Welcome to the Linda Ronstadt album by album thread. Since there was a lot of activity in the Linda Ronstadt Appreciation Thread (found here: Linda Ronstadt Appreciation Thread ), I thought it would be fun to do an album by album thread of her entire career. We'll also cover her work with the Stone Poneys and her collaborations with Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Ann Savoy, her recent live album and the official compilations. To keep track of where we are, my avatar will feature the album that's currently being discussed. We'll move on to a new album once a week. Have Fun!
THE STONE PONEYS - THE STONE PONEYS Released: January 30 1967 Label: Capitol Recorded: October-November 1966 Produced by: Nik Venet Currently available: Yes, 2018 HDCD by Culture Factory Side 1 1.Sweet Summer Blue And Gold (Bobby Kimmel/Kenny Edwards) (2:18) 2.If I Were You (Bobby Kimmel/Kenny Edwards) (1:58) 3.Just A Little Bit Of Rain (Fred Neil) (2:20) 4.Bicycle Song (Bobby Kimmel/Kenny Edwards) (1:53) 5.Orion (Tom Campbell) (3:20) Side 2 6.Wild About My Lovin' (Traditional) (3:50) 7.Back Home (Kenny Edwards) (2:00) 8.Meredith (On My Mind) (Bobby Kimmel/Kenny Edwards) (2:10) 9.Train And The River (Bobby Kimmel/Kenny Edwards) (2:18) 10.All The Beautiful Things (Bobby Kimmel/Kenny Edwards) (1:55) 11.2:10 Train (Tom Campbell/Linda Albertano) (3:20) Musicians: Linda Ronstadt: Vocals, Finger Cymbals Kenny Edwards: Vocals, Guitar Bobby Kimmel: Vocals, Guitar James E. Bond: Bass, Guitar Pete Childs: Guitar Cyrus Faryar: Bouzouki, Guitar John T. Forsha: Guitar Billy Mundi: Drums Tom Wood: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
This is a great idea for a thread, I have most of her albums from Don’t Cry Now onwards so can’t comment on the early stuff but I have a great compilation of that material on vinyl called Different Drum.
I'm in the same boat as @Porkpie. There is a lot of music I loved back in the day that I rarely listen to. Linda's music is not in that category; I listen to her regularly.
The Stone Poneys sound a bit like a cross between Peter Paul & Mary and early Fairport Convention on their debut. Acoustic music with very good vocal harmonies and lots of folk influences. When Linda sings just by herself it's already clear she has a very powerful voice. It's no surprise she would soon start on her own, singing harmonies in a folk trio didn't really do her voice justice. Nevertheless, there is some very fine material here: their covers of Fred Neil's "Just A Little Bit Of Rain", Tom Campbell's "Orion", the folky "Bicycle Song".
it was NIK. but lots of folks spelled his name incorrectly. he was a mensch. RIP nik venet linda was a belter, back in the day. as a kid i saw her changing her top backstage at the santa monic civic with bonnie raitt. we are both startled, she was drop dead gorgeous heh she helped shape my youth ha.
I did not get this first Stone Poneys album until it was reissued after Linda's success with "Heart Like A Wheel". While I remember the "Different Drum" hit from a bit later, I don't know that I recall ever seeing any of their albums in the stores at the time (though I was about 9 years old when this was released). After hearing it at that time, it was disappointing. Too many Peter, Paul & Mary type harmonies, with only 3 Linda solos, and the only one I really enjoyed was "Orion".
i loved the stuff she did with val garay mixing at sound factory. they used the "aphex aural exciter" swimmingly on her VOX. sounded great. there's also a great story of val accidentally wiping a "keeper" but i can't remember what track it was. or what i had for lunch yesterday.
The first 2 Stone Poneys albums are on Spotify if you want to give them a listen. Sadly the 3rd is not.
Also looking forward to the thread. I have everything through "Get Closer" except "Evergreen Vol. 2." I'll spin my copy of "The Stone Poneys Featuring Linda Ronstadt" tonight or tomorrow and try to add a useful comment. She's been a favorite of mine since high school. I saw her once in concert, in 1977. I recall she wore a Cub Scout uniform, I was on a first date, and our seats were far away in a 12,000+ seat arena. I'm sure it was a great show.
I've never seen this album in the wild. Are there many out there? All I have is the compilation, Different Drummer, mentioned earlier. I'd love to hear more from this period. She was a crush during high school, drove my older brother to her concert right after I turned 16. He and his buddy (both well lubricated with Wild Turkey) showed their appreciation by shouting well intended but highly offensive observations at her between songs. She was a sex symbol.
Great thread. It'll be fascinating to go back and listen to her get command of her voice, as the years roll on. This first album is hard to listen to, as she's all soprano, on it. She's singing at the very top of her voice with little modulation. Her self-titled record is where she starts pulling it together. The Fred Neil cover, is worth the price of the record.
What about the other members of the Stone Ponies? I see that Edwards and Kimmel wrote a lot of the material. Did these guys and other members of the band continue in music, have greater success, or become insurance salesmen.
To be honest, I'm not sure what happened to Bobby Kimmel, but... After the Stone Poneys, Kenny Edwards went on to form Bryndle with Karla Bonoff, Wendy Waldman and Andrew Gold, though they disbanded releasing only a single from an unreleased album. All of them went on to work with Linda at various times of her career. Andrew and Kenny played in Linda's band for many years -- I think he appeared on virtually all of her "hit" albums. In the early 90's Bryndle re-formed and they actually released two CDs, that I enjoyed very much at the time.
I was lucky enough to get a sealed copy of this album a little over three years ago. I played it once at that time and didn't remember that it was this good. I'm a fan of the folk rock kind of sound on this album and love the harmonies. But Linda's voice is the star of the record, even though Linda is only solo on a few songs. I, for one, wouldn't be without this album. A couple notes about the cover, the '75 reissue back cover is very different, featuring Linda more and pointing out her solo songs (See Discogs images here). Also, being a huge early Fairport Convention fan, I noticed the front cover is similar to their debut album in that there are band members around a similar looking Tiffany style lamp (See Discogs images here).
THE STONE PONEYS - EVERGREEN VOL. 2 Released: June 1967 Label: Capitol Recorded: Spring 1967 Produced by: Nik Venet Currently available: Yes, 2016 SHM CD from Japan. Mp3 download is a lot cheaper. Side 1 1.December Dream (John Braheny) (3:30) 2.Song About The Rain (Steve Gillette) (2:40) 3.Autumn Afternoon (Kenny Edwards/Bobby Kimmel) (2:35) 4.I've Got To Know (Pamela Polland) (2:38) 5.Evergreen (Part One) (Kenny Edwards/Bobby Kimmel) (3:10) 6.Evergreen (Part Two) (Kenny Edwards/Bobby Kimmel) (3:33) Side 2 7.Different Drum (Mike Nesmith) (2:45) 8.Driftin' (Kenny Edwards/Bobby Kimmel) (2:30) 9.One For One (Al Silverman/Austin DeLone) (2:50) 10.Back On The Street Again (Steve Gillette) (1:50) 11.Toys In Time (Kenny Edwards/Bobby Kimmel) (1:50) Musicians: Linda Ronstadt: Vocals, Finger Cymbals Kenny Edwards: Guitar, Sitar, Vocals Bobby Kimmel: Guitar, Vocals James E. Bond: Bass Dennis Budmir: Guitar Pete Childs: Guitar Cyrus Faryar: Acoustic Guitar, Bouzouki John T Forscha: Guitar Steve Gillette: Guitar, Harmony Vocals Jim Gordon: Drums Bernie Leadon: Guitar on "Different Drum" Billy Mundi: Drums Joe Osborn: Electric Bass Don Randi: Harpsichord Sidney Sharp: Violin, Concertmaster Norman Botnick: Strings William Durasch: Strings Jesse Ehrlich: String Harry Hyams: Strings William Kurasch: Strings Leonard Malarsky: Strings Stanley Plummer: Strings Robert Sushel: Strings
Since I'm not expecting a lot of discussion about the early Stone Poneys albums, I've decided to move on a little faster than just 1 album every week until we've reached her solo career. A very logical follow up to the band's debut and to my ears an improvement. More Linda vocals was a smart move, since her vocals weren't really that suited to harmony singing. With more covers instead of self written songs, the quality of the material is also higher. Highlights are the pop of "Different Drum", the folky "Back On The Street Again" and the ballad "Song About The Rain".
I like this album a lot. A lot of worthwhile tunes. "I've Got to Know" is one of my all-time favorite Linda vocals. My pressing has the extra measure of harpischord solo in "Different Drum"
I was finally able to find this (and third Stone Poneys album) many years after the fact. Honestly, after all that time, I remember not being terribly impressed! I really don't even remember it, so I'll have to give it a listen at some point. I know these 3 early albums were briefly released on CD by Capitol, but disappeared pretty quickly. At any rate, maybe I would have felt differently if I had listened to them as they were released? I know I bought the single of "Different Drum" which I loved very much (and still do) -- I was about 9 at the time this was released, so I only bought albums by my favorites (like Nancy Sinatra or Petula Clark or Bobbie Gentry or Jackie DeShannon), while I bought 45's of songs I loved! I think the B-side was "Carnival Bear" or something like that, which did not impress me much compared to the A-side.
The only songs I know on this album are Different Drum and I’ve Got to Know. I think both are stellar but I’m not really interested in exploring these albums as I’m not a 60s folk fan.
I love Linda Ronstadt's albums, but must admit i am only familiar with Different Drum from the Stone Ponies era (to the best of my knowledge) Very worthy choice for an album thread.
I had to listen on Spotify as finding a nice copy of Evergreen Vol. 2, without spending too much money, is turning out to be harder than expected. But I will find one. Unlike The Stone Poneys Self Titled album, Evergreen Vol. 2 is pretty much a Linda Ronstadt solo album. The first real showcase of Linda voice. My favorite song is probably "One For One", but all the songs are nice.
