|
Post by moe on Nov 28, 2018 9:04:59 GMT -5
Thanks for putting this thread up again. Several months ago I lost my copy of "Corridos Tales of Passion and Revolution" when the hard disc in my laptop went to digital heaven. At least now I have the link and hopefully I can figure out how to save a copy again. Again thank you very much Ronstadtfanaz!
|
|
|
Post by fabtastique on Nov 28, 2018 10:43:16 GMT -5
Thanks for putting this thread up again. Several months ago I lost my copy of "Corridos Tales of Passion and Revolution" when the hard disc in my laptop went to digital heaven. At least now I have the link and hopefully I can figure out how to save a copy again. Again thank you very much Ronstadtfanaz! If you figure out how to save it please share!! I’ve never been able to save
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Nov 28, 2018 17:06:33 GMT -5
Thanks for putting this thread up again. Several months ago I lost my copy of "Corridos Tales of Passion and Revolution" when the hard disc in my laptop went to digital heaven. At least now I have the link and hopefully I can figure out how to save a copy again. Again thank you very much Ronstadtfanaz! If you figure out how to save it please share!! I’ve never been able to save Thanks Moe. I do like to bring select threads forward as I find new information. With so many new visitors to the forum it highlights them without having to go through thousands of posts. Like Fab I couldn't figure it out. If you are able and wouldn't mind posting how you did it here that would be great: ronstadt.proboards.com/thread/5664/downloading-videosI only started downloading recently and I stumble my way through it not knowing how I did it because it turned out differently than the suggested directions. The good thing is it looks like that video isn't going anywhere as it is on a government website and has been there forever.
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Dec 16, 2018 5:04:33 GMT -5
7월 4일 (수) 뉴스룸 엔딩곡 (BGM : After The Gold Rush - Linda Ronstadt)
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Feb 24, 2019 2:30:37 GMT -5
Linda Ronstadt returns to homeland, rekindling love affair with Mexican music, cultureBy Ernesto Portillo Jr. Arizona Daily Star Feb 23, 2019 Updated 3 hrs ago
As the bus headed north and the Naco Port of Entry disappeared in the southern distance, Tucson-born singer Linda Ronstadt comfortably reclined in the rear row as her emotions and newly minted memories from the past four days nestled inside her.
She had spent the weekend with a group of musicians and music-loving family and friends in Banámichi, Sonora, a small town along the Río Sonora several hours south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Her grandfather, Federico José María Ronstadt, was born nearby in Las Delicias, before migrating to Tucson in the early 1880s.
Ronstadt has previously visited this land — an accordion of jagged mountain edges on whose slopes saguaros and organ pipe cactus stand as silent sentinels and the lush valley floor is covered with fava beans, garlic, cottonwoods and palo verdes. The history and culture of the indigenous Ópata and Pima, Jesuit missionaries and Basque colonizers, and the Mexican ranching families courses through her soul like the water that runs through the valley.
Over the years, Ronstadt has created friendships and relationships with people whom she considers long-distant kin.
“Well, it’s so beautiful here and people are so nice,” she said softly over the low murmur of the bus that headed to Tucson last Monday evening. “And it’s just an ideal town. The people are so very cordial. They remember my dad and grandfather. I’ve met people who didn’t know my grandfather personally but remember his name and what he stood for. That means something.”
Being in Banámichi is something special for Ronstadt, who first visited the area with her father, Gilbert Ronstadt, before he died in 1995. Her connection to the land and the people is strong.
But now at 72, she no longer sings in public. She is dealing with the incrementally debilitating Parkinson’s disease, which was diagnosed in 2013. Ronstadt, considered one of pop music’s greatest voices and who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, cannot easily travel.
This trip to the Rio Sonora, organized by longtime friends Bill and Athena Steen of Canelo, could be Ronstadt’s last. Then again, given her profound appreciation for the people and the culture of the Río Sonora, she’s likely to return again.
LASTING LEGACY Ronstadt returned to Banámichi on a mission. She was joined by a group of 17 folkloric dancers, ranging in age from 8 to 20, and four adult singer-musicians from Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy in San Pablo, California, north of Berkeley. Ronstadt has been a key supporter of the group for nearly 30 years. Also on the trip were her cousin Bobby Ronstadt and nephew Petie Dalton Ronstadt, both Tucson musicians and singers, and her longtime friend, pop-rock icon Jackson Browne from Los Angeles.
Bobby Ronstadt, left, and Peter Ronstadt played for the tour group in Cucurpe, Sonora, just east of Magdalena de Kino, Sonora. The tour group, which included Linda Ronstadt, were traveling to Banámichi, the birthplace of the Ronstadt patriarch, Federico José María Ronstadt. Photo taken Friday, February 15, 2019.
Bill Steen In addition, a film crew accompanied Ronstadt. Documentary filmmaker and actor James Keach (“The Long Riders,” “Walk the Line,” “Razor’s Edge”) is making two documentaries, one on Ronstadt and the other on Los Cenzontles. The Ronstadt documentary is expected to be a theatrical release and also would be shown on cable.
The trip was filled with impromptu singing and staged dances on the plazas of Banámichi and the neighboring town of Arizpe, where Juan Bautista de Anza, the 18th-century Basque explorer of California and New Mexico, is buried. On the bus, the Cenzontles students sang and strummed their stringed instruments; in the small town of Cucurpe, Bobby and Petie Ronstadt sat at a doorway and serenaded in English and Spanish during lunch; and on the second evening, Browne, with guitar in hand, joined Cenzontles’ vocalists Fabiola Trujillo and Lucina Rodriguez, singing lilting harmonies late into the evening in the dining room of the comfortable La Posada del Río Sonora, the colorful hotel facing the Banámichi plaza.
Linda Ronstadt returns to Banámichi, Sonora Members of the Los Cenzontles dance group, from San Pablo, California, perform on the plaza in Arizpe. Linda Ronstadt has been a longtime supporter of the group.
“The music of the countryside is best sung in the countryside,” said Eugene Rodriguez, founder and director of Los Cenzontles.
The musical and dance component of the trip reflected Ronstadt’s long love affair with Mexican music and culture imbued in her by her father, known to many as “Gibby.” She has supported Mexican music as a singer, collaborating with Tucson-born Mariachi Cobre and as a performer at the annual International Tucson Mariachi Conference as well as other mariachi festivals in the U.S. and in Mexico.
More than 30 years ago, Ronstadt, who has sung rock, country and American standards, released her landmark recording, “Canciones de Mi Padre.” It was a collection of classic Mexican songs backed by mariachi, inspired by Ronstadt’s childhood days, her music-loving father and a unique friend, Tucson-born icon musician and singer, Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero. Having sold up to 10 million copies, “Canciones” is considered the best-selling non-English language record in the U.S. and served as Ronstadt’s platform to promote and preserve Mexican music worldwide.
In Arizpe, fans surrounded her, taking selfies as soon they unexpectedly spied her on the plaza on a cold, windy afternoon. “We all have her music,” said Alejandro Manteca Elías of Phoenix, who attended Salpointe Catholic High School with some of Ronstadt’s cousins, and who was with two siblings visiting family in Arizpe. “We grew up with her.”
Linda Ronstadt returns to Banámichi In Arizpe, Sonora, Linda Ronstadt, right, is approached by longtime fans, Dr. Jesus Antonio Manteca Elias of Chicago, his sister Edna Manteca Verdugo of Tucson and their brother Alejandro Manteca Elías of Phoenix. The three were visiting their mother, Clementina Elías Manteca in Arizpe and were unaware that Ronstadt was in town.
Ernesto Portillo Jr. / Arizona Daily Star But it’s Ronstadt legacy that makes its lasting impact on the students who were possibly on a trip of their lifetime.
Verenice Velazquez is a 20-year-old student at UC San Diego who sings, dances and plays several instruments with Los Cenzontles, which she joined when she was 7. It was her first time performing with Los Cenzontles in Mexico, the country where her parents were born. Being with Ronstadt and sharing Mexican music in Mexico was beyond special, she said.
“It means a lot. It’s really amazing to just be able to know these traditions and perform them in California and it’s even more amazing to bring them back to Mexico where they are from,” she said during a lunch break on the bank of the Río Sonora on the final day.
“It’s a dream to be on this trip with such a well-known artist that my parents know really well and listen to her music.”
MAGICAL CONNECTION The magic of Banámichi, where years of tradition remain as strong as the tiny red-hot chiltepines that grow wild, and the fiery bacanora distilled from Sonoran agave plants, has lured Ronstadt back and will continue to pull on her emotions.
Linda Ronstadt, facing in at left, and her traveling companions have lunch at a ranchito outside of Banámichi. The Sonora River valley is filled with small ranches that raise cattle, crops and distill bacanora, Sonoran tequila.
photos by Bill Steen “What I remember is seeing a house on the corner,” she said as she recalled a memory from a visit with her father. “We looked at the church. He said his grandparents were buried there in that church. (She couldn’t remember some details and names and she chuckled at herself a bit.) Anyway, first thing I did was look at the church and then I saw the house to the right of it on the corner and I thought if that was our house.”
Her emotions haven’t changed over the years and several visits, she said.
“I still have that same sense of pride. That is where I’m from. This is what I stand for,” she said. “There is something real special and magical about the Rio Sonora valley. It has a different mix of cultures. It’s tangible.”
Ronstadt’s connection to the Río Sonora is similar to that of countless families in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Arizona license plates are common, and it’s not rare to see a decal with the University of Arizona’s block “A” on a pickup decorated with horseshoes hauling supplies or livestock. Families go back and forth from the Río Sonora valley to the deserts and mountains of Arizona.
Ronstadt explained it this way: “There’s kind of homesickness that we all have inherited genetically. Maybe I inherited some from my great-grandfather Friedrich August when he came to Mexico from Germany or my great grandmother (Margarita Redondo Ronstadt) who was from Mexico. ... But maybe she had some homesickness leaving her comfortable hacienda.”
Bill Steen, whose grandmother was also born in Banámichi and who grew up in Tucson with the Ronstadt family, was pleased that the tour, with all its parts, came together. The difference between this trip and previous ones he’s accompanied Ronstadt on, he said, is that the “potential wildness that teetered on falling into complete chaos fell into perfect harmony.”
For Ronstadt, her visits to the Río Sonora are indeed full of harmony. The memories abound. And from this last and possibly final trip, she said she’ll keep as her favorite image when the dancers from both groups joined in an impromptu, joyful celebration to the song, “La Bamba,” in the cold Arizpe air.
Los Cenzontles perform in front of Linda Ronstadt and an audience in Arizpe, Sonora, Sunday, Feb. 17.
Ernesto Portillo Jr. / Arizona Daily Star “We have lots to learn from each other,” she said.
But will this be her last trip? Will she return?
“If I can hitch a ride,” she said with a laugh.
tucson.com/entertainment/music/linda-ronstadt-returns-to-homeland-rekindling-love-affair-with-mexican/article_df046d43-0eea-5956-95bc-4c43bcf4dae2.html
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Apr 29, 2019 16:44:54 GMT -5
Behind the Beat Podcast 8/10/2018 (MC Random)
raptalkdotnet Streamed live on Aug 10, 2018 Today we break down a Linda Ronstadt sample driven soul instrumental produced by MC Random. It's interesting to see how he chops the sample and lines up different elements to make the beat. Check it out on the latest episode of Behind the Beat podcast.
Behind the Beat takes you on a ride with a different beat composition each time and breaks it down for you. We take you in a behind the scenes tour on how a Beat gets made, what samples get used and how everything ends up lining up in the end. Take a seat back and watch the process of up and coming producers as well as some veterans. Flourish$Prosper Music Group presents Behind the Beat Podcast
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on May 3, 2019 7:57:31 GMT -5
Film This Linda Ronstadt Doc Looks at How the Mexican-American Singer Defied the Music Industry’s ExpectationsBy Candice Frederick | 19 hours ago remezcla.com/features/film/documentary-linda-ronstadt-sound-my-voice-review/
“I used to think that everyone sang in Spanish and spoke in English,” Linda Ronstadt narrates in the beginning of the new biographical documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice. It’s one of many rare intimate moments of the Grammy Award-winning singer captured in the doc, which details her childhood growing up along the border of Mexico in Arizona, her meteoric rise to music superstardom, and her heartbreaking battle with Parkinson’s disease.
With a five-decade career under her belt, complete with multiple Rolling Stone covers and countless tours across the globe with iconic, though predominantly white, acts like The Doors and Neil Young, Ronstadt’s cultural background as the daughter of a Mexican father, Gilbert, who was a skilled musician in his own right, might have seemed to her fans like a distant footnote in her story, something known but hardly ever acknowledged probably because her music “transcended” race. So it’s refreshing to see that two white male filmmakers, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, spend a good deal of time in the early scenes of The Sound of My Voice with Ronstadt reflecting on the joy of singing Spanish-language songs with her dad as a child, and later talking about her groundbreaking 1987 Mexican album, “Canciones de Mi Padre,” which is the largest selling non-English-language album in U.S. history. (Selena’s post-humous “Dreaming of You” is the best-selling Latin album in the U.S., but contains several songs in English.)
These moments in the documentary aren’t glossed over as mere highlights in a story about a legendary recording artist who was almost instantaneously seen through a white gaze because of her paler skin tone and how effortlessly her voice blended in country and rock music, which are often attributed to Anglo culture. Rather, they illustrate how she continued to defy expectations as a woman of color in music, who may have been undefinable as an artist who “could sing any genre,” as her friends including Dolly Parton attest to in the film, but has always been acutely aware of who she is as a person — a woman as much influenced by her Mexican roots (particularly how much popular music derived from Spanish-language tunes) as she was her mother Ruth’s German, English, and Dutch ancestry. However, a female director of color might have been able to contextualize her story even further, to resonate with her more diverse audience. The opportunity to engage with fans in that way, especially in today’s politically conscious climate, is completely lost.
But, as she admits in the film, Ronstadt curiously never considered herself to be a political figure, though it could certainly be argued that her very existence as a Mexican-American icon is a political statement in and of itself. For instance, she was adamant about doing her first Spanish-language album, but not because she had spent twenty years performing in front of sold-out, mostly white audiences. She really just wanted to honor her dad and the music she first learned as a child. Archival footage shows Ronstadt telling an interviewer that she went to her record label and said, “If I don’t do this album, I will die,” in her wonderfully energetic speaking voice that permeates the entire movie.
Linda Ronstadt in Santa Monica, February 16, 1968. Photo by Henry Diltz. Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival
There’s also interesting footage of her being interviewed by a white male journalist on TV about her (at the time) controversial decision to perform in South Africa during apartheid in 1988. Before he could even get the rest of his question out, she was already jumping in to say that if she stopped performing in places whose politics she disagreed with, “I wouldn’t be able to perform in some parts of America either.” She asked him why her statements were considered political at all because, “Who likes nuclear war?” His response: “You just summed up your entire politics in under a minute.”
But The Sound of My Voice leads us to think that these were just matters of fact to Ronstadt, just like her dad being Mexican and her mostly white fan base. Still, it’s hard to tell whether that is actually how Ronstadt feels or whether that is how Epstein and Friedman, who revealed at the world premiere that they’re huge fans of her music, prefer to understand her. There is another archived clip of Ronstadt talking to a reporter on a beach about what it was like to be a woman in the male-dominated rock ‘n’ roll industry, highlighting how sexism was so consuming that it could destroy you but that you must rise above it. Ronstadt’s producer Peter Asher, being interviewed in present day, reveals that she had a diet pill addiction at her prime, connecting it to a conversation about vices among musicians. But the statement just dangles in the air, uninterrogated. What does that mean in the broader context of female image in a known misogynist space? A female filmmaker would have definitely caught that.
There is an emphasis on control throughout Ronstadt’s story — from the singer choosing to remain almost entirely in voice-over, only shown at the end of the documentary when she’s singing with her family and struggling to hide the tremor in her hand, to the directors focusing on her storied career and crossover success rather than digging more deeply into her sociopolitical significance. It makes The Sound of My Voice a somewhat shallow yet celebratory film that never reaches its full potential.
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Documentary, Linda Ronstadt, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, Tribeca Film Festival. Thursday, May 2, 2019 at 2:08 PM EDT
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on May 18, 2019 1:49:40 GMT -5
Favorite Songs by Favorite Artists: Linda RonstadtFebruary 13, 2009 Guest Contributor Favorite Songs by Favorite Artists 33 www.countryuniverse.net/2009/02/13/favorite-songs-by-favorite-artists-linda-ronstadt/
Linda-Ronstadt
The following is a guest contribution from Country Universe reader Erik North.Sometimes you first find out about your favorite artists not necessarily from your peers but, strangely enough, from either your parents or your relatives. In the case of Linda Ronstadt, I found about her through my aunt, who had a copy of Linda’s 1978 album Living In The U.S.A. that I listened to when I was eight years old back in 1978. Since that time, I have been a very staunch fan of Linda’s, even on those occasions when her excursions into other musical arenas have driven others to distraction. As it is with Elvis or the Beatles, if you have to have Linda Ronstadt explained to you, you may never get it.
Linda is not one of those who confines herself to any single genre; while that does tend to cause people a lot of problems, it’s in Linda’s nature to explore as much as she can, regardless of what the critics, or even her own fans, think. Whether it’s big band pop, Mexican rancheras, Gilbert and Sullivan, traditional, contemporary, and urban folk music, the experimental classical music of composer Philip Glass, rock and roll, blues, R&B or jazz, she just can’t stop exploring musically.
And yet, at the same time, even though she has never put herself in the strict category of being a country singer, her classic country-rock albums and songs have influenced at least three different generations of female country and roots-rock singers. She has an appreciation for and a huge knowledge of the country genre, through and through, having grown up in Arizona on a steady diet of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride. The early rockabilly records of Elvis, and later Buddy Holly, were also important factors in her musical growth. And when there was a revival of American folk music as the 1960s dawned, she was into that, too, getting a full dosage of traditional Appalachian folk music and bluegrass. All of those things have factored into how Linda Ronstadt approaches country music. Her approach is just more Sunset Boulevard than Music Row, that’s all.
Although it often gets pointed out that many of Linda’s hits are remakes of long-standing rock, R&B, and country songs that had been hits for others, what often gets overlooked is the complete albums those hits came from, and the songs that surround those hits. Linda was perhaps the first female singer in any genre, country or otherwise, whose career was defined by albums as much as (if not more than) hit singles. And so this is an advocacy of Linda’s great talents within or on the perimeter of the country genre, not only as a hitmaker, but as an album artist par excellence as well.
#25
“The Only Mama That’ll Walk The Line”
Hand Sown, Home Grown, 1969
From Linda’s debut album, arguably the very first alternative-country album by a female artist, comes this feminist take on a song that had been a hit the previous year by Waylon Jennings (as “The Only Daddy…”). Linda’s snarling, almost-spat-out delivery, and a clever change in a lyric at the beginning, are almost a challenge against the stereotype of female country singers of that era. It was the first song she did on the Johnny Cash Show on June 21, 1969, that introduced her to country music audiences.
#24
“I Can’t Get Over You”
Adieu False Heart, 2006
Linda’s duet album with Ann Savoy, though rooted in Celtic and Cajun roots music, goes into very rustic traditional folk/country territory with this ballad written by Julie Miller, whose husband Buddy plays acoustic guitar on this track. Linda’s lead vocals transport one back to that rootsy sound, aided and abetted by Ann’s harmony vocals. It is one of the standout tracks on an album that got a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Music recording in 2006.
#23
“It’s So Easy”
Simple Dreams, 1977
At the height of her success, Linda also fueled a revival of rock and roll legend Buddy Holly’s catalog; and one of the ways she did this was to record this traditional rock and roll number from 1958 and spice it up with clavinets, a cowbell, and pounding drums. The inherent rockabilly twang of the song got a fair amount of country airplay, even though it only charted at No. 81 on the country singles chart. It nevertheless got to No. 5 on the pop singles chart. And at the same time, the album it came from was the No. 1 album on both the pop and country album charts.
#22
“Willin”
Heart Like A Wheel, 1974
Who says women don’t do truck driving songs? Thanks to this number written by her good friend, the late Lowell George (of Little Feat), Linda pulls it off in this dissolute tail of being “robbed by the rain/driven by the snow” and being given “weed, whites, and wine” while journeying “from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah.” This is a defining song in the California country-rock repetoire from a landmark album in the genre.
#21
“New Partner Waltz”
Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’, 2003
This all-star tribute to the country/gospel duo the Louvin Brothers won the 2003 Grammy for Country Album of the Year. Overlooked amidst the contributions made by heavyweights like Vince Gill, Terri Clark, Dierks Bentley, and her Trio pals Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, was this particular track in which Linda returns to her traditional country roots by duetting with the album’s producer and her good friend, bluegrass music master Carl Jackson. The two of them do such a good job, and it showed that Linda always had a lot of business revisiting the country arena.
#20
“That’ll Be The Day”
Hasten Down The Wind, 1976
Having previously done a superb country/folk version of Buddy Holly’s last hit “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” on Heart Like A Wheel, Linda returned to the Holly catalog two years later with this modern rockabilly remake of his and the Cricket’s No. 1 hit from 1957. The use of echo on Linda’s vocals, and the twin guitar breaks provided by her guitarists Waddy Wachtell and Dan Dugmore, propelled this song to No. 11 on the pop singles chart, and No. 27 on the country chart in October 1976, and led to Linda earning her second Grammy award, this one for Best Pop Female Vocal.
#19
“Crazy Arms”
Linda Ronstadt, 1972
Linda’s penchant for understanding the traditions of honky-tonk heartbreak songs, while realizing the timelessness of them, is borne out in this recording of a song that had previously been a hit for, among others, Ray Price in 1956, and has since been more recently covered by Patty Loveless, one of Linda’s many fans and peers. Coming from her self-titled album, which was her first true country breakthrough (it reached No. 35 on the country album chart early in 1972), this song also features contributions from a couple of guys named Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Need I tell anyone what became of them?
#18
“Break My Mind”
Hand Sown, Home Grown, 1969
Another country standard, this one written by John D. Loudermilk (he of “Tobacco Road” and “Indian Reservation” fame, among others), this one was a favorite among the elite of the Los Angeles country-rock movement of the late 1960s; and Linda had the foresight to give it a honky-tonk rock throwdown rendition, complete with an unusually growling lead vocal from her, and a stinging guitar break from the late, great West Coast C&W guitar master Clarence White.
#17
“Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me”
Simple Dreams, 1977
Linda often took a lot of hard knocks from critics for being “self pitying,” so in response, she shocked them by doing this very atypical Warren Zevon-penned hard country-rocker (complete with cowbell and syn-drums). This song revealed a humorous side of Linda, though it’s a brand of humor that is as black as coal. If its chart placement at the time seemed a little low (No. 31 pop, No. 56 C&W), it still remains one of Linda’s all-time best performances, given that it is essentially an ode to gang rape—a point that Terri Clark may have missed when she did this song nineteen years after Linda.
#16
“Long, Long Time”
Silk Purse, 1970
One overlooked fact about this incredibly heartbreaking ballad is that Linda recorded it, and the album it came from, largely with a group of Nashville session musicians known as Area Code 615. The fact gets overlooked because the contributions made by fiddle player Buddy Spicher and pedal steel master Weldon Myrick to the song make it seem more orchestral than pure country. This song was also the only time Linda strongly advocated for its release as a single, over the objections of her then record label Capitol, and it paid off. Not only did it go to No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1970 (getting onto country radio later in the decade, when Linda’s crossover popularity was too great to ignore), but it also got Linda her first Grammy nomination, for Best Contemporary Female Vocal.
#15
“Colorado”
Don’t Cry Now, 1973
Much like her version of the Eagles’ “Desperado” on this same album (her first for Elektra/Asylum), this country-rock ballad, written by Rick Roberts of the Flying Burrito Brothers (he replaced Gram Parsons) and later of Firefall, is a tale of homesickness and a desire to come back to the homestead after many long years of being alone. It is a fitting song for Linda, for though she grew up in Arizona and not Colorado, its sentiment and its setting in the Intermountain West are borne out in Linda’s passionate, heartfelt delivery, boosted by a lush string section and surrealistic pedal steel guitar work from the late, great Sneaky Pete Kleinow.
#14
“He Was Mine”
Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions, 1999
Linda and her good friend Emmylou Harris are a Mutual Admiration Society of the highest order, and their 1999 collaboration, recorded in Linda’s hometown, was a substantial hit with country and roots-rock fans (No. 73 pop, No. 6 C&W, October 1999). One of the songs on this album that stands out is this track, written by Emmy’s ex, Paul Kennerley, and given a typically passionate delivery by Linda, boosted by Emmy’s harmony vocal and Greg Leisz’s pedal steel solo. This was meant to be heard by a larger core of listeners, but country radio sadly stayed away from it.
#13
“When Will I Be Loved?”
Heart Like A Wheel, 1974
The hard-belting style Linda displays whenever she gets her teeth into a traditional rock and roll number is very much in evidence in this Everly Brothers remake, essentially the Sunset Strip meeting the rockabilly sound of Sun Records, with its twanging guitar break from Linda’s long-time favorite session player Andrew Gold. All that kept it from going to No. 1 on the pop chart was the Captain and Tenille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together”; it became Linda’s one solo No. 1 country hit in June 1975.
#12
“Walk On”
Feels Like Home, 1995
Matraca Berg considered it an extreme honor to have one of her songs recorded by one of the female legends who inspired her the most, even asking that those who were listening with her keep silent as she took it in. This hoedown, fueled by Linda’s Southwestern drawl and Allison Krauss’ fiddle, sadly got what amounted to The Shaft from country radio in April 1995, as it charted only at No. 61 on the country singles chart. Nevertheless, it is one of Linda’s strongest, most countrified vocal performances in her stellar career.
#11
“Telling Me Lies”
Trio, 1987
Linda’s 1987 collaboration with good pals Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton was among the best-selling country albums of the pre-Garth, post-Urban Cowboy era; and one of the reasons was this Linda Thompson/Betsy Cook-penned ballad about betraying and deceitful men—perfect for a world-class vocalist like Linda, who sings lead here. “Telling Me Lies” peaked at No. 3 on the country chart on July 15, 1987, when Linda turned 41; and Trio peaked at No. 1 C&W, No. 6 pop, winning a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Duo/Group performance for 1987.
#10
“I Fall To Pieces”
Linda Ronstadt, 1972
It may be considered sacrilege for a non-country singer to tackle a song made immortal by Patsy Cline back in 1961, but Linda takes a cue from Patsy’s relaxed delivery, giving this standard it a modest shuffle sound, rent with pedal steel and fiddle flourishes, and the ambience of a live audience (this was recorded at the legendary Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles in August 1971). Once again, future Eagles Don Henley and Glenn Frey are there, assisting Linda with good grace.
#9
“I Never Will Marry”
Simple Dreams, 1977
A traditional Appalachian folk ballad popularized first by the Carter Family is given a restrained treatment by Linda, complete with her good friend Dolly Parton’s authentic Appalachian harmony vocals, which makes it appropriate that it should have peaked at No. 9 on the country singles chart in June 1978. What gets overlooked, though, is that Linda plays acoustic guitar on this track as well, helped out by the traditional Dobro shadings of the Seldom Scene’s Mike Auldridge (as an addendum, this song’s A-side, a hard-rocking version of the Stones’ “Tumbling Dice,” was a No. 37 pop hit).
#8
“A River For Him”
Winter Light, 1993
Winter Light, released in late 1993, was one of Linda’s most criminally underrated albums (only getting to No. 92 on the pop album chart); and one of the highlights of it was this tear-inducing, acoustic guitar-and-synthesizer-dominated ballad written by her good pal Emmylou Harris. Linda’s low-key delivery of Emmy’s lyrics is really affecting without being manipulative, and she gets all of the heartbreaking nuances, as she had done twenty-three years before with “Long, Long Time.”
#7
“Crazy”
Hasten Down The Wind, 1976
Once again, Linda isn’t afraid to tackle a classic, as she does here with this Willie Nelson-penned ballad immortalized by Patsy Cline in 1961. Linda’s approach is more bluesy than Patsy’s is, but her delivery, besides paying homage to a legend, also helped coin the phrase “torch rock.” The song, which hit No. 6 on the country chart in February 1977, also made the album it came from a No. 4 hit on the pop album chart, and No. 1 country.
#6
“I Will Always Love You”
Prisoner In Disguise, 1975
There is such a thing as subtlety, something that Linda proved when she became the first artist to cover this Dolly Parton mega-classic, just fourteen months after Dolly’s original. If you think you’ve heard all you need to hear of this song through Whitney Houston’s arguably way-over-the-top 1992 version for the movie The Bodyguard, do yourself a favor and take a listen to Linda’s version, powered by Andrew Gold’s subtle piano, the R&B-tinged backup singers, Dan Dugmore’s pedal steel flourishes, and, above all else, Linda’s dramatic, heartfelt soprano voice. This song helped power the album to No. 4 on the pop album chart, and No. 2 on the country album chart in late 1975.
#5
“Heartbreak Kind”
We Ran, 1998
There is just no way of getting around it: We Ran, released in June 1998, is one of Linda’s greatest latter-day albums and arguably also the single most criminally underappreciated album of her career (it only got as high as #168). And one of the highlights of this album is this track, penned by Paul Kennerley and country maverick Marty Stuart, a return to Linda’s early ’70s C&W-rock roots. It is essentially a duet of sorts, as former Eagle and longtime Ronstadt musician favorite Bernie Leadon harmonizes in a very slithery way with her and also does the twangy Telecaster guitar licks. This one track should have gotten country airplay.
#4
“Silver Threads And Golden Needles”
Don’t Cry Now, 1973
How does this grab you—a remake of a remake. Linda had originally recorded this song, first a hit for Wanda Jackson in 1956, on Hand Sown, Home Grown in 1969, but she was unhappy with the arrangement of the song on that album. Four years later, she redid this country standard as a country-rock hoedown, fueled by the fiddle work of Cajun musician Gib Guilbeau and some piercing steel guitar work from Ed Black. With a No. 20 placement on the country singles chart in May 1974 (the album it came from hit No. 5 on the country album chart, and No. 45 pop), “Silver Threads” began Linda’s crossover dominance, by which she helped reconnect rock and roll with its traditional country roots.
#3
“Blue Bayou”
Simple Dreams, 1977
What had originally been a very modest hit for its writer, the late and legendary Roy Orbison, in 1963 turned into one of Linda’s signature hits, also helping to re-establish Orbison’s place in the rock pantheon. With its bass line, marimba, and lush electric piano backing, in Linda’s hands, “Blue Bayou” is influenced to no small degree by Linda’s Mexican roots (she re-recorded this song again shortly after this had hit, this time in Spanish). Propelled near the climax by Dan Dugmore’s soaring steel solo, “Blue Bayou” got to No. 2 on the country chart in November 1977, and on Christmas Day was at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. With “It’s So Easy” also at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, Linda had set two records. She became the first female artist to have two top five hits at the same time, and the first act of any kind to pull off such a feat since the Beatles dominated the Top Five in April 1964.
#2
“I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)”
Heart Like A Wheel, 1974
Linda always mentioned Hank Williams as a pivotal musical influence; and on her version of one of Hank’s signature hits, she puts her money where her big voice is. Aided and abetted on harmony vocals by her good pal Emmylou Harris, Linda pulled off a remarkable feat. “I Can’t Help It,” which hit No. 2 on the country singles chart in March 1975, was the B-side of “You’re No Good,” Linda’s No.1 pop hit of one month earlier. The following year, she won the first of (so far) eleven Grammy awards, for Best Female Country Vocal, beating out, among others, Emmylou and her other Trio pal Dolly Parton.
#1
“Love Is A Rose”
Prisoner In Disguise, 1975
One can trace the Dixie Chicks’ approach back to this bluegrass-fueled version of a Neil Young composition that reveals Linda’s approach to country—more Laurel Canyon than the Opry, but still rooted in country, thanks to the contributions of Herb Pederson on banjo, and David Lindley on fiddle. “Love Is A Rose” hit #5 on the country chart, while the A-side, a pounding version of the Motown classic “Heat Wave,” simultaneously hit No. 5 on the pop singles chart in November 1975.
If you are interested in writing a guest post for Country Universe, send an e-mail to kevin@countryuniverse.net
|
|
|
Post by eddiejinnj on May 18, 2019 9:18:40 GMT -5
An excellent read. A great synopsis of Linda's country performances and influence. A must read for new country fans. eddiejinnj
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Jul 1, 2019 9:37:35 GMT -5
Cuarteto Coculense First mariachi to make sound recordings In autumn of 1908, four musicians from Cocula, Jalisco, known as the Cuarteto Coculense or Mariachi de Justo Villa, became the first mariachi to make phonograph recordings, cutting some 60 sides for the Edison, Victor, and Columbia labels, all of which had primitive recording facilities in Mexico City at that time. All three companies abandoned the country after the Mexican Revolution broke out in 1910, and nearly two decades passed before the next mariachi recordings were made.
mariachispectacular.com/timeline/
Mariachi Coculense de Cirilo Marmolejo First mariachi to record after the Mexican Revolution By 1926, the Mexican Revolution had waned, and the Cristero War was just erupting. That same year, Cirilo Marmolejo and his Mariachi Coculense—by then residents of Mexico’s capital city—became the second mariachi in history to make phonograph recordings. These 78 rpm records used the latest “electric” technology, which Discos Victor had recently installed in its Mexico City studios. This new system was radically superior to any previous technology, and here the guitarrón may be heard prominently for the first time.
Mariachi Tapatío de José Marmolejo Prototype of the Urban Mariachi After Mariachi Coculense’s extended engagement at the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair, José Marmolejo (nephew of Cirilo) left his uncle’s mariachi to form a group of younger musicians with more modern ideas. The most novel feature of this new ensemble was that it contained a trumpet, a controversial addition any mariachi in those days. Radio, films, and records soon helped Mariachi Tapatío become the most popular mariachi in Mexico — and the trumpet to become a permanent feature in mariachi music.
Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán The most important mariachi in history begins making records & films In 1934, an all-string mariachi from the village of Tecalitlán, Jalisco, led by young violinist Silvestre Vargas, arrived in Mexico City, where they took up permanent residence. The group occasionally appeared on live radio, but found it difficult to compete with Mariachi Tapatío’s dominance of the artistic scene. It wasn’t until 1937 that Mariachi Vargas made it first film, Así es mi Tierra; and its first records, four songs for Discos Peerless. This visionary group would become the most influential mariachi of all time.
Mariachi México de Pepe Villa The trumpet duet is inaugurated and popularized In the early 1950s, vihuela player Pepe Villa of Mariachi Pulido came up with the novel idea of forming a mariachi with two trumpets, something almost previously unheard of. In 1953, he inaugurated Mariachi México de Pepe Villa, consisting of former Mariachi Pulido members and trumpeter Miguel Martínez, who had recently left Mariachi Vargas. This new sound took the mariachi world by storm, and the two-trumpet combination remains the standard instrumentation in mariachi music today.
La Fonda de Los Camperos The mariachi restaurant concept is born In 1961, violinist Nati Cano took over Mariachi Los Camperos and proceeded to transform it into the preeminent mariachi of the United States. In 1969, in downtown Los Angeles, the group opened La Fonda de Los Camperos—the first restaurant to present a first-class mariachi stage show, and where the musicians themselves were partners in the business. The original La Fonda closed in 2007, but today restaurants of this nature are popular in the US, Mexico, and other countries.
First International Mariachi Conference Birth of the mariachi conference and festival movement In 1979, music educator Belle San Miguel and mariachi musician Juan Ortiz organized the world's first International Mariachi Conference. The initial event in San Antonio, Texas included workshops, concerts, lectures, competitions, and a mariachi Mass. Concerts pairing mariachi with symphony orchestra were later added. This concept was recreated in various locations, developing into what is often referred to as a mariachi conference and festival "movement." Today, dozens of such events are held each year in the United States, Mexico, and other countries.
Canciones de Mi Padre Mariachi music promoted internationally to an unprecedented degree
In 1987, pop singer Linda Ronstadt decided to record an album in Spanish to pay tribute to her Mexican roots. She enlisted the services of arranger Rubén Fuentes, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, and other mariachi luminaries for this project. Her highly successful tours brought mariachi music to venues and audiences that had never heard this music before. Her Grammy-winning Canciones de mi Padre became a worldwide hit, and the biggest selling foreign language album in US record history.
Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque founded Unique festival pays permanent tribute to mariachi pioneers Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque was cofounded in 1991 by the University of New Mexico Division of Continuing Education and the festival’s executive director, Noberta Frésquez. One unparalleled aspect of this festival is that it has consistently brought together numerous legendary pioneer mariachi musicians, many of whom have been inducted into the Mariachi Spectacular’s unique Hall of Fame. This, along with exemplary workshops and concerts, helps to make Mariachi Spectacular one of the most important mariachi festivals in the world.
UNESCO grants international recognition to mariachi tradition Mariachi added to Representative List of Cultural Heritage In 2011, UNESCO officially added the mariachi tradition to its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritages in Need of Safeguarding. According to this declaration, the mariachi is a living heritage that provides a sense of identity to its community. By recognizing the mariachi as a fundamental element of Mexican culture, UNESCO attempts to achieve greater protection for this tradition through worldwide awareness. Since this designation, the Mexican government has given more official support to mariachi music than ever before.mariachispectacular.com/
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 2, 2019 13:01:46 GMT -5
I was waiting for that one special review to be included in this thread. Here it is:WRITTEN BY The Couch Tamale Sep 30 · 12 min read Follow medium.com/@tomcendejas/linda-ronstadt-the-sound-of-my-voice-is-the-story-of-a-restless-cry-e88c41a6d7c2 Film, Music, Peak TV, Diversity— Tom Cendejas is sitting on a sofa and unwrapping Pop Culture with a Latino eye, one husk at a time.“Linda Ronstadt — The Sound of My Voice” is the Story of a Restless Cry
Linda Ronstadt in 1977
When you fall in love with a singer — with their voice, their persona, their passions — it’s not necessarily a rational matter. Like many infatuations, you respond instinctively. With a vocalist, you are awakened to a tone, a way of phrasing, the songs they choose, and of course, the mysterious draw of their voice. Sometimes, though, you can point to something more primal or particular that draws your ear and which has a genuine logic to it, though it’s a reasoning you may discover over time.
When I was a kid in the seventies, I developed from a casual fan of Linda Ronstadt in high school (her “Heart Like a Wheel” album was in high rotation in our student lounge) into a highly devoted one by the time I was in college. When friends would ask why I went to each of her concerts, and even to LA clubs like the Roxy or Troubadour in the hopes of glimpsing her, I would try to explain what it was that so attracted me to Ronstadt and that distinctive, powerful voice. I finally began to realize that what stirred me so much had roots in my childhood.
Though Ronstadt was singing what came to be known as “country rock”, every time I heard her I traveled back in time to Sunday mornings in my Pico Rivera home. My father would make us both pancakes and menudo, and as he cooked, he played mariachi records and sang along at full volume. I preferred the songs broadcast by my transistor radio — I knew the words to songs by The Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds, even The Archies, but I wasn’t a particular fan of this Mexican folk music. Yet my father’s vibrato as he crooned along with Mariachi Vargas, wavering in and out of tune, and my mother’s humming as she dressed for church gave these well-worn “Mexican music” albums an affectionate association, and as I would come to discover, they had their comforts. Many of the singers my father played were men, but occasionally, a woman would lead those mariachi orquestas, and they sang loud and strong enough to be heard over horns and guitarròns.
As I left my primarily Mexican-American community for a high school and college that were predominantly white, I often felt unmoored — these were days long before inclusion and diversity were social or school policy goals. If I felt the pressure of what we now call ‘code switching’ or if I noticed discrepancies in my two cultures, I soon learned it was best to keep it to myself. When I finally ventured forth to assert to friends and fellow music fans that I loved Linda Ronstadt’s voice for many reasons, but significantly, because of its connection to my Chicano roots, I was often met with blank stares or occasionally even ridicule. (“Mariachis — like those guys who sing too loud at brunch at El Torito?”)
What I heard in Linda Ronstadt’s timbre and artistry, and which would become more evident when she actually started releasing best-selling records in Spanish, was the same kind of yearning but powerful soulful belting I’d heard on records from singers like Lola Beltrán, Chavela Vargas, Aida Cuevas and even from the non-Mexican but beloved Eydie Gorme on her popular records with Trio Los Panchos. To be clear, this was a specifically Mexican-American, Chicano, border kind of soul. The titanic strength in those voices has a constant companion: Sorrow. It’s woven through the horns and guitar strums like a ranchera singer’s braid. It’s a particular form of the classic descriptor: a “cry in the voice.” The irony these women portrayed is that even though they were singing with male mariachi bands and musicians, and their soaring vocals were full of vigor and a thrilling power, they were crooning stories of heartbreak, of women who had been repeatedly wronged by men, even of women plotting crimes of passion. Melodramatic, yet masterfully technical, these were the Mexican version of “torch singers”, and even if you didn’t understand the lyrics, you could understand that the women were wise and world-weary yet not ready to give up on life and love.
Linda Ronstadt had that same ‘cry’ in her voice. It’s there already in her early ballad hits, like “Long Long Time” and particularly in “Love Has No Pride.” It’s part of the attraction of her version of Lowell George’s “Willin’” as well as “When Will I Be Loved.” She was able to slide it in to songs by The Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly, even Elvis Costello’s “Alison.” Mostly male and mostly white music critics of the time referenced American country music as they tried to capture Ronstadt’s superstar appeal and review her multiple best-selling records. The common descriptor at the time was that Ronstadt was helping to pioneer “country rock”, a nebulous genre that grouped in everyone from The Eagles to the piano-driven Jackson Browne or the bluesy Bonnie Raitt, as long as a steel guitar was somewhere in the arrangement. And it’s true…Ronstadt was a longtime fan of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Americana folk music.
But calling her a “country-rock” singer was incomplete, and too-easy shorthand. Far more complex to ask, “which country” was she embodying, and as we learn from her biography and from the new documentary, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice”, she was embodying at least three. As Ronstadt herself says in a recent interview, “People don’t realize that there’s Mexican, there’s American, and then there’s Mexican-American. They’re three different cultures, and they all influence each other. And they all influence our culture profoundly.”
Though Rolling Stone and mainstream music journalism only emphasized the “American” features in Ronstadt’s music, she couldn’t be anything less than what she was and what would eventually be seen as by all — a young woman who as a girl listened to standards and classical music influenced by her Euro-American mother, and who also sang along to the ranchera and huapango ‘border music’ of her Tucson upbringing, as personified by her father and grandfather of Mexican-German background. Her childhood was informed by small ambulatory Latino orchestras who could combine accordion ‘oom-pah-pah” with the mestizo version of a string section. Recognizing this blend in her singing — filtered as it was through the Laurel Canyon, Southern California singer-songwriter culture of Los Angeles in the sixties and seventies — gave me, a Mexican-American kid trying to make his way in an ‘anglo’ world, a considerable lifeline. I awaited each album with fervor, and was among the first in those old Ticketron lines to get tickets to Linda Ronstadt concerts.
In its essence, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” is the story of a stubborn persistence and fierce artistic vision that started in the Arizona ranch house living room of a young woman who instinctively opened herself up to the music being sung around her. When she finally pursued a career (leaving home at 18!) and opened up her mouth to sing at the Troubadour’s microphone, cultural multitudes emerged. This is the narrative that Ronstadt tells in her autobiography and which the filmmakers Ron Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (the team behind very moving documentaries on Harvey Milk and the AIDS Quilt) replicate in the film; that Ronstadt’s desire to sing what she was introduced to as a child and loved from her eclectic musical home community eventually resulted in a career that remarkably did exactly that, and in so doing, enlarged that community to a global level. (I belong to two Linda Ronstadt very devoted fan Facebook groups, and members comment from around the world.)
Though not a strict singer-songwriter like many of her peers, Ronstadt still, as Jackson Browne notes in the film, became an auteur, and her statement as an artist was to fight to sing what she curated and knew had cultural value. She had that elusive quality of taste, and loved good songwriting so much that she helped bring new audiences to Warren Zevon, Karla Bonoff, The McGarrigle Sisters, The Roches, Jimmy Webb and many others. She added a female perspective to songs by established rock artists like Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Jagger/Richards. Working with longtime producer Peter Asher, she revitalized R&B ‘oldies’ and plucked obscure folk Americana songs like “I Never Will Marry” from obscurity and put them next to rock and roll rave-ups. Eventually, as the movie makes clear, her restlessness and desire to explore good songs no matter what their origins, led her to star in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” and then do a sharp, unexpected u-turn into the pre-rock past: three albums of big band and jazz era songs associated with Gershwin, Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
These three albums of gorgeously-recorded Nelson Riddle arrangements hit the charts with unexpected sizzle; nearly everyone had predicted that abandoning her proven success with arena rock would be career suicide. (In truth, the rise of punk and ‘power pop’ swept her unfairly into what appeared to be a fresh generational divide, and her 1980 album “Mad Love”, though still full of powerfully sung cuts, had the tiniest air of desperation about it; even the pink, black and white cover art looked like she was trying to evoke punk and “new wave” in order to stay relevant.) Ronstadt was a humble student of the standards she attempted, challenging herself to do justice to Riddle’s classic arrangements and find her own voice within them. Her concerts switched from stadiums to proscenium theaters, and the music industry was confounded by how swiftly her past audiences went with her, and how quickly she attracted new ones.
This pattern kept repeating through the eighties and early nineties. The record company wanted her to keep doing what brought the money in; Ronstadt kept wanting to change. Long before Madonna and other pop acts made a habit of ‘reinvention’, Ronstadt’s artistic restlessness manifested itself into new forms with each recording. She returned to roots country music with the magical and pristine harmonies she created with longtime friends Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton in the ‘Trio’ album. Would audiences accept her sudden trading of taffeta evening gowns for Western shirts and skirts? ‘Trio’ topped the charts and won Grammys.
But this was all paltry compared to her biggest risk: Ronstadt wanted to abandon English-language singing altogether and finally reclaim her years singing Mexican folk music. (She’d flirted with Spanish-language in an earlier album with “Lo Siento Mi Vida”; curiously, her Spanish accent was decidedly anglicized on that recording, despite her longtime exposure to the language.) Country music? Made some sense. Classic jazz standards? A stretch, but she made it work. Audiences and record-buyers showing up for an album of mariachi and ranchera music? That was surely a career-killer, when so many were waiting for her return to the rock and roll.
But, as was said in later years about political women, she persisted. Ronstadt traded on her many years of success for a chance at making this record, and as usual, she enlisted sterling musicians. Her Spanish was flawless. And I was thrilled. Mexican-Americans like me finally had the chance to hear her sing what we knew she was capable of, and as she united with her earliest home memories, so did we.
The album, “Canciones de mi Padre”, raced up the Latin album charts and still remains the all-time best-selling Latin recording. Buoyed by this success, Ronstadt put together a memorable “Canciones” show and tour that featured Broadway-level production values — large vibrant backdrops, ballet folklorico dancers. Finally, I thought, after years of rushing out the door to a Linda Ronstadt concert, I could pause and ask my parents if they wanted to join me, if I could buy them tickets. My mother, father and I pulled into the Universal Amphitheater and got out of the car beaming. This was a time when representation of Latinos in mainstream American media was far rarer than it even is today.
Could Linda Ronstadt have known that her tribute to her father and grandfather (the album title translates as “Songs of my Father”), her own act of cross-generational generosity, would radiate around to inspire many other young adult children? Because as we walked into that amphitheater, my mother wasn’t the only mamà dressed in her finest dangling earrings and fringed shawls; as I looked around, there were hundreds of young people proudly escorting their mothers, fathers, abuelas y tias into that floral-strewn lobby. A show for us, everyone seemed to be saying and toasting. And when Ronstadt opened her mouth to sing La Cigarra or Por Un Amor in full, unabashed voice, it sounded and felt like thunder, preceding the most refreshing rain.
“Los Laureles” from the “Canciones de mi Padre” tour
Later Ronstadt would continue to follow her instincts, and if the sales didn’t always follow, she was still making choices according to her vision, and pioneered the way for more female musicians to do so. Subsequent albums experimented with jazz combos, the music of Louisiana, antique instruments, Afro-Cuban dance, full duet albums with Aaron Neville and Emmylou Harris, music for children — wherever her heart and taste led her. All until the tragic realization that a specific and difficult to treat form of Parkinson’s took control of her vocal chords, and silenced her singing career.
“Linda Ronstadt — The Sound of My Voice” is careful to portray itself as a “musical biography”, and it’s best to know that is indeed what it is. It sketches out all of the above with panache and considerable dedication to unearthing and pristinely restoring archival performance clips. There are quibbles one can have here. Some of the record chronology is unclear and out of order, and not enough time is given to the greater musical context of the times. And of course, longtime fans would have gladly sat in their theater seats for a few more performances; for this aficionado, I’d have loved a full version of a deep-cut ballad, “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me”, a song that exudes the chill and vulnerability of a nighttime drive down Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible.
Not included in the film, but wish it was
Perhaps more problematic at times is that, as one critic notes, the film can feel like a Wikipedia overview, and as much as I loved the considerable musical footage, the “more” that I was left wanting were the occasional personal insights you can’t get from Ronstadt’s autobiography or journalistic summaries of her career. They don’t necessarily have to be about her storied romance with Governor Jerry Brown, or even about the drug scene that shadowed LA’s sunlit rock scene; fans are used to her reserve about those areas.
But still, more details! You’d never know from the film that Ronstadt has two children. That she was once escorted away from Las Vegas and banned just for expressing support for Michael Moore. That even after her illness, Ronstadt met with and served migrants at the border, and that she currently uses her time in interviews and appearances to advocate for them.
When we do get a few brief moments in the film of friendly disclosures beyond tales of the recording studio or concert stage, they are unpredictable and hint at the generosity of spirit these musicians also shared. These brief scenes are like a type of spiritual manna. JD Souther (her long ago boyfriend who many fans speculate was the love of her life) talks about Ronstadt’s laugh and living with her and it’s a confluence of many felicitous things: a pause for a moment of intimacy, a flashback to the way they used to sing together (Ronstadt sings an aching version of Souther’s “Prisoner in Disguise”, along with the songwriter on harmony), and an intersectional look at the relationship behind the craft. When Emmylou recounts how Linda sustained her after Gram Parsons’ death, the moment has an exquisite tenderness, and speaks about the human and artist in ways that recounting battles with record execs cannot.
Because of course the ultimate poignancy (irony is far too lowly a description) is that a disease has silenced the musical voice of one of the modern era’s most powerfully cathartic, artistically restless singers. And after ninety minutes of hearing her past recordings, thankfully both Ronstadt and the filmmakers quietly let us into a moment of her contemporary reality. Much has been said of this moment, and I don’t want to divulge more for those who haven’t seen it. It involves a guitar, her relatives, and the quality in her voice so many of us have been drawn to for years, though now a hush.
In the end, you do indeed hear the ‘cry’ in Ronstadt’s current voice, and if you can leave the theater without one in yours, you are made of more defensive stuff than me. “Linda Ronstadt — The Sound of My Voice” finally transcends the musical biopic genre limitations it has adhered to and we realize that the songs Linda Ronstadt has curated in her life carry essential truths that have gained meaning and force with time; “Love Has No Pride”, for example, echoes with infinite heartbreak along the night winds of LA’s canyons. It’s title and chorus can be seen as the Linda Ronstadt anthem that all of us, with age, must learn to sing.
|
|
|
Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 2, 2019 13:20:59 GMT -5
Dang!!!! Very well done!!!!! Will comment more later. I was just checking on here before some biz stuff. eddiejinn
|
|
|
Post by Partridge on Oct 2, 2019 13:56:58 GMT -5
Just one part of the review bugged me:
That is not precisely what happened, according to Linda herself, and according to people who attended that accursed performance.
|
|
|
Post by moon on Oct 2, 2019 19:09:31 GMT -5
I wonder why there was no mention of her adopting her kids. That is a huge part of anyone’s life. Surprised there wasn’t even a brief mention of if
|
|
|
Post by erik on Oct 2, 2019 19:40:10 GMT -5
Quote by moon:
I think she wanted them not to be exposed to the kind of scrutiny she had been a part of for four decades-plus.
|
|
|
Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 3, 2019 7:52:10 GMT -5
The press/paparazzi had it wrong and wanted to exploit something that was really nothing. At least we heard the truth from Linda. IMO, can't fault a man for reporting what was out there and probably what he heard/read at the time. As far as Linda not mentioning her kids, Erik is right on with her not wanting them to be exposed. She wanted the to have as "normal" a life as she could. eddiejinnj
|
|
|
Post by moon on Oct 3, 2019 8:25:38 GMT -5
Quote by moon: I think she wanted them not to be exposed to the kind of scrutiny she had been a part of for four decades-plus. A protective mom, I like it!
|
|
|
Post by fabtastique on Oct 3, 2019 9:02:32 GMT -5
Just one part of the review bugged me: That is not precisely what happened, according to Linda herself, and according to people who attended that accursed performance. OMG what an uproar at the time though .... so much hate directed at Linda .....
|
|
|
Post by erik on Oct 3, 2019 9:18:01 GMT -5
Some of Linda's continuing influences on her fellow female peers, especially in the alt-country/Americana world: Every Single Star--Dori Freeman Though she hails from Galax, a small town in the Appalachian foothills of southwest Virginia, Dori evinces a Linda-like vibe on at least two songs on this new release, "All I Ever Wanted" and "I'll Be Coming Home" Into The Blue--Alice Wallace At last year's celebration of the Palomino (the famous North Hollywood C&W nightclub that closed in 1995), Alice did an admirable version of "Long Long Time"; and on this album,, released just after the beginning of the year, she puts Linda's influence to good use on "Echo Canyon", "Santa Ana Winds", and "Desert Rose" (the latter about the migrant experience on the border). Stitch Of The World--Tift Merritt Tift's 2017 album is yet one more masterpiece in her discography, with "Heartache Is An Uphill Climb" very much in the tradition of Linda's classic 1970s country-rock albums. Liberty--Lindi Ortega Born in Canada, but with Mexican blood courtesy of her father (sound familiar?), Lindi created this 2018 concept album centered around the mythology of the Southwest and northern Mexico, with the attendant Mexicana influences there on the title track and "Pablo", as well as the haunting "Darkness Be Gone".
|
|
|
Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 3, 2019 9:22:59 GMT -5
When I was re-reading the review/article, I disagree with his assessment (as there is no supporting evidence listed)that Linda was desperate re: "Mad Love". eddiejinnj
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 3, 2019 17:37:26 GMT -5
When I was re-reading the review/article, I disagree with his assessment (as there is no supporting evidence listed)that Linda was desperate re: "Mad Love". eddiejinnj Desperate or not MAD LOVE is one of the best Rock albums ever made. The college crowd at the time loved it and it cemented her legacy in that genre. Like the other genres, Linda stretched her vocals to the limit showing the world what she could do. Like Roseanne Cash said...Linda Ronstadt could NOT be denied.
|
|
|
Post by germancanadian on Oct 3, 2019 17:52:19 GMT -5
I agree, I think Mad Love is one of her best albums, I've always loved 80s hard rock. It would have been nice if she had done one more rocking album in the 90s, but she had gotten tired of rock by then.
|
|
|
Post by Dianna on Oct 3, 2019 18:20:14 GMT -5
Quote by moon: I think she wanted them not to be exposed to the kind of scrutiny she had been a part of for four decades-plus. I agree... and perhaps it was a mutual decision between Linda and her kids.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Oct 3, 2019 19:39:14 GMT -5
Quote by eddiejinnj:
Yes, I think that notion can easily be debunked that she was desperate. Besides, anybody who made albums back then was always taking some kind of risk, especially someone like Linda, who already had a huge amount of success.
Quote by germancanadian:
I don't know if that's completely the case. She had wanted to do a lot of different things with what she still had left, though the 1990s audience really didn't seem to care that she even had a name. Nevertheless, she did release a more "adult" rock album in the form of We Ran in 1998; and the fact that it bombed commercially (aside from the fact that she was too ill to properly promote it at the time) was in large part due to the short attention span of music listeners, which has only gotten shorter since then (IMHO).
|
|
|
Post by germancanadian on Oct 4, 2019 14:30:29 GMT -5
Some article from a few days ago said that Linda's version of Get Closer sounded like it was from a cheesy toothpaste commercial. That's a bit harsh, it's still one of my favorites.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2019 15:39:55 GMT -5
Some article from a few days ago said that Linda's version of Get Closer sounded like it was from a cheesy toothpaste commercial. That's a bit harsh, it's still one of my favorites. There might be some confusion about the song, as it was actually used for Close Up toothpaste commercials. During the CLAR tour, Linda mentioned it, and performed a rocking version of the song for the show...
|
|
|
Post by musedeva on Oct 4, 2019 17:04:43 GMT -5
THAT article above NAILS everything!!! should be her WIKI page!!!
I say SHE is the one that STARTED to garner cultural respect,,,,in a most "commercial" handshake of sorts for the Chicanos....Mamacittah Did That!!!!
Touche Girl!!!
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Feb 15, 2020 15:58:04 GMT -5
Texas HS students compete in Mariachi festiva... Web exclusive: Mariachi started in the late 1800s when Mexican musicians began adopting European instruments, like the violin, guitar, trumpet and accordion. But when Linda Ronstadt's 1987 album of songs she heard her Mexican father sing became a smash, mariachi went mainstream. Today, high school students across Texas practice this form of folkloric music that transcends the U.S.-Mexico border. Correspondent Barry Petersen talked to some of the young musicians who came to Edinburg in southwest Texas, where 70 bands participated in the 2019 State Mariachi Festival, which became a state-sanctioned competition for the first time.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2021 6:42:23 GMT -5
This is a 1989 Miami Latina show introduced by Herb Alpert in which Linda performed singing "La Cigarra" at 11:00 in.
|
|
|
Post by Holly on Sept 25, 2021 2:17:01 GMT -5
|
|