SWIFT TAYLOR – James Taylor & JT
JT (1977): Taylor marked his Columbia debut with a big-selling album, a Grammy award, two top 5 singles – and return to favour with the critics.
Tag Archive: Linda Ronstadt
NO DISGUISING A FINE ALBUM – Linda Ronstadt & PRISONER IN DISGUISE
Consolidating the huge success of ‘Heart Like a Wheel’ from the year before, PRISONER IN DISGUISE (1975) soon turned platinum and produced three top ten singles.
EASY PICKINGS – EAGLES and their 1972 self-titled debut album
Already the Eagles sound ahead of the country-rock game, not necessarily for having better songs but through superior songcraft…….
MACHINE PRECISION: Linda Ronstadt & ‘HEART LIKE A WHEEL’
‘HEART LIKE A WHEEL’ (1974) propelled Ronstadt to superstardom and ended all debate regarding the finest female rock singer on the planet.
EARLY CAREER MASTERPIECE: Jackson Browne – ‘LATE FOR THE SKY’
LATE FOR THE SKY (1974): Inducting Browne into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen called ‘Late for the Sky’ a ‘masterpiece.’
Borderline sublime: Eagles & ‘ON THE BORDER’
‘ON THE BORDER’ (1974) dispelled any notion of the Eagles losing their early momentum and became an immediate best-seller.
GRAM FINALE – Gram Parsons & ‘GRIEVOUS ANGEL’
There is an acute sense of finality attached to ‘GRIEVOUS ANGEL’ – an album affirming his genius, occasionally flawed, always engaging, often deeply moving.
THAT GIRL CAN SING – Linda Ronstadt & ‘LIVING IN THE USA’
Released in 1978, ‘Living in the USA’ is the last in the first series of great Linda Ronstadt albums.
NOTHING POOR, NOTHING PITIFUL – WARREN ZEVON (1976):
In a year when Asylum released ‘Hotel California,’ and ‘The Pretender’ their most critically acclaimed release was ‘WARREN ZEVON’.
NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME – Eagles & ‘ONE OF THESE NIGHTS’
‘ONE OF THESE NIGHTS’ (1975) emphasised how much the Eagles were developing as writers and performers, but also the isolation of Bernie Leadon within the band.