Customer Reviews

The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Just about every major hit Linda Ronstadt has recorded is included on this excellent one-disc collection. The biggest hit missing is 1980's #10 hit "How Do I Make You" (aggravatingly, available on the British version of this disc). Many of the smashes here were already well-known in their original form, such as the Motown classics "Heat Wave," "Tracks of My Tears," "Ooh Baby Baby," and '50's rock standards "That'll Be the Day," "When Will I Be Loved," and "Back In The U.S.A." In addition to these huge chart successes are some excellent lesser hits and album tracks. "Love Is A Rose" and "Just One Look" did not do as well on the charts as, for example, "Get Closer" or her version of "Tumbling Dice," but they are clearly the superior records.

Ronstadt has been both praised and vilified for her many remakes (pretty much all her Top Tens). On one hand she was the first to bring songwriters like Warren Zevon, Karla Bonoff, Kate and Anna McGarrigle to the record-buying masses. On the other hand, some of her remakes are thought to lack emotional depth. Dave Marsh, in the good version of the Rolling Stone Record Guide, called Ronstadt a "horrid interpreter of...rock and soul material, frequently missing the essence...and never cutting below the surface." Scathing, and possibly accurate regarding "Tumbling Dice" (probably why it's not included here) and "Back In The U.S.A." I would side with Linda, however, on the hypnotically-beautiful "Ooh Baby Baby" and the uptempo hits "When Will I Be Loved," "That'll Be The Day," and the #1 "You're No Good." Of course, the duets with Aaron Neville are stunning--welcome comebacks for both singers--and I have always liked both "Somewhere Out There" and James Ingram. Although the song, an omnipresent #2 pop radio staple in 1986, made most people I know very, very ill.

I hope that Warner/Elektra/Asylum(?) issues a "Best of Volume 2," as they did with Rod Stewart (here, anyway). I'd still like to see a compilation of the remaining hits, even "Tumbling Dice," on disc, as well as the Nelson Riddle I-am-too-mature-for-rock-and-so-what-if-I-gained-a-few-pounds era songs "What's New" and "I've Got A Crush On You," and the gorgeous "Heartbeats Accelerating" from "Winter Light." In addition to "Get Closer," other fine singles from Ronstadt wanting to be anthologized include "I Knew You When," "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me," "Easy For You To Say," "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," "Alison" (yep, the Elvis Costello song, from "Back in the U.S.A."), "Silver Threads and Golden Needles," and "I Can't Let Go." O.K., one more: the non-single duet with James Taylor, "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine" from "Get Closer."

Regardless, this is the best collection ever likely to be assembled on one CD. Even a fussy completist like me recommends it highly.

Fans may note that the British version of this album omits "Love Is a Rose" and "Adios," the latter of which features background vocals by Brian Wilson, in favor of "How Do I Make You," "Love Has No Pride," "Desperado" (the Eagles' album-rock favorite), and "After the Gold Rush," a truet with Emmylou Harris and Valerie Carter. I'm pretty sure I made up that word; remember I invented it first. Lucky Brits.

Linda Ronstadt has one of the most expressive voices in all of popular music. While she didn't write any of her own hits, she and principal producer Peter Asher knew how to pick songs. Beginning with her first hit ("Different Drum") by Monkee Mike Nesmith to her final big hit in 1990, Karla Bonoff's "All My Life," Ronstadt put her own unique stamp on these songs. Whether it was outcharting Roy Orbison with her cover of "Blue Bayou," Chuck Berry on "Back in the USA" or Smokey Robinson & the Miracles on "Ooh Baby Baby," Ronstadt dominated the charts in the late-Seventies.

The only problem I have is that this collection is somewhat incomplete. It's missing minor hits like "Get Closer" and her cover of the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice." Even more disappointing is the exclusion of the Top 10 hit "How Do I Make You" from 1980. [And with a running time of 68:25, these could have been easily included.] But this does a nice job of including the big hits, a few key album tracks, and the 16-page booklet includes some great photos and track-by-track info. Overall, this is a very satisfying collection and will no doubt please casual fans with an overview of Ronstadt's career from 1967 to 1993. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Linda Ronstadt has one of the most amazing female voices in the music industry. I was very excited when I got this CD. It represents her music career well from the casual fan aspect. This woman has sang all different types of music and has been popular since the 60's which definitely displays some staying power. This album contains seven of her top 10 hits and sixteen top 40 hits. Although many of her hits were cover songs, she delivered them so well, they ptactically became her own. Her top 5 version of "Heat Wave" is fantastic and rivals the original. Then there's her #1 hit "You're No Good" which is undoubtably a 70's classic as is "Blue Bayou" (#3 hit.) Her first hit is graciously included being "Different Drum" (#13) from 1967. "It's So Easy" (#5) "Ohh Baby Baby" (#7) and "Hurt So Bad" (#8) are other highlights . Then who could forget her three smash duets which shot Linda back into the spotlight in the late 80's and early 90's. "Somewhere Out There" with James Ingram is now a pop standard and her vocal delivery in it is fantastic. Both her duets with Aaron Neville are also gems. "Don't Know Much" hit #2 and "All My Life" made it to #11 on the pop charts. The album then closes with her beautiful and stunning version of "Winter Light."

This hit collection is long overdue. Although there were previous collections of her earlier material, a more complete one was well deserved. Although this may not be all the way up to standards for the die-hards, this is a great collection for new fans. Linda Ronstadt's music should be enjoyed by all.

Linda Ronstadt has probably lived more musical styles than any one singer. This Rhino remastered product is a huge improvement over the greatest hits vol. #1 which I have. OK, the song selection isn't perfect, but I'll take it. My original greatest hits CD sounds muddy and too bassy, this Rhino product sparkles with sonic delight. The record sounded better than the original greatest hits which contains a caveat;(the source of this recording is inferior to the digital medium,all attempts were made to make the sound quality as good as possible). That shows it must have been a very early CD and not much was known about mastering, because Rhino makes the original tapes shine.
I find that in the early to mid Seventies, Linda was probably one of the best country singers who didn't call herself one. Her Band of Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Andrew Gold were a a great country rock unit. Her songs like "I Fall To Pieces", "Silver Threads and Golden Needles", "Willin'" and even the way a lot of songs presented here are much better and more country sounding than the Shania Twains and Faith Hills of today. Get it and enjoy the great quality update.

I have enjoyed listening to Linda Ronstadt over the years and happy to still hear her songs on the radio today! I agree with most of the reviewers and do recommend this collection for casual fans.

I already had her two greatest hits albums (1976 and 1980) and also have "Howl Like A Rainstorm...Cry Like The Wind" album, but still decided to buy this. I'm happy I did! Sure, hits are missing, but what is here is great and sounds great too!

Included are liner notes and pictures of Linda in color and B & W through her various stages of her life. Detailed song credits with chart positions are also here.

I remember first hearing Linda Ronstadt's amazing voice come crashing out of the radio sometime in the late sixties as the lead vocalist for the folk-rock group, the Stone Ponies. Her distinctive melodic scream of a vocal style is so distinctive it is hard not to compare with Roy Orbison, whose hit song of "Blue Bayou" is covered here in Linda's own hit cover version is included in this terrific collection of her hit songs over a ten to fifteen year period, before she went for the big band and "lush" sounds of her more recent work. It is hard to not appreciate a voice so singular and versatile, even if it is most usually delivered with a fevered wail. I once saw her in a small venue in Lenox, Massachusetts in a small amphitheater setting, with the audience sprawled over an expansive lawn that gradually rose above the covered stage area. She was so good with just her guitar and small group that it is difficult to describe her in words short of superlatives such as phenomenal.

All of her seminal work is included here for you casual enjoyment, from "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" to "When Will I Be Loved", from "You're No Good" to "It's So Easy", and all the others, including "Blue Bayou", Long, Long Time", "That'll Be The Day", "Love Is A Rose", "Different Drum", "Heat Wave", and many others. This album gives us all of Linda's formidable hits, all here in a definitive and fairly comprehensive play list that anyone would want to have to ensure an accurate representation of her volumes of work, from dozens of hit albums recorded and released over more twenty years of popular work. This is an essential album for your collection, and one I have both in the house and in the car. For easy listening as I zoom down the highway. Other than the Beach Boys, on the one hand, or Jackson Browne on the other, nobody articulates the southern California folk rock style as well or as consistently as Linda Ronstadt, the little woman with the big, big voice. Enjoy!

While on occasion criticized for not writing her own material, Linda Ronstadt nonetheless became arguably the definitive interpretive singer, male or female, of the last three decades. While she started out as a country-rock singer, she never limited herself to that role--for every 'You're No Good' or 'Poor,Poor Pitiful Me', you had a Motown classic like 'Heatwave' or 'Tracks Of My Tears'(which in my estimation to this day still equals, if not surpasses, the original Miracles' classic). Along the way she made a few genre stops (new wave, mariachi, adult contemporary pop) before coming full circle in the late nineties. The compilation adds a few of her late-eighties duets with James Ingram and Aaron Neville not found on her two previous greatest hits cds, as well as several album cuts. Ultimately, this compilation reaffirms that few artists in recent times could match Ronstadt's overall first-rate body of work.

Those of us who grew up in the 70's and 80's can remember how popular Linda Ronstadt was back then. Most of her big hits from that period are all here.
Linda had a good singing voice, and often covered other people songs, in her own style. Who can foget her versions of "Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas), "When Will I be Loved" (The Everlys),"Ooh Baby Baby" and "Tracks of my Tears" (both Smokey Robinson),"Just One Look"(Doris Troy),or "It's so Easy" and "That'll be the Day"(both Buddy Holly)?
This albums includes all those, and will bring plenty of memories back to quite a few people. Linda also supported such songwriters as Warren Zevon("Poor Pitiful Me"),giving them much needed exposure. The album also includes two duets with Aaron Neville, "All My Life" and the lovely "Don't Know Much", which deservedly won a Grammy.
None of her acclaimed work with jazz music (On three albums with Nelson Riddle),nor with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris is included. Nor from her Spanish language albums, either. This album would probably had to have been a double cd to include those. Otherwise, this is a good single "best of".

I have to admit, I like pop music but I've been a snob about it. The words Good and Pop music don't seem to go together well. How can it be? Pop music is suppose to be disposible.
However, the production values on this CD of Linda's hits relfect the informed song choices that she made at the time. You couldn't deny this woman for her sheer ability to make you listen to her and that voice!! A true survivor of pop music.
My thoughts on this CD are the following:

The sound quality on this CD is great. It suggest that Linda Ronstadt's songs were remastered and transferred to digital. Sound is better than her Volume 1 and II hit CDs. So, this CD is a 5 for sound quality. This CD design and pictures accompanying the jacket are great. I give this a 5 too.

However, I give the song choices on this CD a 4. Yes, 4.
My favorite songs on this CD are the still affecting "Different Drum", the soulful "Hurts So Bad", the Rockabilly "That'll be the Day" and "It's So Easy", and the Linda Ronstadt penned "Winter Light" I think Sarah Brightman recorded this song on her CD, released a few years back. My beef with the song selections are that Linda Ronstadt and the Rhino crew could have added or omitted a few songs. Some of Linda Ronstadt's hit songs NOT in this compilation that should have been are: "I Can't Let Go" "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me" "Desperado" "Easy for You to Say" and "Get Closer." I can see where her historical Nelson Riddle and Mariachi recordings would not suit the ROCK ambiance to this compilation, therefore, I'm not surprised any songs from these phases of her career are not included. However, Linda did record some new wave songs on a couple of good albums. Living In The USA and Mad Love both contained Elvis Costello and The Cretones songs. So some of these hits should have been included such as "Alison" "How Do I Make You" " and "Look Out for My Love"
Linda Ronstadt has recorded some good albums and good singles. This Best Of CD does not reflect this on its face and I think omits some singles that are the best of linda ronstadt. However, buy this CD for its inclusion of some good material and great sound quality. And if you are new to Linda Ronstadt this is a great introduction to her beginnings. These songs are way before the Nelson Riddle, Mariachi Ronstadt you might know. This is when she set up shop as the First Female Rock Star. Believe me, every magazine cover with her picture on it back then labled her the "Queen of Rock" because back then there were no female singers SELLING IT ALL: Country/Rock/Folk and Sex. She was the first. Don't deny yourself and invest in Linda Ronstadt other vast body of work. You won't regret it. I recommend, "Get Closer" "Mad Love" "Living in the USA" "Hasten Down the Wind" "Simple Dreams" "Western Wall" and "Frenesi" O.K. Enough Said. Have fun shopping.

Absolutely every single great Linda Ronstadt song is on this CD. While listening to it, one realizes the incredible vocal range and talent of this legendary singer. This is the second one I bought - the first has been "borrowed" by my 25 year old son.