Word: albums
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Warren Zevon's "Mohammed's Radio," the song Ronstadt told concert audiences this summer was her favorite on the album, works in as another in the long tradition of slow Ronstadt ballads that have been so well received in the past. The song is deliberate and forceful, pushing along Zevon's angry lyrics...
...popular, the track has become an AM/FM hit single, a sure-fire get-up-and-boogie rocker. But it lacks the power of "Tumbling Dice" or the throaty intensity of "Heat Wave." The song is thin throughout and doesn't hold its own among the other works on this album...
Drawing from a variety of sources, Ronstadt puts together a strong selection of tunes in the middle of her new album, starting with an Elvis Costello hit, "Alison." With background vocal help from Andrew Gold and David Sanborn's mysterious alto sax weaving through the chorus, the song suits Ronstadt's voice perfectly, alternately showing a soft, shallow tone and then a full, resonant alto swell...
...album's best ballad comes from the music of a Ronstadt favorite, J.D. Souther, whose songs have consistently strengthened her albums. This time she picks a slow love song, backed by a sweet pedal steel. "White Rhythm and Blues" ends side one with a sweet, sentimental tone, Ronstadt's voice enveloping the soft electric piano of Dan Grolnick, whose keyboard skills are heavily used in this album...
...there are disappointments on the album, especially a remake of the Elvis Presley classic "Love Me Tender." Ronstadt's stab at the tune is too polished, too slick to work well. She obliterated Presley's rough edges and raw power. "Blowing Away," a lethargic, mournful ballad in which producer-manager Asher sings background, dies before it starts, lacking the poignancy that makes Ronstadt's slowest songs click. A 1934 Oscar Hammerstein song, "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," despite a pretty electric piano line, also falls short. Ronstadt plays with a cutesy, childlike voice which makes the song sound...