Ronstadt answers fans’ prayers with live album
Linda Ronstadt has accomplished so many things over the years.
Yet one thing remained on her checkoff list during a career that has spanned five decades: Releasing a live album. Finally, however, she has checked that off the list with the recent release of “Linda Ronstadt: Live in Hollywood,” a concert recording that is every bit worth the wait.
The 12-track offering finds Ronstadt at the height of her vocal powers, recorded on April 24, 1980, at the Television Center Studios in Hollywood. The concert was originally filmed for an HBO special.
The disc unfolds like a greatest hits package, as Ronstadt — who was just 33 at the time — illustrates exactly why she was vastly popular at the start of the ’80s. She was supporting “Mad Love,” which would go on to become the singer’s seventh consecutive platinum-selling album.
Her vocals are strong, clear and convincing as she moves through such winners as “It’s So Easy,” “Just One Look” and “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.”
The stunning version of “Blue Bayou”? Wow. That’s one for the time capsule.
“Linda Ronstadt: Live in Hollywood” is indeed an important historical document, one that fans should feel grateful for getting the chance to hear in 2019. As it turns out, the album almost didn’t happen.
John Boylan, the album’s producer, said that the master tapes couldn’t be located. But, then, a chance encounter with a Warner Bros. audio engineer at — of all places — a hockey rink led to the discovery of the tapes.
“I have no way of calculating the odds of finding the lost tapes through a chance encounter at a hockey practice, but they must be astronomical — like winning the lottery,” Boylan writes in the album’s liner notes. “And in the case of remarkable serendipity, every Linda Ronstadt fan is a lottery winner.”
Per usual, Ronstadt was joined by an outstanding band on this night, featuring guitarists Kenny Edwards and Danny Kortchmar, drummer Russ Kunkel, bassist Bob Glaub, keyboardist Bill Payne, pedal steel guitarist Dan Dugmore, percussionist-vocalist Peter Asher (who also
Track listing
• “I Can’t Let Go”
• “It’s So Easy”
• “Willin’ ”
• “Just One Look”
• “Blue Bayou”
• “Faithless Love”
• “Hurt So Bad”
• “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”
• “You’re No Good”
• “How Do I Make You”
• “Back in the U.S.A.”
• “Desperado”
was the executive producer of the HBO recording) and backing vocalist Wendy Waldman.
“Linda Ronstadt: Live in Hollywood” is available for $14.98 on CD and $19.98 on vinyl through rhino.com. It is also available through various digital/streaming services.