Linda Ronstadt -Box Set [1999] (4 x CD's)

 

LINDA RONSTADT

Linda Ronstadt -Box Set [1999] (4 x CD's)

Linda Ronstadt's generically titled 4 X CD, five-hour, 86-track box set retrospective attempts with considerable success to encompass the many types of music she's sung from the mid-'60s to the late '90s. The album is divided into five unequal parts, with 31 tracks given over to an "Album Retrospective," followed by seven tracks from "The Nelson Riddle Sessions," her three albums of classic pop, then five songs "En Español," drawn from her three Spanish language albums. That takes up the first two discs, with the third disc consisting of 20 "Collaborations" and the fourth 23 "Rarities." It is significant that the first section is called "Album Retrospective," signaling to the listener that Ronstadt is not interested in presenting her hit singles as such. In fact, most of her chart hits do turn up somewhere on the set, but a whole chunk of them is missing. At the time that Ronstadt was peppering the singles charts in the late '70s, she caught flack for her covers of Motown and rock & roll standards, and she herself has disavowed her recordings of such work, so maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that she has chosen to forget "Heat Wave," "Tracks of My Tears," "That'll Be the Day," "It's So Easy," and even modern rock songs like "How Do I Make You," with "Back in the U.S.A." and "Tumbling Dice" included only in live versions. A critic can hardly object, but Ronstadt fans should note that, as a result, the box set will not allow them to throw their Greatest Hits albums away. Also, the omissions tend to make Ronstadt seem like more of a balladeer than she has been in her career. She is much more interested in emphasizing her non-rock work. The "Rarities" disc really only contains five previously unreleased songs, and they are hardly revelations, including outtakes of material written by the likes of J.D. Souther and Karla Bonoff, longtime Ronstadt favorites. But the disc does suggest the singer's range, from the art songs of Carla Bley and Philip Glass to theater songs from The Pirates of Penzance and Randy Newman's Faust. The Linda Ronstadt Box Set clearly had major input from the artist herself, and its contents may not be what a Ronstadt fan or chart researcher would have chosen. But it certainly makes the case for Ronstadt as a hard-working performer who constantly challenged herself by trying styles beyond the Southern California folk-rock for which she remains best known. (AllMusic Review by William Ruhlmann)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Linda Ronstadt When We Ran 5:08

02 Linda Ronstadt Ruler Of My Heart 3:36

03 Linda Ronstadt Cry eTil My Tears Run Dry 4:03

04 Linda Ronstadt We Will Rock You 1:29

05 Linda Ronstadt Winter Light 3:19

06 Linda Ronstadt Anyone Who Had A Heart 3:27

07 Linda Ronstadt I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself 3:13

08 Linda Ronstadt Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) 3:18

09 Linda Ronstadt Do What You Gotta Do 3:26

10 Linda Ronstadt Heartbeats Accelerating 3:50

11 Linda Ronstadt Goodbye My Friend 3:49

12 Linda Ronstadt Adios 3:37

13 Linda Ronstadt Cry Like A Rainstorm 3:37

14 Linda Ronstadt Trouble Again 3:20

15 Linda Ronstadt Easy For You To Say 4:04

16 Linda Ronstadt The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress 3:05

17 Linda Ronstadt Get Closer 2:33

18 Linda Ronstadt Hurts So Bad 3:16

19 Linda Ronstadt I Can't Let Go 2:43

20 Linda Ronstadt Ooh Baby Baby 3:21

21 Linda Ronstadt Just One Look 3:21

22 Linda Ronstadt Poor Poor Pitiful Me 3:43

CD2

01 Linda Ronstadt Blue Bayou 4:00

02 Linda Ronstadt Try Me Again 3:57

03 Linda Ronstadt Heat Wave 2:49

04 Linda Ronstadt Heart Like A Wheel 3:10

05 Linda Ronstadt It Doesn't Matter Anymore 3:29

06 Linda Ronstadt You're No Good 3:47

07 Linda Ronstadt When Will I Be Loved 2:12

08 Linda Ronstadt Long Long Time 4:26

09 Linda Ronstadt Different Drum 2:42

10 Linda Ronstadt Little Girl Blue 4:38

11 Linda Ronstadt I Get Along Without You Very Well 4:19

12 Linda Ronstadt My Funny Valentine 3:02

13 Linda Ronstadt When You Wish Upon A Star 3:51

14 Linda Ronstadt It Never Entered My Mind 4:26

15 Linda Ronstadt Skylark 3:11

16 Linda Ronstadt What's New 3:58

17 Linda Ronstadt Quiereme Mucho 3:27

18 Linda Ronstadt Frenesi 3:36

19 Linda Ronstadt Mentira Salome 2:54

20 Linda Ronstadt La Mariquita 3:01

21 Linda Ronstadt El Crucifijo de Piedra 3:16

CD3

01 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton High Sierra 4:26

02 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton Lover's Return 4:02

03 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris; Dolly Parton The Blue Train 5:01

04 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton Feels Like Home 4:49

05 Linda Ronstadt with Anna McGarrigle; Kate McGarrigle Gentle Annie 2:59

06 Linda Ronstadt with Aaron Neville Please Remember Me 3:53

07 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton After The Gold Rush 3:35

08 Linda Ronstadt with Frank Sinatra Moonlight In Vermont 4:09

09 Linda Ronstadt with Michael Ronstadt, Peter Ronstadt El Camino (The Road) 3:33

10 Linda Ronstadt with Aaron Neville All My Life 3:33

11 Linda Ronstadt with Aaron Neville Don't Know Much 3:35

12 Linda Ronstadt with Chuck Berry Back In The U.S.A. 3:33

13 Linda Ronstadt with Danny Valdez El Sol Que Tu Eres 3:04

14 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton Telling Me Lies 4:27

15 Linda Ronstadt with James Ingram Somewhere Out There 4:01

16 Linda Ronstadt with James Taylor I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine 4:01

17 Linda Ronstadt with Dolly Parton I Never Will Marry 3:17

18 Linda Ronstadt with J.D. Souther Prisoner In Disguise 3:57

19 Linda Ronstadt with J.D. Souther Faithless Love 3:15

20 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You) 2:45

CD4

01 Linda Ronstadt Gainesville 3:32

02 Linda Ronstadt Sandman's Coming 2:42

03 Linda Ronstadt My Hero 2:36

04 Linda Ronstadt with Kermit the Frog All I Have To Do Is Dream 3:31

05 Linda Ronstadt Dreams to Dream 4:43

06 Linda Ronstadt The Blacksmith 2:43

07 Linda Ronstadt Bandit & A Heart Breaker 2:33

08 Linda Ronstadt with The Seldom Scene Keep Me From Blowing Away 3:26

09 Linda Ronstadt with The Seldom Scene & Emmylou Harris The Sweetest Gift 3:03

10 Linda Ronstadt with Pillip Glass Freezing 3:19

11 Linda Ronstadt Poor Wandering One 3:58

12 Linda Ronstadt Sorry Her Lot 2:04

13 Linda Ronstadt with Wendy Waldman I Want A Horse 3:18

14 Linda Ronstadt with Little Feat All That You Dream 4:55

15 Linda Ronstadt with J.D. Souther Hearts Against The Wind 3:00

16 Linda Ronstadt Tumbling Dice 3:35

17 Linda Ronstadt Border Town 3:34

18 Linda Ronstadt Falling Star 5:26

19 Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris Honky Tonk Blues 2:29

20 Linda Ronstadt Lightning Bar Blues 3:43

21 Linda Ronstadt Why 2:21

22 Linda Ronstadt I'd Like To Know 2:44

23 Linda Ronstadt (Stone Ponys) Everybody Has Their Own Ideas (Stone Poneys Single, Sidewalk Records) 2:21

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