Whether Linda Ronstadt was aware of the adage ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it‘ is unknown, but when time came to record her sixth album ‘PRISONER IN DISGUISE‘ (September 1975), she applied pretty much the same principle.
In following up her magnificent ‘Heart Like a Wheel‘ LP of 1974, a record that generated huge sales figures in finally catapulting the best female rock singer around to global stardom, Ronstadt understandably took a similar approach – going back to the same pool of accomplished songwriters for more first rate material, all to be interpretated in her own inimitable style.
Under the guidance once again of Peter Asher, whose crisp yet smooth production had been a factor in making her most recent album the best presented of those she had made so far, Ronstadt attaches that serene, at times spine-tingling voice of hers to eleven songs whose origins are found in traditional and modern country music, reggae, folk and soul.
More often than not they came wrapped in a bouquet of country-rock, a sound for which she and most notably the Eagles (her former backing band) were becoming renowned for.
Nobody had done more to hoist the country-rock banner through the early-70s than Neil Young. Ronstadt, having contributed backing vocals to his huge-selling 1972 ‘Harvest‘ album, choosing to open her latest release by interpretating Young’s ‘Love is a Rose‘ as country-pop stomp.
Built from a base of fiddle and banjo, she gives this acoustic guitar ballad a sense of energy and drama not apparent on his original, her sumptuous tones giving the chorus added resonance:
‘Love is a rose, but you’d better not pick it/Only grows when it’s on the vine/Handful of thorns and you know you’ve missed it/Lose your love when you say the word mine.’
Sufficiently catchy to reach number five on the U.S. singles chart, the success of the track was also testament to the production skills of Asher and flair for arrangement shown by her backing band leader Andrew Gold, who would shortly embark on a career in his own right.
There are country overtones aplenty on ‘Hey Mister That’s Me Up on the Jukebox‘, Ronstadt returning to the catalogue of James Taylor and ironically the same Taylor album, having covered ‘You Can Close Your Eyes‘ on ‘Heart Like a Wheel‘ – both songs appearing on his 1971 ‘Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon‘ LP.
For this aching lament on the loneliness that can be a consequence of fame, (‘Hey mister that’s me up on the jukebox/I’m the one singing this sad song/And I cry every time that you slip in one more dime/And play me singing the sad one one more time‘), Gold utilizes the haunting pedal steel inflections of Dan Dugmore, such decoration the ideal foil for her deft, expressive vocal.
After conjuring a majestic version of ‘Willin‘ on her previous record, Ronstadt goes straight back to the deep well of great songs slide guitar maestro Lowell George had written as a member of Little Feat – turning ‘Roll Um Easy‘ (that George performs virtually as a solo track on their superb 1973 ‘Dixie Chicken‘ album), into a heady, Creedence-flavoured brew.
In her immensely readable 2013 autobiography ‘Simple Dreams‘ Ronstadt named Little Feat as her ‘favourite all-time rock band‘. The affection she felt toward them is evident in the joyous reading of a typically affecting George lyric, ‘And I have dined in palaces/Drunk wine with kings and queens/But darling oh darling/You’re the best thing I ever seen‘. Her continued patronage of their material, (George contributing slide guitar to this track), gained them attention in the same way it would later boost the standing of songwriters such as Karla Bonhoff and Warren Zevon.
By 1975 the reputation of Dolly Parton, in country music circles that is, needed no enhancing, but keen to reach an audience beyond Nashville, Dolly also benefitted from a Ronstadt rendition in achieving this aim – Linda being the first to bring ‘I Will Always Love You‘ to a mainstream audience.
Staying closer to the simple arrangement Parton used for the song when she recorded it the previous year, only with more soft-rock sensibilities, Ronstadt, as you would expect does a sterling job in conveying the heartfelt lyrical couplets – later, more showy versions of the song, replacing poignancy with excessive production.
But for the moment Ronstadt had done a future collaborator a huge favour, Parton adding to her growing momentum with ‘Jolene‘ becoming a worldwide hit before 1975 was out.
Twelve years later Ronstadt and Parton would team-up for the ‘Trio‘ album – the third member of the troupe, Emmylou Harris, also having a presence on ‘Prisoner in Disguise‘ in adding harmony vocals to the country standard ‘The Sweetest Gift‘.
Harris had previously sung harmony with Ronstadt on ‘I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You’), that was heard on ‘Heart Like a Wheel‘ and again they combine to excellent effect on this sorrowful tale (written by J.B. Coates in 1942), of a mother visiting her errant son in prison. Against a melancholy backdrop with fiddle and mandolin to the fore, the title refers to the kindest thing she could take with her to the jail, ‘It was a halo bright, sent down from heaven’s light/The sweetest gift, a mother’s smile.’
The two songs with their roots in Motown receive different stylings. ‘Heatwave‘ a 1963 success for Martha and the Vandellas is an exuberant power-pop work out that climbed to number four on the U.S. listings when released as a 45, Ronstadt reaching the same chart position with her take of ‘Tracks of my Tears‘ that had been a hit for The Miracles ten years before, the latter smoothly shaped for her into an effective torch ballad.
The inclusion of ‘Many Rivers to Cross‘, a 1969 gospel-infused gem by reggae genius Jimmy Cliff, showed just how adept she, Asher and Gold had become at turning unlikely material into natural accomplishment. With a voice so serene it was long established Ronstadt could sing any song and make it sound engaging, but even on turning Cliff’s sorrowful ode to loneliness into a broadly-drawn piano ballad, she resists the temptation to be melodramatic or over sing.
While not exactly from the same source, touching folk composition, ‘You Tell Me That I’m Falling Down‘ has a connection to her previous album in being written by Carol Holland and Anna McGarrigle – whose sister, Canadian singer-songwriter Kate, had written the ‘Heart Like a Wheel‘ title track.
The songs in fact are not dissimilar. Both are introspective pieces, this one (featuring Maria Muldaur singing harmony), ruminating on how the best-intended advice can be unwanted, (‘Well let it be I’m not alone/I’m only lonely see/And you can’t tell me where to go/Or what or who to be‘). The fiddle refrain has melodic similarity to ‘For a Dancer‘ by Jackson Browne, which is not unduly surprising as on both occasions the multitalented David Lindley performs the honours.
The remaining two tracks come off the conveyer belt of JD Souther (he and Ronstadt having shared a love affair that ended the previous year), whose recent credits included a number of Eagles co-writes with Don Henley and Glenn Frey, along with a number of notable individual compositions – one of which, ‘Faithless Love’, was given tender treatment by Ronstadt last time out.
The title track is another of his sharply-honed, if anguished observations on the complexities of love, Souther (backing vocal and acoustic guitar), Gold (piano) and a sombre string section accompanying Ronstadt through a journey of emotional yearning and dashed expectation:
‘You think the love you never had might save you/But true love takes a little time/You can touch it with your fingers/And try to believe your eyes/Is it love or lies?/So you’re keeping your distance/A little bit of room around you/But if he doesn’t return your call on time/Oh, my, my/You just act like a fool on a holiday/There’s nothing that you wouldn’t try/You must be a prisoner in disguise.’
Having recorded the song earlier in the year when part of the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band (a short-lived, now defunct country rock star ensemble, also featuring ex-Byrd Chris Hillman and former Poco front man Richie Furay), Souther adds harmonies to this stripped back, yet deep-reaching take – their voices blending in sublime accord to describe the isolation felt by the protagonist:
‘The city is no place to hide in/Everybody knows your number/And you know that you could never be alone if you tried/You just run like a man with no reason to run/And no place to ever arrive.’
Saving the stand-out vocal performance for the title song on a record where not one line is sung short of the highest level of attainment, her seemingly effortless ability to hit notes that should be out of range constantly defies comprehension.
In ending Ronstadt goes back to her Souther supply for the country-rock lullaby ‘Silver Blue.’
There is no doubting its merits as a well constructed piece of the sort the composer could virtually write to order, yet it does feel a curiously downbeat way of bringing things to a close. In terms of a final track, ‘Many Rivers to Cross‘ may have been better sequenced as a closer, the lyric of ‘Silver Blue‘ somewhat maudlin as Souther could often be when reflecting on a relationship in its final throes.
Nevertheless Ronstadt and her erstwhile beau do a splendid job in expressing the heartbreak sentiment of the words, (‘You think you’re gonna live forever/And somehow find me there/But you’ll be wearing golden wings/And fall right through the air‘), their voices framed by understated electric piano and atmospheric steel guitar.
An altogether fine album, if not quite the exceptional effort ‘Heart Like a Wheel‘ amounted to, Ronstadt had hit upon a winning formula for creating resonant contemporary pop no matter the source of the song. The record buying public were smitten (‘Prisoner in Disguise‘ reached number four on the U.S. charts and quickly registered platinum sales), while the critics remained firmly onside with a slew of positive reviews.
Indeed, ‘Prisoner in Disguise‘ proved the latest vehicle for the masterful way Linda Ronstadt had in delivering a song, Asher and Gold displaying their worth with excellent means of presentation.
In other words, nothing broken here, not a thing in need of fixing.
LINDA RONSTADT – PRISONER IN DISGUISE (Released September 15 1975):
Love is a Rose/Hey Mister That’s Me Up on the Jukebox/Roll Um Easy/Tracks of my Tears/Prisoner in Disguise/Heat Wave/Many Rivers to Cross/The Sweetest Gift/You Tell Me That I’m Falling Down/I Will Always Love You/Silver Blue;
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of MONTY’S DOUBLE – an acclaimed thriller available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.
Another fine review of another fantast album.
Hello Will – hope you are well.
Glad to hear you enjoyed my review of ‘Prisoner In Disguise’ and thank you for taking the time to say so – much appreciated.
Agreed – it is a great album.
Best wishes
Neil
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