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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Karla's strong debut album, November 14, 2004
Karla Bonoff, along with Kenny Edwards, Wendy Waldman, & Andrew Gold consisted of the group Bryndle who released their self-titled debut in 1995. However, this group, consisting of the exact same members, had already formed all the way back in the late '60s/ early '70s--they signed to A&M Records & recorded an album, and although I believe a single was released, the album, curiously, was never released. Waldman & Gold both contribute performances on this 1977 self-titled debut, as does Edwards who also produced the album. Although this album, which came out in or around September of '77, is largely excellent & never awful, it's not hard to see why cynical critics and cynical music listeners in general would have been rather straight-faced with it when you take some other facts into consideration. Linda Ronstadt's "Hasten Down the Wind" album came out in August of `76, so in other words, basically a year before this album appeared, & it featured 3 Bonoff songs--"Someone To Lay Down Beside Me", "Lose Again", & "If He's Ever Near"--all of which Bonoff does herself on here. Also, the song "Home" had been done by Bonnie Raitt on her "Sweet Forgiveness" album which had come out earlier in the same year that this did, & the song "Isn't It Always Love" had been done by an artist named Karen Alexander & was released on her 1975 album which was also titled "Isn't It Always Love" (it was released on Elektra/Asylum). Alexander wasn't really a singer-songwriter by definition, but she did sing & write all of her own material with "Isn't It Always Love" being the only exception I know of--also, Andrew Gold, of all people, appeared on Alexander's version, & I believe it was released as a single as well. So, that's 5 out of 10 songs from this album that had already been released quite recently on albums by other artists. Plus, although Karla's piano & vocal version of the tender "Lose Again" is terrific, it easily could have originally been the demo for the forceful, powerful full band version that had been unleashed on Ronstadt's album the year before. Certainly Bonoff had every right to do her own versions of her own songs, but it seems that quite a few people found this album overly redundant. Of the remaining 5 tracks on the album, two of them weren't written by Karla, & they`re both really bland--"Faces In the Wind" is a musically limp ballad, & "Flying High" is a dull, sugary coming-of-age tune. All the rest of the tracks on the album are Bonoff solo compositions, & a couple are good-but-not-great--the waltzing "Home" is a somewhat saccharine-y feel good tune (no wonder Bonnie Raitt recorded it), and the album closer "Rose In My Garden" is nice, but a little underdeveloped. Still, like I said, the album is largely excellent. Bonoff's version of "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me" does away with the intro portion that Ronstadt's version contains, but otherwise it's very similar, but it is ultimately superior--it has a brilliant, haunting piano riff, great Bonoff vocals, & is additionally punctuated by the brilliant, perfectly executed lead guitar work by Waddy Wachtel. The easy-riding "I Can't Hold On", a song about frustration with a boyfriend, is extremely catchy, as is the bouncy "Isn't It Always Love" which is about the `necessary evil' nature of love. "Falling Star" very much sounds like a blend of James Taylor, Jackson Browne, & Linda Ronstadt, & it's a wonderfully melodic, beautifully sung acoustic guitar-dominated ballad, & the wistful ballad "If He's Ever Near" is a gem as well--both of these songs, along with "Lose Again", put Karla's winningly intimate magic on full display. Lots of legendary musicians appear on the album including, in addition to the ones I already mentioned, Russell Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Greg Ladanyi, & Jai Winding, & even Linda Ronstadt herself appears on background vocals, as do Glenn Frey & J.D. Souther, resulting in an extremely well-performed album. You can get 7 of the 10 tracks from this album, including all of the must-haves, on Karla's 1999 compilation "All My Life--The Best of Karla Bonoff", so if you only want to have a couple CDs worth of Bonoff in your collection, skip this & go for the "All My Life" disc which also supplies you with a bunch of other gems from Karla's discography. However, definitely make sure you pick up her second album, 1979's "Restless Nights", which is terrific--stylistically and sonically, it's basically identical to this debut, but it's even better, so if you like this, you simply can't go wrong with it.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Debut by Karla Bonoff does wonders, October 21, 2003
Call her voice close to the likes of Carole King or Carly Simon, with a sound that veers on country at times, King-like pop on the other. I finally decided to check out Karla Bonoff after hearing "Somebody's Eyes" from the Footloose soundtrack and found out she went back as a songwriter and artists from the late 70's. Plus, my esteemed friend Alexandra recommended her, as she went to some of her concerts, so that finally got the ball rolling.What I also did learn was that Linda Ronstadt covered three songs from here on her Hasten Down The Wind album, the first of which is "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me," which features Karla on piano and Waddy Wachtel on guitar. It's a portrait of loneliness set in "a world that can be sort of heartless." There's a light skipping beat in "I Can't Hold On" that reflects the Eagles and James Taylor-kind of sound prevalent at the time. Waddy's guitars enhances this song. The sad piano-only ballad "Lose Again" is the second song covered by Ronstadt. Bonoff's voice is at its haunting best here, as she describes her ball-and-chain relationship. She likens it to missing the train and staying behind. The best song by far here, made all the more poignant with "But you're keepin' me goin'/I know it's insane/Because I love you and lose again." Ronstadt does make an appearance here, as a backup singer on "Home", whose acoustic and steel guitars give this a country feel. Producer Kenny Edwards does the mandolin here as well. She describes home as a liberating influence: "My life there has it's own wings/To fly over the mountains/Though I'm standing still." "Faces In The Wind" is lullaby-type country ballad. The electric piano and bass really forms the framework for the upbeat "Isn't It Always Love," which I can picture Carly Simon covering. In the course of a reflective walk, Karla sagely says of the two faces of love: "Isn't it always love that makes you hang your head/Isn't it always love that makes you cry/And isn't it always love that takes the tears away/And I wouldn't have it any other way." The third song Ronstadt covered from here is the gentle acoustic ballad "If He's Ever Near", which gets backing vocal support from Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther. Yes, it is hard to find that someone who's the right one, isn't it? "Flying High" is a mid-paced country-ish song that again tells of the ups and downs of love, told to her by a gypsy fortune teller. The story has a happy ending, so that's good. Missing someone was never made so painful than in the acoustic ballad "Falling Star," where she realizes "that love can leave a scar." She does have a good high note when she sings how she's going down like the title object. It's so bad, that "when the birds fly south for a while/Oh, I wish that I could go/Someone there might warm this cold heart." One of the best songs here. The final ballad displays an analogy between a rose and love. Like the "Rose In The Garden", "It will bloom if you're sure/That you pay close attention/but leave it room."
Linda Ronstadt helps out with backing vocals here, as does Waddy Wachtel with his guitar. A wonderful debut, highlighted by Karla's melodic vocals. And a big-up to Alexandra for telling me about her.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly a desert-island disc, July 3, 2002
This album brings back my college days. One of my friends bought it, and none of us could stop listening. When it came out on CD, I was thrilled, because my LP had disappeared over the years, and the cassette I'd made (just in case!) finally wore out.Bonoff writes and sings with true passion, and I firmly believe that no music collection is complete without this album. It has not lost any of its power, even 25 years after I first heard it.
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by Karla Bonoff 
