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Post by the Scribe on Dec 26, 2012 13:02:57 GMT -5
 Mad Love is a platinum-certified, Grammy-nominated 1980 Punk Rock album by singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt. It debuted at #5 on the Billboard album chart, a record at the time and a first for any female artist, and quickly became her seventh consecutive million-selling album.
The album contains versions of Elvis Costello's "Party Girl", "Girls Talk" and "Talking in the Dark" as well as Neil Young's "Look Out for My Love". Three songs from The Cretones' first album, Thin Red Line, were also featured.
Linda scored Top Ten hits from the album in the US with "Hurt So Bad" and "How Do I Make You?" "I Can't Let Go" was the album's third hit single. Ronstadt was named Billboard's #1 Female Artist of 1980 for the fourth time (1975, 1977, 1978). She was also nominated for yet another Grammy Award in the Best Rock Vocal Performance Female category.
In 2011, after 31 years, Mad Love was taken out of print. The album was put into print in 2012 as part of Warner/Rhino's "Original Album Series" a group of five classic albums packaged in a box with each individual CD in a mini-replica of the original vinyl packaging.
Studio album by Linda Ronstadt
Released 1980
Recorded Record One, Los Angeles, California, October 24, 1979 - January 10, 1980
Genre Punk Rock, Hard Rock, New Wave
Length 31:09
Label Asylum
Producer Val Garay
Linda Ronstadt chronology
Living in the USA
(1978) Mad Love
(1980) Greatest Hits, Volume 2
(1980)
Personnel
Linda Ronstadt - lead and backing vocals
Dan Dugmore - electric guitars
Waddy Wachtel - guitar, backing vocals
Mark Goldenberg - electric guitars, backing vocals
Bob Glaub - bass guitar
Russell Kunkel - drums
Bill Payne - keyboards
Danny Kortchmar - electric guitars
Mike Auldridge - dobro
Peter Bernstein - acoustic guitars
Peter Asher, Steve Forman - percussion
Michael Boddicker - synthesizer
Rosemary Butler, Kenny Edwards, Andrew Gold, Nicolette Larson - backing vocals Side one 1."Mad Love" (Mark Goldenberg) - 3:40 2."Party Girl" (Elvis Costello) - 3:22 3."How Do I Make You" (Billy Steinberg) - 2:25 4."I Can't Let Go" (Chip Taylor, Al Gorgoni) - 2:44 5."Hurt So Bad" (Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, Bobby Hart) - 3:17 Side two 1."Look Out for My Love" (Neil Young) - 3:29 2."Cost of Love" (Goldenberg) - 2:38 3."Justine" (Goldenberg) - 4:00 4."Girls Talk" (Costello) - 3:22 5."Talking in the Dark" (Costello) - 2:12 (unfortunately each side ends a little abruptly but until a better post come up ..........) |
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Post by the Scribe on Dec 27, 2012 13:35:16 GMT -5
"F" the critics and Costello. This is a great album and one I never tire of. Linda, Peter and the guys out-did themselves once again with this album. It is 32 years old already and sounds as good as anything out today. If I had gone back 32 years to find an album when I was 18 it would have been from 1939 and it never would have been as hip and as fresh as Mad Love.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2012 13:54:29 GMT -5
Elvis Costello was trying to be an angry punk and offended lots of people, most notably calling Ray Charles a stupid n***er... he apologized later but the damage was done.. I do like this album, the opening guitar riffs of 'Look Out for My Love' is a particular favorite of mine.... I also love the beginning of Girls Talk where you hear whispering and laughing and then the guitars CRASH in.. good stuff
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Post by erik on Dec 27, 2012 15:37:26 GMT -5
Mad Love, in my opinion, will likely go down in history as the most controversial album Linda ever released. The critics had been all over her for several years for making "formulaic albums" (whatever that means  ); and then when she did this total one-eighty and "went new wave", then they got all over her again, this time for trying to be "trendy". But as Rick Nelson once sang: " You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2012 16:23:37 GMT -5
Linda caught lots of flack over Mad Love, no doubt about it; however I thought it took more guts for her to make 'What's New' which was a whole other direction... then again, Linda has never lacked for courage and vision...
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Post by Dianna on Dec 27, 2012 16:44:15 GMT -5
I only wished she had waited a year or so or that mtv videos emerged a little earlier.. those songs and Linda's punk-rockabilly style (the polka dot dress) would have made for some very good videos.. we didn't get much from her in terms of videos during the early stages of mtv and her punk thing
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Post by sliderocker on Dec 27, 2012 17:44:30 GMT -5
Mad Love, in my opinion, will likely go down in history as the most controversial album Linda ever released. The critics had been all over her for several years for making "formulaic albums" (whatever that means ); and then when she did this total one-eighty and "went new wave", then they got all over her again, this time for trying to be "trendy". But as Rick Nelson once sang: " You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself." Maybe the "formulaic" was in the album having ten songs with six of the ten either being written by Mark Goldenberg or Elvis Costello? I thought the song contents were fine but I didn't care for the front cover of the album. Looked like it was made on the cheap with no real thought or care given. The album cover looks extemely dated now. As for Linda trying to appear trendy, well, since she didn't write on a large scale and had to rely on songs written by others, her critics probably would've knocked her for covering the same songwriters she had covered before or covering yet another old Motown or rock song. You just couldn't please the critics, so why bother? Please youself and especially your fans, the ones who buy the albums. Speaking of Mark Goldenberg, I believe he was also the songwriter of one of Olivia Newton-John's 1980s hit, "Soul Kiss," which was also the title of her album. That song generated a minor controversy because it featured Newton-John singing the line "get down on my knees and take you baby," which many took as a referecne to oral sex. Newton-John disavowed that interpretation and Goldenberg said the line wasn't in the song originally, that it was an ad lib. Regardless, it got quite a bit of airplay but was never a big hit. |
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Post by Dianna on Dec 27, 2012 18:12:02 GMT -5
really slide... you think the mad love album cover looks dated? I don't, I think it's stands up even better than a lot of her other album covers like hasten(even tho it is beautiful), heart like a. prisoner.. don't cry now.. ect..now those seem dated. I think the long forgotten phone booth lol. in black&white&hot pink adds to a real retro kind of cool that imo works even today..
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2012 18:23:42 GMT -5
I think Heart Like a Wheel has a minimalist beauty which has only gotten more impressive with age...
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Post by erik on Dec 27, 2012 18:24:27 GMT -5
Quote by dianna re. Mad Love cover photo:
Besides that, I think it was Linda's way of parodying the excesses of the paparazzi of that era, which followed her around wherever she was, and in this case got her in a phone booth with the deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes.
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Post by the Scribe on Dec 27, 2012 19:10:01 GMT -5
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Post by Dianna on Dec 27, 2012 19:56:55 GMT -5
Yes, Rob, with CD's there are still covers. Did we ever have a thread for favorite Linda album covers and discussions? They are all very interesting. The one that floored me most was Living in the USA, imo was such a drastic change from her previous covers. She changed her hairstyle, and even back then you had to have been very cute to have pulled off that short perm'd look lol
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Post by the Scribe on Dec 27, 2012 20:13:46 GMT -5
Yes, Rob, with CD's there are still covers. Did we ever have a thread for favorite Linda album covers and discussions? They are all very interesting. The one that floored me most was Living in the USA, imo was such a drastic change from her previous covers. She changed her hairstyle, and even back then you had to have been very cute to have pulled off that short perm'd look lol If you go back to when you used to be called Lucy at the old Linda forum you will see we played that game. I think Mad Love went even more drastic than Living. While she looked good in a perm how she ever managed looking so great with no hair was even more stunning. Not even a model can pull that one off well. |
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Post by sliderocker on Dec 27, 2012 21:19:39 GMT -5
really slide... you think the mad love album cover looks dated? I don't, I think it's stands up even better than a lot of her other album covers like hasten(even tho it is beautiful), heart like a. prisoner.. don't cry now.. ect..now those seem dated. I think the long forgotten phone booth lol. in black&white&hot pink adds to a real retro kind of cool that imo works even today.. Yeah, I think the ML cover looks dated, though not as dated as other album covers on other artists from other record companies over the years. Capitol and Columbia/Epic used to have some really horrendous album covers on their artists. Capitol had some really atrocious album covers on the Beatles and the Beach Boys - almost the same basic cover: color photo on the front with a white border at the top with their name and song titles. Flip the album over, black and white photos with the songs listed on side one or two. I didn't much care for the front cover of Linda's PID album...think a better photo shot should've been used. The front cover for "Don't Cry Now" suffers from bad color that looked extremely faded or had too much yellow. If I had been Linda's manager, there's no way I would've okayed those album covers to go with their respective albums. I would've wanted the covers to have matched the beauty of the artist and her music that they were supposed to be representing. |
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Post by Partridge on Dec 28, 2012 0:22:19 GMT -5
One of the main complaints of a few critics of Linda's '70s music
was that she was following a formula with her albums. But
Heart Like a Wheel sounds nothing like Living in the USA, and
neither one of those sounds like Hasten Down the Wind.
And these albums came out from late 1974 through 1978.
Yet I can pick up a current issue of Rolling Stone and see a three-
and-a-half star review of the new Ke$ha album where they say
she has had half a dozen "brilliant radio hits, all of them sounding
more or less the same... We owe her a lot." Ke$ha gets praise
for sticking to a formula. Yes, it's hard to believe I still subscribe
to Rolling Stone. I'll give it up when Matt Taibbi leaves.
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Post by Partridge on Dec 28, 2012 0:34:25 GMT -5
Here's one of the Mad Love promo shots:  |
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Post by sliderocker on Dec 28, 2012 1:44:06 GMT -5
One of the main complaints of a few critics of Linda's '70s music
was that she was following a formula with her albums. But
Heart Like a Wheel sounds nothing like Living in the USA, and
neither one of those sounds like Hasten Down the Wind.
And these albums came out from late 1974 through 1978.
Which is funny as hell because critics also knocked certain artists for their albums not having a common thread to them. Critics complained if different producers and musicians worked on different songs that were on an album or they complained if the songs didn't somehow relate to one another. I don't really know of any album that was not a concept album where the songs had some connection to each other. But, even the songs on some concept albums could stand on their own or fit on other albums. As for an artist using different producers and musicians, I don't really know how anyone, much less a critic would've noticed the difference unless it was spelled out who produced what or who played on what. And even then, would it have mattered to anyone but a critic?
Yet I can pick up a current issue of Rolling Stone and see a three-
and-a-half star review of the new Ke$ha album where they say
she has had half a dozen "brilliant radio hits, all of them sounding
more or less the same... We owe her a lot." Ke$ha gets praise
for sticking to a formula. Yes, it's hard to believe I still subscribe
to Rolling Stone. I'll give it up when Matt Taibbi leaves.
I gave up Rolling Stain in 1980 when they shrunk their pages and their 11x14 format for the smaller format they switched to - which I think was a 10 x12 format. Music seemed to be less important to them but even when they covered music, it was like they were trying to show they were still hip. If you were old news (once famous), they just didn't want to know, especially if you were someone they never liked in the first place. I sometimes read the magazine at the library just to see how they might have changed,but I still wasn't impressed. They still suck, for the most part.
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Post by Dianna on Dec 28, 2012 3:07:52 GMT -5
I haven't purchased a copy of rolling stone in years. I will only purchase it if one of my favorite artists is on the cover.. and I'm not interested in any of todays newer pop/rock artists. I've probably grown out of it. As for ke$ha.. I've seen her on tv before. I get her and Nicki (sp?) Minaj confused, except one is white the other is black, their music sounds alike to me. or maybe I'm thinking of somebody else. If you've ever seen that website called votefortheworst, which they love to goof on shows like AI, X Factor ect, and urge people to call in and vote for the worst contestant.. i.e. sanjaya.. that's what ke$ha and company remind me of.. vote for the worst..
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Post by eddiejinnj on Dec 28, 2012 10:00:25 GMT -5
love mad love. for me, it solidified her crown as queen of rock. she has had 2 grammy noms in that genre. would have been more but it was a late category they added. eddiejinnj
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Post by the Scribe on Dec 28, 2012 12:27:32 GMT -5
One of the main complaints of a few critics of Linda's '70s music
was that she was following a formula with her albums. But
Heart Like a Wheel sounds nothing like Living in the USA, and
neither one of those sounds like Hasten Down the Wind.
And these albums came out from late 1974 through 1978.
Prisoner In Disguise has some similarities to Heart Like A Wheel and because of that critics have it stuck in their heads Linda is following a formula forever and thereafter but if there is one thing she hasn't done professionally or personally (except for the serial monogamy thing) is followed any formula. Good god the woman has recorded in every genre since Ghengis Khan ruled the world. What formula? Just shows the level of idiocy necessary to be a rock and roll or music critic.
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Post by erik on Dec 28, 2012 12:57:15 GMT -5
Quote by ronstadtfanaz:
Some of it is both, in my opinion, sexist (because she is a woman) and regional (East Coast critics love to bash West Coast artists). What can you do, really?
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Post by sliderocker on Dec 28, 2012 15:34:18 GMT -5
Prisoner In Disguise has some similarities to Heart Like A Wheel and because of that critics have it stuck in their heads Linda is following a formula forever and thereafter but if there is one thing she hasn't done professionally or personally (except for the serial monogamy thing) is followed any formula. Good god the woman has recorded in every genre since Ghengis Khan ruled the world. What formula? Just shows the level of idiocy necessary to be a rock and roll or music critic. Maybe their real complaint is that she didn't keep doing the same thing time after time? Critics will bash an artist because they'll get a big hit but then they want the artist to keep recording the same type of song over and over again. And then they'll knock the artist for doing that. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2012 16:39:16 GMT -5
That is endemic to the industry, Linda is not the only artist to suffer this idiocy. There is an old saying 'I don't hate music enough to be a critic'
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Post by Dianna on Dec 28, 2012 17:07:03 GMT -5
That is endemic to the industry, Linda is not the only artist to suffer this idiocy. There is an old saying 'I don't hate music enough to be a critic' ha ha. That's true... but I do love music, it''s only the really bad stuff IMO, that passes for art and gets high praise, and I realize music/art is subjective to each individual.. but most people are all little judges when it comes to most things. |
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Post by musicaamator on Jan 2, 2013 9:46:12 GMT -5
I love this album only because Linda was taking risks and the songs on there are great--well all except Party Girl, I don't like that one too much. It's her nod to New Wave. And hearing Hurts So Bad on an ipod playlist is what got me heavily into Linda after only a passing interest these past three decades.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2021 10:42:25 GMT -5
For the song "Girls' Talk", there is whispering at the very start. Any idea what is whispered, and by who?
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Post by RobGNYC on May 15, 2021 12:45:41 GMT -5
For the song "Girls' Talk", there is whispering at the very start. Any idea what is whispered, and by who? Nicolette Larson and Rosemary Butler are the backup singers on "Girls Talk." I always thought that it was some combination of them and Linda, and that the whispering is supposed to be unintelligible. |
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Post by eddiejinnj on May 15, 2021 12:55:17 GMT -5
The whispering says: "Ready now, Ready now, Maestro". That one I was good at catching/deciphering. Who it is, I would have to listen again but it seems like the combo of the them are chattering quickly then I think Linda says the words. eddiejinnj
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Post by PoP80 on May 15, 2021 14:42:16 GMT -5
The whispering says: "Ready now, Ready now, Maestro". That one I was good at catching/deciphering. Who it is, I would have to listen again but it seems like the combo of the them are chattering quickly then I think Linda says the words. eddiejinnj Wow, Eddie! I could make that out at all. It sounds like they're whispering something about a "restroom" - LOL. |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2021 14:45:06 GMT -5
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); and then when she did this total one-eighty and "went new wave", then they got all over her again, this time for trying to be "trendy". But as Rick Nelson once sang: "You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself."
