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Post by sliderocker on May 22, 2021 10:57:21 GMT -5
I don't know where the original post went, but I'm reposting it. This song by Olivia Newton-John would've been perfect for Linda's lovely pipes.
And again the song was written for Elvis but fell victim to Col. Greed Parker's demand for part or all of the publishing. Elvis lost a big one.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2021 16:36:22 GMT -5
Which James Bond 007 song do you all think Linda would have sung best?
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2021 16:47:25 GMT -5
Matt Monro
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Post by RobGNYC on May 22, 2021 16:53:59 GMT -5
“Diamonds Are Forever,” just so I can hear what she would have done with “men are mere mortals who aren’t worth going to your grave for.”
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Post by me on May 22, 2021 18:26:16 GMT -5
I would have liked for Linda to have sung "Burning Love'' by Elvis and "Dark Lady" by Cher. I'm trippin. So, what
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Post by me again on May 22, 2021 18:34:05 GMT -5
I also think Linda would have done a great job on "Words of Love'' by The Mamas and The Papas
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Post by sliderocker on May 22, 2021 19:16:12 GMT -5
I would have liked for Linda to have sung "Burning Love'' by Elvis and "Dark Lady" by Cher. I'm trippin. So, what Here's one for you. You chose the Dennis Linde song Burning Love as a song you wished Linda had done. Curiously, I had always favored the B-side of Burning Love, the Clive Westlake song It's a Matter of Time. Linda in those days wanted to be a country singer and she practically had to be dragged into recording rock. The B-side would've suited Linda's goals and likely would've been a good contender for a single. I think one reason Linda was not a success as a country singer was that she was trying too hard with how she could make her records sound like they came out ten years earlier. If you listened to the country records of the mid to late 1950s and early 1960s, they have the same sound that you heard on aLinda album. Country records of the late 1960s and 1970s didn't sound at all like the earlier records. It's incredible Linda thought her best chances would be replicating the country songs of the past. Her recordings should've dropped the older sounding arrangements of instruments like prominent fiddles and banjos, and replaced with newer, better sounding arrangements and the classic modern band line up of guitars-bass-keyboards-drums-steel guitar. Linda could've done the same old songs but at least songs like Crazy Arms and I Fall to Pieces would've sounded straight out of 1971 as opposed to 1961.
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Post by me on May 22, 2021 20:30:05 GMT -5
I appreciate your informative and interesting reply and I've possibly read all of your 4,150 posts. I love to read this site, and do so often. My 2 favorite Linda albums are 'Silk Purse' and 'Mad Love' because each has a pre-grunge 'grunge' sound to the albums, they are almost concept albums and my favorites. I play these two the most, all these years later. I also really love 'HLAW' 'HDTW' and 'We Ran' but Silk Purse (which I know she doesn't like) has a country garage band sound to it. 'Mad Love'...ah*
*"Look Out For My Love'' - swoon.
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Post by erik on May 22, 2021 22:50:30 GMT -5
Another one--Julianna Raye's "Holding All My Love For You", from the 2003 Western OPEN RANGE, which starred Kevin Costner (who was also in the director's chair) and Robert Duvall:
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2021 10:01:02 GMT -5
"Bang Bang" good for Linda?
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Post by erik on May 23, 2021 13:26:05 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker:
I think it may have been a case of Linda wanting to do these songs "authentically"; and while I can't fault her for wanting to try, I must agree that she could easily have done all of them in a way much closer to Los Angeles than to Nashville. That being said, her version of "Crazy Arms" is a touch slower in tempo than Ray Price's 1956 version (and has a fiddle on it), while "I Fall To Pieces" is done in a more up-tempo shuffle fashion than Patsy Cline's 1961 original.
The other problem that Linda might have faced in going the Nashville route is that, with only the most obvious exceptions, many female country artists of the late 1960's were still being told what to record, how to look, and how to behave in front of what was then a very ultra-conservative country music audience. Is there anything in Linda's history that says she could have lived with that kind of conformity? I don't think so. Linda, in retrospect, was far better off with respect to country by doing what she eventually did, taking what I always like to call a "left-of-center" approach to the genre, being respectful of the traditional spirit of the music, but moving those traditions forward and finding ways of making them relevant to today, and adding rock and R&B influences into the mix. She would never have been able or allowed to do that had she gone to Nashville (IMHO).
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2021 16:22:22 GMT -5
Didn't Capitol want Linda to stay/be more country, but she didn't want to, hence going to Asylum?
The double irony is Capitol got HLAW, while DCN, Linda's 1st Asylum has a more broadcast/traditional sound that Capitol might have preferred and did less well. Linda went through some steep learning curves!
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Post by erik on May 23, 2021 17:58:08 GMT -5
The only evidence for Capitol wanting to "stay country" is the notion, raised by Linda in her memoir, of doing it in a more Bakersfield Sound-type way; and while she could conceivably have done it, her heart was still in the Laurel Canyon Sound, so to speak. Linda did better with Asylum obviously, but I don't recall any bitterness on her part about her time with Capitol, where her most successful album with them was the last one she made.
Another thing to consider is that, at least back then (and probably even more so today), big labels like Capitol liked to fit their artists into easily classifiable musical "boxes". Linda's problem was just that she fit fairly comfortably into multiple boxes.
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Post by sliderocker on May 23, 2021 19:39:13 GMT -5
I think it may have been a case of Linda wanting to do these songs "authentically"; and while I can't fault her for wanting to try, I must agree that she could easily have done all of them in a way much closer to Los Angeles than to Nashville. That being said, her version of "Crazy Arms" is a touch slower in tempo than Ray Price's 1956 version (and has a fiddle on it), while "I Fall To Pieces" is done in a more up-tempo shuffle fashion than Patsy Cline's 1961 original.
The problem with doing songs as authentic as possible is the description of authentic as it relates to music, is to make or do in a way that is traditional or the original way that is faithful to the original. In other words, it's a copy of the same arrangement and don't add nothing new or take away from the original. You must record the song exactly like the artist who had it first.
It's been a long time since I heard Ray Price's version of Crazy Arms but Linda's version actually worked as compared to her version of I Fall to Pieces. I don't think Linda's version of I Fall to Pieces was more uptempo than Patsy Cline's. I'm thinking the tempo was about the same. Michael Nesmith's performance of the song on his 1970 album Loose Salute was defiinitely at a faster, more up tempo than Patsy's or Linda's versions. I remember thinking when I heard Linda's version in 1972 how great it would've been if someone could've transferred her vocal over to the Nesmith version. It would've worked better for her.
The other problem that Linda might have faced in going the Nashville route is that, with only the most obvious exceptions, many female country artists of the late 1960's were still being told what to record, how to look, and how to behave in front of what was then a very ultra-conservative country music audience. Is there anything in Linda's history that says she could have lived with that kind of conformity? I don't think so.
Linda certainly made the try with Silk Purse, but I think she discovered Nashville's paint by numbers method of making music wasn't for her. But, in all honesty, I don't think got all in. She still chose the songs she wanted to do; she did not cede that to Nashville. And I'm only guessing the only concession she may have made to Nashville was the use of their musicians but I don't know if the difference between using their musicians or the musicians in L.A. would've made that much of a difference.
Linda, in retrospect, was far better off with respect to country by doing what she eventually did, taking what I always like to call a "left-of-center" approach to the genre, being respectful of the traditional spirit of the music, but moving those traditions forward and finding ways of making them relevant to today, and adding rock and R&B influences into the mix. She would never have been able or allowed to do that had she gone to Nashville (IMHO).
As I've always, Linda's home was in the western half of the phrase country and western. The term Country more accurately referred to the kind of music made in the southeastern part of the United States. And Nashville and the country establishment in Nashville, wanted to wipe away all vestiges of western and western bop from the genre. They didn't want country-western being recorded in any other part of the country except in Nashville, and they didn't even want artists from other countries around the world, not even Canada, recording country music. It had to be all made in Nashville.
So, Linda was more at home in Los Angeles, much as Buck Owens was more at home in Bakersfield. Buck had the advantage of building his career before Nashville solidified its control over the record companies and radio stations. Linda came in at the tail end of the 60s, determined to make it as a country singer. And I go by the interviews she gave at the time in which she stated that was her ambition. But, she also did other interviews where she contradicted herself by referring to herself as a rock performer and never was there two mords more hated in Nashville than rock performer.
As a matter of fact, I sometimes think a reason why Nashville hated the phrase western bop was the fact it was closer to rock than what country was. That phrase had to go. But, Linda kept trying her best to be country even when she was a rock performer. Of course, now she says she never wanted to be a country singer at all. A hundred years from now, people may wonder the same thing we wonder and have no clearer answers than we have. Linda's likely to remain an enigma to many for centuries.
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Post by Dianna on May 24, 2021 2:53:56 GMT -5
What a fun thread. Love all the suggestions! Linda has the biggest range of most any singer I can think of.. and she can sing just about anything.. I would have loved to hear her take on this Jim Croce song. I can hear her growl on... "And when the cuttin' were done The only part that wasn't bloody Was the soles of the big man's feet." lol
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Post by rick on May 24, 2021 3:25:29 GMT -5
Here are two more —
“Invisible War” (a Julia Fordham song) sung here by Janis Siegel —
And then “Spit of Love,” sung here by Bonnie Raitt —
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Post by eddiejinnj on May 24, 2021 6:18:10 GMT -5
"Bang Bang" good for Linda? Please NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by eddiejinnj on May 24, 2021 6:28:14 GMT -5
That's a nice picture of Bonnie on the "fundamental" album cover. I agree that Linda was not a country singer like others because of her personality and just her style in general. Look at her contemporary, Dolly, she was all big hair and costumes and boots but in Dolly's case it seems consistent with her style and likes. She embodied the quote look and expectations of a country singer. I agree re: authenticity. Linda was desert south-west vs Tennessee which has hills and trees and a different lifestyle. eddiejinnj
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Post by Linda Fan 5 on May 24, 2021 7:02:46 GMT -5
Blues in the Night . Imagine how she’d have nailed it.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2021 7:44:35 GMT -5
Solitaire
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Post by erik on May 24, 2021 8:37:43 GMT -5
Re. "Solitaire"--At that particular time in his life (1975), Elvis may indeed felt like the loneliest man in the world (but then there's the Carpenters' version of said song, which was a big hit for them).
Another song that Linda could have done, and in fact had actually thought of doing (she mentions this in her memoir), before Gram Parsons got his hands on it, was "Wild Horses" by the Stones:
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Post by sliderocker on May 24, 2021 11:28:37 GMT -5
What a fun thread. Love all the suggestions! Linda has the biggest range of most any singer I can think of.. and she can sing just about anything.. I would have loved to hear her take on this Jim Croce song. I can hear her growl on... "And when the cuttin' were done The only part that wasn't bloody Was the soles of the big man's feet." lol Hey Dianna! Welcome back! Haven't seen you in a while, but then again, I hadn't seen me in a while on here either. I'm retired now, so I have more time for contributing here. Linda doing the Jim Croce song You Don't Mess Around with Jim, is a song I would love to have heard Linda do. Jim had a few songs I wished Linda had done: One Less Set of Footsteps, Age, The Hard Way Every Time (one song of Jim's that can put the lump in your throat and the tears in your eyes), Which Way Are You Goin', and King's Song.As one might guess, I'm a big fan of Jim's and it's sad that he died just as his star was rising. He might have been around for a good, long while as he had the natural ability to connect with his audience. I still get chills thinking about the fact he appeared in my hometown just two days before he was killed in the plane crash. I missed his concert but figured he would be playing up in the city in '74 or '75. How we pay for those we want to see.
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Post by sliderocker on May 24, 2021 11:51:10 GMT -5
Re. "Solitaire"--At that particular time in his life (1975), Elvis may indeed felt like the loneliest man in the world (but then there's the Carpenters' version of said song, which was a big hit for them).
Solitaire was recorded by Elvis at his first recording session in 1976. In the Jungle Room sessions, of the song he remarks that he got emotional when it came to that song. And added he was going "kill" Neil Sedaka for writing that song.
Another song that Linda could have done, and in fact had actually thought of doing (she mentions this in her memoir), before Gram Parsons got his hands on it, was "Wild Horses" by the Stones
Wild Horses would've been a good song for Linda to have recorded. I don't know why Gram's version would've stopped her from recording the song.But, in all honesty, the Rolling Stones catalog wasn't a good catalog for Linda to be choosing songs. Mick and Keith tended to be rather gritty when it came to the lyrics in most of their songs. For instance, I couldn't have heard Linda singing Brown Sugar from the same album as Wild Horses. I believe she would've had trouble with lyrics, which were like some of the lyrics on Poor, Poor Pitiful Me. But, I could've seen Linda recording Angie, mostly because of Linda's preferences for ballad rather than rock.
But, most of the Jagger-Richard catalog would've been all too wrong for Linda.
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Post by erik on May 24, 2021 13:05:22 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker re. "Wild Horses":
Here is what Linda said about it on page 59 of her memoir:
I really wish she had done that song, because Linda's natural Southwestern drawl would have worked far better than Gram's, where he sounds more loaded than a two-dollar pistol (IMHO).
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Post by sliderocker on May 24, 2021 19:28:14 GMT -5
Here is what Linda said about it on page 59 of her memoir: I really wish she had done that song, because Linda's natural Southwestern drawl would have worked far better than Gram's, where he sounds more loaded than a two-dollar pistol (IMHO). Linda could've recorded the song after the Stones had recorded their version, but I gather she would liked to have been first out the chute with the song. If her version of the song had followed the versions by the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Rolling Stones, Linda would've been looking at her version being at least six and a half minutes to have done justice to the song. I don't know if she would've done that then. There's no way country radio would've played a six and half minute country song, much less a song written by Mick and Keith. Capitol would had to have pushed it as a rock single. And I recall Top 40 radio stations on Linda played the edited version of Long, Long Time. One could only imagine the Top 40 radio stations requesting an edited version of the song if it got air play. George Harrison allowed Joe Cocker to release Something before the Beatles' own version of the song was released and a subsequent hit. I think Harrison felt at the time none of his songs were going to be released by the Beatles as an A-side, so he likely saw no harm in letting Cocker have the song first. I think Mick and Keith would've green lighted Linda recording a version of Wild Horses, but she would had to have done the song and then got the licensing from ABKCO Publishing for its release. That company was owned by Allan Klein and as his association was on the verge of coming to an end with the Stones, I think he would've done whatever he could to have staved off the inevitable.
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Post by erik on May 24, 2021 22:50:50 GMT -5
Taking this even further...:
"Crazy Love"--Poco (this underrated country-rock group's highest-charting single, from 1979)
Another song of Poco's, this one from their self-titled second album, released in 1970, that could have been done as a duet with her spiritual protégé Trisha Yearwood--"You Better Think Twice":
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Post by Dianna on May 25, 2021 1:54:22 GMT -5
Thanks Slide.. Yeah, I haven't posted for awhile.. I read the threads when I get a chance to.. Speaking of Jim Croce.. You know his song, Operator was the very first 45 I bought.. it was that one or Candy Man from Sammy Davis.. remember I was still very young in elementary school.. but like Linda I was very much into the radio from an early age 4 or 5 years old. I remember my Mom had this cosco type stool in the kitchen and I would sit and wait until Candy Man came on the radio lol. As I said at that age I would ask my Mom to buy me the 45's, I think they were 25 cents @ Zody's back then I didn't get into LP's and cassettes until Jr. High so I never had Croce's albums.. but at the time, he was my favorite singer (and Sammy Davis lol) oddly enough, I knew he was going to die in a plane crash before it happened so it didn't shock me when I heard the news (how weird- but that sort of stuff happens all the time). I remember right after his passing the hit single, "I got a name," came out.. and boy, that song just killed me.. I couldn't get through it without bawling. I'll listen to the Croce songs you suggested because as I said, I didn't have any of his albums.. Hey Dianna! Welcome back! Haven't seen you in a while, but then again, I hadn't seen me in a while on here either. I'm retired now, so I have more time for contributing here. Linda doing the Jim Croce song You Don't Mess Around with Jim, is a song I would love to have heard Linda do. Jim had a few songs I wished Linda had done: One Less Set of Footsteps, Age, The Hard Way Every Time (one song of Jim's that can put the lump in your throat and the tears in your eyes), Which Way Are You Goin', and King's Song. As one might guess, I'm a big fan of Jim's and it's sad that he died just as his star was rising. He might have been around for a good, long while as he had the natural ability to connect with his audience. I still get chills thinking about the fact he appeared in my hometown just two days before he was killed in the plane crash. I missed his concert but figured he would be playing up in the city in '74 or '75. How we pay for those we want to see.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2021 7:48:01 GMT -5
A great song for Linda with Nelson Riddle
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2021 7:55:12 GMT -5
And most definitely this!
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2021 8:30:57 GMT -5
Also
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