I found it somewhat difficult to evaluate this album, as Linda Ronstadt apparently writes no original material, so the tracklist consists exclusively of covers of songs by artists like Buddy Holly ("
It's So Easy") and the Stones ("
Tumbling Dice"). It'd be one thing if I knew all of the songs that were covered here, because then I could compare them to the originals. Under that method of evaluation, "Tumbling Dice" is passable, but lacks the swagger and charisma of the Stones' version. Yet I don't know the other songs well enough to make the same comparisons.
So really, what I am evaluating on is the choice of covers, and for the most part, Ronstadt gets that right, ensuring that this album will remain in my collection. She largely plays things straight, but is a solid singer with a good backing band. The songs I recognized - in addition to the other two mentioned, these include "
Ooh Baby Baby" and "
Just One Look" all came off fairly well to my ears. I don't know how much credit to apportion to Linda Ronstadt herself vs. the original writers/performers of the songs, but I will try not to lose sleep over it.
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