Penthouse Magazine March 1979 Linda Bonnie Phoebe

[Partridge]

This is from the March 1979 issue of Penthouse Magazine. Hard to scan these tinted pages and retain readability, so I scanned it twice.

[eddiejinnj]

Did I know that Bonnie worked with Peter? I am not sure I recall that. eddiejinnj

[RobGNYC]

Yes, Peter produced Bonnie's 1979 album The Glow. It peaked at #30 on the Billboard album chart--except for Sweet Forgiveness (#25 in 1977), it was her highest-charting album until Nick of Time in 1989. Palmer is usually a very perceptive critic--I like that he said that Linda "is anxious to succeed as an artist, not just as a money-maker." But I don't agree that Phoebe was "moving in the direction of Ronstadt, whom she knows and admires, to the detriment of her own unique talents." Phoebe was too talented and independent to follow anyone's else's "direction."

[eddiejinnj]

Thanks, Rob, for the info. I have heard of the album, "The Glow". eddiejinnj

[eddiejinnj]

Rob, I was just thinking (uh oh, lol) did Peter limit it to just the one album because of his being the producer of Linda and James and didn't have time.
Basically, am asking why was it limited to one album? eddiejinnj

[RobGNYC]

Jul 26, 2023 15:55:43 GMT -5 eddiejinnj said:

Rob, I was just thinking (uh oh, lol) did Peter limit it to just the one album because of his being the producer of Linda and James and didn't have time.
Basically, am asking why was it limited to one album? eddiejinnj

Eddie--I think it was partly disappointing sales (although Bonnie had only one other Top 30 album before The Glow so it couldn't have been that much of a disappointment). Bonnie said that the album "didn't do as well as [Warner] thought" (https://www.bonnieraitt.eu/bonnie-raitt-the-rolling-stone-interview/). Also, the reviews were not great. In Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden called it "a solemn bore...turning the singer's voice into an electronic artifact." The comparisons to Linda's albums were inevitable, both artistically and in terms of sales--Bonnie must have expected that. I guess her hopes for a hit outweighed those concerns. I like the album--to me, it doesn't sound like an outlier in her catalog--it's still Bonnie.  

Christgau gave it a B+ (his grade for "a good record"):

The Glow [Warner Bros., 1979]

I suppose I should blame Peter Asher for how flat a few of these songs sound, but in fact I blame him only for pianist Don Grolnick, who single-handedly (well, actually I guess he used two) transforms the title cut from a cry of alcoholic despair to a self-pitying piece of hightone lounge schlock. She's never sounded better on the slow ones--Hayes-Porter's "Your Good Thing" is the killer--and her own "Standing by the Same Old Love" adds significantly to the pitiful store of rock songs about enduring sexual relationships. But I could stand some more hard raunch. B+

[eddiejinnj]

Wow, he hit Don Grolnick hard. Thanks for the info!!! eddiejinnj