were overdubbed later, Mary Kay Place, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris do NOT sing on this track; diva-licious Ronstadt arrived at the SaMo Civic exactly at intermission, went onstage to do her three numbers in the second half and grudgingly stuck around for the ensemble finale of You've Got a Friend, after which she immediately BOLTED the premises. Notice that she is the only artist absent in the group photo.] Bonnie Raitt's Love Has No Pride (wow!) contextualizes the live disc, reminding us of the relevance of the two evenings' worth of concerts, as do Jackson Browne's acoustic For a Dancer and Crosby, Stills & Nash's cover of In My Life & Dan Fogelberg's Part of the Plan, a much more profound song than the ditty I remembered. So there is a lot to love, but a lot left out, and a long time to wait

SERVING SUGGESTION: Nicolette Larson Live At The Roxy from 1979 (released by Rhino Handmade in a pressing limited to 5,000 copies)

Nicolette is known by the vast public for that one song written by Neil Young. But what a cover! It still blasts from the radio as stong as the day it was released.
A heartfelt, almost perfect tribute with the artists who worked with and loved her. Almost perfect because I didn't think Margaritaville was a good choice for Jimmy Buffett (and I'm a diehard Parrothead!) I would have liked 'La Vie Danssante' or even a shot at 'Rhumba Girl'. Just a thought. Everyone is in fine form. Turn off 'American Idol', listen to this CD and see how its done.
Footnote: Neil Young performs 'Lotta Love' in his concert movie "Heart Of Gold" and does it for 'Nick'.

Everyone on this album is on great form and it's worth buying for Bonnie Raitt doing Love has no Pride which might just break your heart! Another stand out is CSN doing The Beatles In My Life. If you like these kind of artists then buy this album: you can't go wrong!!

These artists were clearly moved to give some very special performances in honor of their friend, the late Nicolette Larson. A great Who's Who of California Rock, these live versions of classic hits bring both freshness and a great deal of emotion to some familiar songs. Very "live" sound to the recording makes it interesting. Great versions of Fogelberg's "Part of the Plan", CSN's "Southern Cross" (uptempo), and Carole King's "Up on the Roof". Enough good tracks to get the whole album.

Lotta Love- A Tribute for Nicolette Larson- and I have a whole Lotta Love for this album!!
This project harkens back to the late 70's when such groupings of Musicians in this genre would get together and rock the house with memorable performances that were truly unforgetable, to benefit one cause or another.
There are some real gems here, such as a killer version of Linda Ronstadt doing Blue Bayou, with the last chorus being in spanish, or Crosby, Stills and Nash doing an arrangement of The Beatles In My Life.
Another sadly ironic moment is a live version of Part of the Plan, by the late ,great Dan Fogelberg, who recently lost his own battle with cancer. The list goes on and on.
I got my cd and another one was sent to a family member. They were both used and in great shape. This was well worth ordering and I highly recommend it.

Excellent CD! All of the artists (Jackson Browne, C,S, & N, Bonnie Raitt and more) are musicians to whom I love to listen. I was especially pleased to have Dan fogelberg on the CD since he had recently passed away. I would strongly recommend the purchase of this CD. You'll be glad you did.

If you like Nicolette Larson, you will love this CD. The artistry is awesome!

This CD has some of my favorite artists from the late 70's performing (Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, CSN, Dan Fogelberg, Joe Walsh, Carole King, etc). Each person did a solo performance and then there were a couple 'group' numbers. The solo performances were great! The group numbers were a little rough but was still very enjoyable. This is great CD when you're in the mood for variety.

Well, this is Ok.Bonnie doing Feat is good.But Jimmy Buffet? How the heck did he get on this. Must of just been walkin by the theater, he sounds thrilled to be there.Carole King is awsome. CSN doing Beatles cover is cool.I guess hearing these guys do somthing different (other than the same old tired material,that is)It is a nice tribute to a lovely girl with who had a lovely voice.