Ronstadt’s voice is situated perfectly in the mix. It’s riveting from the opening lines: “Save me/Free me/From my heart this time.” The arrangement is detailed, with subtle dynamic changes, and recording engineer Val Garay captures a remarkable separation of instruments that’s also warm and inviting. “Lose Again” begins the LP with an immediate emotional peak. For the sessions that became Hasten Down the Wind she turned to Warren Zevon, Tracy Nelson, John and Johanna Hall, and especially Karla Bonoff, recording three of her tunes, including the opener “Lose Again” and closer “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me.” Like Joan Baez and Judy Collins before her, Ronstadt didn’t focus on writing songs herself, instead developing a remarkable radar for often obscure material by little-known or underappreciated composers that suited her. Occasionally she’ll adopt a mannerism of being scatterbrained that can create the impression that she’s vaguely dim, which is so far from the truth, because she’s brilliant.” “That’s one of the things that drew me to Southern California as a central sphere, a synthesis of everything.”Īsher has suggested she had to become a chameleon to survive the inherent sexism of the music business, telling Charone, “She’s more perceptive and rational than people give her credit for.
“My musical background has always been completely random,” she told Sounds’ Barbara Charone in 1976. Those hours spent listening to her father’s collection of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra LPs paid off no matter what musical genre she was performing in. She was portrayed as the quintessential “emotional female,” swept away while she sang yearning love songs like “Love Has No Pride,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “Long Long Time” and “You’re No Good.” Too little attention was paid to her technical abilities and craft: her breath control made those swoops up and down the octaves possible, and her diction and pitch were perfect. Related: Our Album Rewind review of Trio, featuring Ronstadt, Dolly Parton & Emmylou Harris Pressured by her original label Capitol to play up her earthy sexiness, she appeared barefoot in skimpy clothes on the cover of her Silk Purse album, and the art direction of her next three albums all pursued an identical template-show this woman’s beautiful face as large as possible on the front cover.
For years, it seemed that every article written about her had to mention she liked to go braless, and speculate about whatever celebrity she was currently rumored to be dating. For her entire singing career, she’d struggled to keep the focus on her voice and interpretive talent rather than her good looks and sex appeal. You’d think Ronstadt had nothing left to prove, but she did. Before They Were Stars: Rockers’ Early Days.Radio Hits in August 1967: Summer of Love.Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’: Still Think Them Cats Are Crazy.The Laughing Beatles: Innocence, ‘If I Fell,’ and a 1964 Night in Vancouver.NYC Homecoming Concert-We Made it Through the Rain.Jeff Lynne’s ELO Lights Up the Garden: 2018 Review.Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Lost’ Royal Albert Hall Concert Coming.Remembering Skynyrd’s Ed King: Guitarist, ‘Alabama’ Co-Writer.The Beatles’ Forgotten Top 20 Hit: A ‘Sweet’ Story.Don’t You Forget About Me: 13 More Timeless Early ’80s British Earworms.Jerry Allison, Last of Buddy Holly’s Crickets, Dead at 82.Radio Hits in August 1973: ‘Bad’ Song From a Good Guy.Elvis Presley’s Inspiring ‘If I Can Dream’: Behind the Song.10 Classic 1967 Debut LPs by California Bands.Rock World Pays Tribute to Charlie Watts.Roberta Flack ‘American Masters’ Special Coming in 2023.
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