|
Post by musicaamator on Jun 3, 2013 21:24:31 GMT -5
...is Perfection!
No matter how many times I hear this song (like today), it just gets better each listen. The melody, the arrangement, the playing and of course Linda's vocals are par excellence!
When she belts out "I'm telling you now baby," man, that just slays me everytime!
I can hear why this song may have turned on a lot of people to Ms. Ronstadt--a classic!
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 3, 2013 22:50:00 GMT -5
It may seem like the most hoary of cliches, but I have this song pegged among my Top Ten all-time favorite pop music hits.
And it's really the total package: the keyboards; Andrew Gold's guitar work (even if Linda thought it sounded a bit too much like the Fab Four); the long fadeout; the string arrangement; and of course the inherent power of Linda's vocals. It may have worn out its welcome with her over the years (and I guess fans' demands to hear it live was a big reason for it), but like a lot of other things Linda has done, it helped to inspire dozens of great female singers who have followed in her path.
|
|
|
Post by musicaamator on Jun 4, 2013 6:34:59 GMT -5
It may seem like the most hoary of cliches, but I have this song pegged among my Top Ten all-time favorite pop music hits. And it's really the total package: the keyboards; Andrew Gold's guitar work (even if Linda thought it sounded a bit too much like the Fab Four); the long fadeout; the string arrangement; and of course the inherent power of Linda's vocals. It may have worn out its welcome with her over the years (and I guess fans' demands to hear it live was a big reason for it), but like a lot of other things Linda has done, it helped to inspire dozens of great female singers who have followed in her path. Agreed. Just an amazing song all around. And you cannot deny the impact Andrew Gold brought to this song: from its arrangement to even drumming on it, that man seemed like he could do it all. Reminds me of McCartney where he can bring a lot towards a song while being able to play many instruments as well! So sad Andrew passed too soon...
I also love the live renditions of this song as well. From how they extend the end for guitar solos and such. But what gets me everytime is when right before ending the song, Linda comes back on vocals and starts singing "You're No Good!" and the band sings back "No Good!" To which they repeat after that for some time before ending it. That is amazing! I bet Gold played a part in arranging that for the live version.
Just an amazing song that still stands strong almost 40 years after its release!
|
|
|
Post by Richard W on Jun 4, 2013 10:55:09 GMT -5
Freakin' love this song.
I recall reading in Dionne Warwick's bio how she groused about "before there was Linda Ronstadt" her cousin (I believe it was) Fontella Bass made the original.
What Warwick failed to acknowledge is how Linda (and Andrew) totally revamped the song, turning it into something completely original.
Fabulous bass-line.
I remember when, during the Mad Love tour at her stop in Ames, Iowa, how she and the band segued from "How Do I Make You" into "You're No Good" and brought the house down. She never rocked harder than when those two songs were played back to back.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 4, 2013 11:55:52 GMT -5
Quote by Richard W.:
Actually, it was Dee Dee Warwick who was Dionne's cousin, and had recorded "You're No Good" at roughly the same time that Betty Everett did, in 1963. Fontella, however, recorded "Rescue Me" in 1965, which Linda of course did on her self-titled album with a backing band that included couple of guys named Henley and Frey.
And with all due respect to Dionne, there was about an eleven-year gap between Dee Dee's and Betty's versions of the song and Linda's. The production sound was going to be different anyway. I don't think anyone lost out. But I do think Linda got the most mileage out of that song.
|
|
|
Post by musicaamator on Jun 4, 2013 13:00:47 GMT -5
I have been wanting to hear the "original" version of YNG for awhile but hearing Linda's version, what is the point? Actually, I just been lazy to youtube it, but will eventually, just for comparisons sake.
When I was growing up I knew of this song for it was on the airwaves from what I remember, but for some reason I was liking Van Halen's remake of it some years after Linda's. Their version is a totally revamped style, much slower with obviously a heavy rock feel. So that version became engrained in my head for a long, long time (pardon the song title). It wasn't until the 80's that I rediscovered Linda's version and now, with my fascination of this woman and her music just last year, I can't hear this song any other way!
|
|
|
Post by Dianna on Jun 4, 2013 13:21:36 GMT -5
Linda's version is very angry I think.. I'm sure that contributed to the success of her version, which many could relate their own life/relationships/ feelings.. and IMO is dead on, especially if you've had it with that someone.. lol..I listened to Dee Dee's and Betty's which are fine and Linda's would be closest to Dee Dee's if I had to choose.. but for me, both versions are lacking perhaps the wrath of a woman scorned or the grief, rage and fury lol.. She nailed it and spoke up for many.
|
|
|
Post by Richard W on Jun 4, 2013 13:26:43 GMT -5
OMG! How many facts did I get wrong? Thanks, Erik, for the corrections.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 4, 2013 14:47:10 GMT -5
Quote by Richard W.:
Don't sweat it too much; a lot of female R&B/pop singers of the early 1960s seemed kind of interchangeable (IMHO).
My guess is that she began doing "You're No Good" in 1971, after she had gotten Henley and Frey into her band; and she worked it over the ensuing two and a half years in shows before putting it down in the studio. Personally, I always found her take on it to be a kind of a tell-off in a teasing sort of way, with a touch of venom. And for someone whose musical background and approach to rock are not from the natural R&B side of things, she has never been anything less than convincing with this kind of R&B material, which is of the Memphis/Muscle Shoals variety filtered through a Los Angeles sensibility.
And as much as we may criticize Capitol Records for the way they failed to see what kind of an artist they had in Linda, I have to admit that it was cagey of them to have as "You're No Good"'s B-side her brilliant, unaffected take on "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You." The A-side topped the Billboard Hot 100, while "I Can't Help It" just missed going to #1 on Billboard's C&W singles chart (and gave Linda her first Grammy, for Best Country Female Vocal).
|
|
|
Post by sliderocker on Jun 4, 2013 16:25:46 GMT -5
Don't sweat it too much; a lot of female R&B/pop singers of the early 1960s seemed kind of interchangeable (IMHO). My guess is that she began doing "You're No Good" in 1971, after she had gotten Henley and Frey into her band; and she worked it over the ensuing two and a half years in shows before putting it down in the studio. Personally, I always found her take on it to be a kind of a tell-off in a teasing sort of way, with a touch of venom. And for someone whose musical background and approach to rock are not from the natural R&B side of things, she has never been anything less than convincing with this kind of R&B material, which is of the Memphis/Muscle Shoals variety filtered through a Los Angeles sensibility. And as much as we may criticize Capitol Records for the way they failed to see what kind of an artist they had in Linda, I have to admit that it was cagey of them to have as "You're No Good"'s B-side her brilliant, unaffected take on "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You." The A-side topped the Billboard Hot 100, while "I Can't Help It" just missed going to #1 on Billboard's C&W singles chart (and gave Linda her first Grammy, for Best Country Female Vocal).[/quote] There was an article in Discoveries before it folded which covered the artists who had first covered the song. I believe "You're No Good" was one of the records mentioned in the article, but I can't remember who the author said was first with the song. I'm not sure if Dee Dee Warwick or Betty Everett were first with the song or if there was another artist before them. Having lost the magazine years ago, I'm going by memory but remembering it was a pretty good read on who did what first. Likewise, I think Linda began performing "You're No Good" in 1971, but it may have been in 1972 when she began doing the song. I remember her appearing on the pilot episode of "The Midnight Special" in 1972, which was produced with the idea of getting 18 year olds out to vote, performing that song along with "Long, Long Time" (short version) and the yet-to-be-released "The Fast One." I remember Linda's performance of "The Fast One" followed a brief skit in which singer John Denver was juggling several oranges. I also remember the camera cut to Linda who was watching the skit, smiling and maybe laughing, before launching into the song. It would be nice to see the very first episode of the MS again. It was definitely cagey and a smart marketing move on Capitol to pair off "You're No Good" with "I Can't Help It," rather than saving back "I Can't Help It" for the next A-side or the one after "When Will I Be Loved." That was back in the day before the record companies went a little crazy with demands for three hits per album. And still back in the day when the flip side could be a hit on its own, although Billboard had allegedly stopped listing B-sides with their own chart positions and listing them with an F, for flip side. I say allegedly because I think they still gave chart positions to some B-sides, but not all B-sides. Given that Elvis was almost the only artist with both sides of a 45 accounting for sales and radio airplay, one suspects Billboard's change in how B-sides were charted had something to do with not giving chart positions to both sides of an Elvis 45. I definitely remember them giving separate chart positions on other artists after that rule was implemented - which I think was said to be sometime in 1969 or 1970.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 4, 2013 17:44:30 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker:
I think both Betty and Dee Dee had their own individual hits with it, although neither broke into the Top 40; and there was also another one done in late 1964 by the U.K. group The Swinging Blue Jeans. Linda's version is the only one to have even broken into the Top 40, and it went all the way to #1.
I think Linda even mentioned this during her Grace Cathedral discussion that she was stunned to have such a massive and simultaneous twin success at the beginning of 1975. She clearly didn't see this coming, to have two big hits with two different songs in two different musical formats, even though she did pioneer such a crazy style of pop/country crossover (she must have made certain segments of the Nashville community at the time very nervous, though [IMHO]).
|
|
|
Post by Richard W on Jun 4, 2013 17:50:36 GMT -5
And what she does with Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is nothing short of interpretive genius. A side-by-side comparison between the two songs demonstrates this without my having to say more. (Well, at least for now.)
|
|
|
Post by eddiejinnj on Jun 5, 2013 6:52:04 GMT -5
rich did the same thing with idma that I did with lovesick blues. idma was written by paul anka but was known to be recorded by holly. I am not sure I ever heard holly's version and am not sure why I have not youtubed it. eddiejinnj
|
|
|
Post by Richard W on Jun 5, 2013 8:00:41 GMT -5
I won't disparage Holly's version, Eddie, but I will say the first time I heard it I was a little shocked at how "bouncy" it was, used as I was to Linda's wistful, sincere reading of it. It's as if she took the song, turned it over and exposed its darker melancholy side.
But back to YNG: I remember what a shock it was the first time I heard that song (on a juke box at a Mexican restaurant where I worked). I had been obsessed with DCN since its release and yet I did not know who that was singing that song. First listen and bam! I had to have it. Imagine my shock when I read the juke box song label and it was by Linda Ronstadt.
Nothing from Linda on DCN had prepared me for the rocking soul of YNG.
|
|
jimi
A Number and a Name
Posts: 24
|
Post by jimi on Jun 5, 2013 9:27:06 GMT -5
It's one of my all time favorite Linda songs, and one that she really made her own. It was after hearing this song that I started collecting her albums in the mid 70s.
|
|
|
Post by musicaamator on Jun 5, 2013 9:37:54 GMT -5
The beauty of this song and other covers that Linda did, was that her interpretations kind of outdid the originals by a wide margin. And that she made them her own, so to speak. As one youtube commenter made about HeatWave: Linda sang the song better than the originals! To which I agree! I know that when someone mentions It's So Easy, it's Linda's version I hear, not Holly's version. Same with Hurts So Bad, Blue Bayou, or Just One Look, it's Linda in my head.
So yea, I know where you guys are coming from about her interpretation/renditions of songs and making them her own.
|
|
|
Post by Richard W on Jun 5, 2013 10:50:50 GMT -5
I agree with everything you said about Linda's interpretations, musicaamator, which is why "Back in the USA" was, for me, a disappointment. It, unlike nearly all the others, was more of a recreation of the Berry original and less an interpretation.
I do like Linda's performance -- and the live version from the HBO Mad Love special just kicks it -- but the arrangement doesn't add much to (or find much more in) the original. Like I said, a fine rock-and-roll vocal from Linda, but compared to what she did with the other songs mentioned, it remains one of Linda's rare, true "remakes" which doesn't really remake all that much.
Another original vs. cover of Linda's that's astonishingly transformative is her country-soul interpretation of the minor R&B hi,t by Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, "Everybody Loves a Winner." If you've never heard the original, you cannot fully appreciate Linda's interpretation on DCN.
|
|
|
Post by Mok on Jun 5, 2013 13:05:49 GMT -5
Living In The USA has some great moments on it, but it is not one of her best IMO. The album cover alone is embarrassing when I view Linda from this angle. She was 32 then and at the rate she was pumping those albums out by 1978 Asher's production had grown sterile and the record seems forced on all levels for me. I remember seeing it for the first time in the record bin. Those were the days of having it possible to know nothing of a new release before you notice it in the bin. Those were great surprises but as a kid often I didn't have the cash at hand to buy it on the spot. The guy who owned Greenlaws Music in Laconia NH came to realize how much I was in to her that he fronted me the album if I was short. He used to get excited for me and play tricks on me to surprise me with a new release. With digital and the internet those surprises are no longer possible. Even at twelve the first time I saw the cover of the LIUSA shocked me and I thought it was cheesy even then.
|
|
|
Post by MokyWI on Jun 5, 2013 13:07:41 GMT -5
The above post from Mok is from me, I signed in as a guest.
|
|
|
Post by musicaamator on Jun 5, 2013 14:04:15 GMT -5
Living In The USA has some great moments on it, but it is not one of her best IMO. The album cover alone is embarrassing when I view Linda from this angle. She was 32 then and at the rate she was pumping those albums out by 1978 Asher's production had grown sterile and the record seems forced on all levels for me. I remember seeing it for the first time in the record bin. Those were the days of having it possible to know nothing of a new release before you notice it in the bin. Those were great surprises but as a kid often I didn't have the cash at hand to buy it on the spot. The guy who owned Greenlaws Music in Laconia NH came to realize how much I was in to her that he fronted me the album if I was short. He used to get excited for me and play tricks on me to surprise me with a new release. With digital and the internet those surprises are no longer possible. Even at twelve the first time I saw the cover of the LIUSA shocked me and I thought it was cheesy even then. The LITUSA cover, unfortunately, suffers from it being very dated to that time, that's for sure. And I guess artists are entitled to have at least one album that went straight to the bins--sort of like Led Zeppelin's Presence or Metallica's Load. So in probably seeing that, and reading how you mentioned that her albums were becoming formulaic to that time, then maybe that's why Mad Love was such a departure. But that's just from a newbie's perspective.
As for the title song, understandable that it was just a straight out cover, but I do have to admit, like Richard in a way, I love her live rendition of it when she was alongside Chuck Berry (and Keef) himself In Hail, Hail Rock & Roll.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 5, 2013 14:58:06 GMT -5
Quote by musicaamator re. Living In The USA:
But then just look at how much b****ing the critics were doing when Linda had indeed stepped out of her "prescribed box" with Mad Love. It's as Rick Nelson once sang: "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself."
|
|
|
Post by sliderocker on Jun 5, 2013 17:10:06 GMT -5
I think both Betty and Dee Dee had their own individual hits with it, although neither broke into the Top 40; and there was also another one done in late 1964 by the U.K. group The Swinging Blue Jeans. Linda's version is the only one to have even broken into the Top 40, and it went all the way to #1.
That's probably what had Dionne Warwick so grouchy about Linda having a number one hit while her cousin missed out on the Top 40. Maybe she thought it wasn't fair that Linda made it number one while her cousin missed out and she somehow felt her cousin got cheated. But, why she would complain about Linda? Hmm, maybe she was remembering her own reaction when Burt Bacharach and Hal David offered her What the World Needs Nowfirst before taking it to Jackie DeShannon, who of course, had a big hit with it, also a number one, I believe. Warwick recorded a version of the song after DeShannon got the hit but of course, it was too late by then. And she had no one to blame but herself as she did get the first option on the song and turned it down. But, I wonder if she held a grudge against Jackie for her own mistake in the matter?
I think Linda even mentioned this during her Grace Cathedral discussion that she was stunned to have such a massive and simultaneous twin success at the beginning of 1975. She clearly didn't see this coming, to have two big hits with two different songs in two different musical formats, even though she did pioneer such a crazy style of pop/country crossover (she must have made certain segments of the Nashville community at the time very nervous, though [IMHO]).
I can see where she might have been stunned, as her recording career up to that point had pretty much been a spotty, hit and miss affair on the hits. Still, interest in Linda had been picking up, gathering steam, from the fact Don't Cry Now had yielded three fairly modest hits in the form of Love Has No Pride, the remake of Silver Threads and Golden Needles and Desperado, which I don't remember if it was issued as an A-sided single, but it received a lot of radio airplay from the moment when DCN was first released. People were ready to hear more from Linda and she found the right mix with the Heart Like a Wheel album and the one-two punch of You're No Good and I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You," and a good producer and manager in the form of Peter Asher. Under anyone else's guidance, the music might have been a continuation of what she had done before DCN, which could've meant more sluggish album sales and hit-or-miss singles.
Linda's success probably did make certain segments of the Nashville community nervous because they didn't like rockers (first and foremost), and their own sales at that time were never on the order of an artist selling in the millions on a consistent basis. A country artist's album back in those days might have been considered a success if it sold 100,000 copies. And even into the 90s (and maybe even up through the present), a country artist didn't have the pressure on them to sell a million copies. When RCA released the first album on the late Mindy McReady in the 90s, they expected her to sell no more than 70,000 copies at most. They were surprised when it exceeded a million copies. So, Linda's success probably not only made them nervous but also probably generated a certain amount of resentment that Linda was successful. And that resentment likely lingered as Linda continued to be more successful, even though they embraced her to some degree because Linda, after all, was a rocker.
|
|
|
Post by MokyWI on Jun 5, 2013 17:12:52 GMT -5
Mad Love was a great change in my opinion. If critics could lose the cliche that Ronstadt went New Wave and hear the album for what it really is. A harder rocking album with no country/pop weepers. The heartbreak shaded in anger. It sounded stripped down and raw compared to what she had released up to that point. The only thing even close to "New Wave" was "How Do I Make You!" The first single released before the album came out. I think some were shocked and delighted with "How Do I Make You" then they see the pink and black graphics the short hair and once they listened to the album and llooking for fault realized the rest of the album was not all that far away from her past as "How Do I Make You" teased prior to the release of Mad Love. This way they could turn it around against her, Mad Love was not real punk or even new wave, "see, Ronstadt is just a fake, and does not get the song or genre" when in fact she never claimed it was a New Wave or an attempt at punk. What it was for her was a new way of looking at situations that showed up in her music. Just because she went to NYC and did three Cretones tunes after watching some harder edged artist all of a sudden she went New Wave. Again, critic projecting their own trip onto an artist. Critics bitched when she kept to the Asher formula when in fact they didn't want her to stray because she was supposed to have no guts, and Mad Love took guts, What's New took guts, the Mexican albums and The Afro Cuban release...HOW DARE SHE!!! I can't tell you how many freak when the compliment Frenesi when I play it and I tell them it is Ronstadt and right away they try and back track their enthusiasm for it I learned to keep her secret till the last song on Frenesi ends. It is impossible to back track much if you really listen with an open mind.
... Oh wait she covered Alison on LITUSA by Costello...must mean she was a punk want to be. Ronstadt's version of "Alison" on LITUSA was nothing close to New Wave or punk but a inventive different take on a song written by an angry "New Wave" artist...who forced an attitude and image 1000 times more than Ronstadt ever did. Don't get me wrong Elvis Costello is a great artist and songwriter and "Alison" is excellent songwriting. Costello was young and full of himself that's all and he would say as much himself if asked about it today.Alison, White Rhythm & Blues, All That You Dream and When I Gown To Old To Dream were refreshing. Ooh Baby Baby and Just One Look are hard to deny, this leving little else left on LITUSA for me to bitch about except that damn cover and the fact the album sounds like no one recorded their parts with anyone else and the sound is tweaked past necessity. Or maybe it's just that damn album cover, bad hair and nylons under satin hot pants with a Shawn Cassidy jacket ...wait LIVING iIN THE USA... The qualities I have bitched about with the album, the cheese disco style....Living In The USA was a great title for the album in hindsight.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 5, 2013 17:39:24 GMT -5
Quote by mikekoecher:
All true, of course. Unfortunately, there are far too many readers and listeners who either don't have an open mind, or who are easily bamboozled by the hoity toity music critics out there.
|
|
|
Post by Richard W on Jun 5, 2013 18:36:02 GMT -5
Especially after "Verdad Armaga" has played, Mike! You can't deny the vocal genius of that track, no matter what.
Actually, I had a friend from Ireland who was indifferent to Linda's pop hits but when I played Frenesi for him he freaked out. Bought the album and is now quite the defender of her. I heard him say to someone once at a party when of her songs played, "oh, there's more to her than that," in reference to one of her hits.
|
|
|
Post by MokyWI on Jun 6, 2013 1:52:22 GMT -5
Her top forty singles were not what kept me following her. They were filler compared to the album cuts by her generation of singer/songwriters.
|
|
|
Post by tonygent on Jun 6, 2013 2:40:43 GMT -5
Love the forum. Love the singer. Love this song. Andrew Gold along with Peter Asher and of course Ronstadt all deserves a lot of credit for this songs arrangements. It really holds up today!
As for interpretive change ups that go darker, moodier and really give the original a punch! reminds me of what Kim Carne's did with the Jackie DeShannon penned "Betty Davis Eyes. She made it darker ,moodier, more sensual and A HIT!
I'm not sure that Dionne Warwick's groused about this song being a hit. Sounds a lot like hearsay. But I'm sure Dionne Warwick's grousing was the least of Linda's problems. Considering the snarky cliquish men in the Rock Hall of Fame haven't admitted her yet. Aside from the contemporary acknowledgments or lack of , in the day, remember it was Dionne's cousin Ce Ce Houston who sang back-up on Heart Like A Wheel.
What a great Grammy reunion this would have made! Linda singing and CeCe, Dionne Warwick and heck throw in Bonnie Raitt as Ronstadt's co singers or back up to this song!
I found this other golden nuget. Tell me What you think?
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 6, 2013 8:46:18 GMT -5
Quote by mikekoecher:
I don't think I'd go that far. I would say that the hits were a natural window to getting people to explore her albums in whole, from start to finish. And of course Linda was from a time when the artists took the both the craft of music and the intelligence of their fans seriously. They don't do too much of either one these days (IMHO).
|
|
|
Post by Richard W on Jun 6, 2013 8:53:21 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure you've already seen this, musicaamator, but here's a vintage -- and pristine -- video of Linda performing YNG in 1976 (with Andrew Gold and Kenny Edwards in the band). This gives you a time-capsule feeling of what it was like to see her live during this period of her career (I saw her first in 1977 -- twice!). You're No Good 1976Nice band intro at beginning, too. And no one looks better shaking a tambourin and banging a cowbell than does Linda. And thanks, BTW, to tonygent for the Troy/Ronstadt mash-up. Never heard that before. I remember Linda performing this song during one her last tour stops here at the Chicago Theater. The arrangement was slowed down a tad and Linda's vocal was shaded with just enough menace to give the song a "stalker" theme, a theme more than fitting with the lyrics (lines like "I'll get you, some day" took on a whole new meaning), something I never recognized before hearing her do this song just this one time.
|
|
|
Post by MokyWI on Jun 6, 2013 8:53:48 GMT -5
Well I would! Then hit singles were not engaging for me as the other cuts from her albums The hit singles that stand up for me after all these years are "You're No Good", "Hurt So Bad", "How Do I Make You", "Ooh Baby Baby" and "Tracks Of My Tears" and "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me"
|
|