A number one album in both the Top 200 and country album charts in early 1975, this was Ronstadt's breakthrough into wider stardom, spawning hit singles on both the country and pop charts. When describing the string of mid-70s albums that were the fruit of the partnership between singer Linda Ronstadt and producer Peter Asher, the word "curated" seems to fit best. The Ronstadt/Asher song choice alchemy here reached perfection for the first time. Every track feels and sounds exactly right, the sonics are stellar, and the arrangements and playing are transcendent.
Here the talented pair mix songwriters, tempos and a range of emotions stretching from the accusatory opening blast of "You're No Good" to a somber, slow duet with Maria Muldaur on the Anna McGarrigle-penned title track. Ronstadt is again backed by a crowd of supremely musical players, led this time by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold. Never afraid to wade into deep waters and add her own reading to songs indelibly associated with another singer, Ronstadt here turns in a compelling take on the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham classic, "Dark Side of the Street," (otherwise best known as the signature hit for baritone soul singer James Carr). Further on, the trio of The Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved," through Lowell George's "Willin" to a duet with Emmylou Harris on Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)," is a quintessential example of the carefully calibrated, track-by-track mix of styles and arrangements that made Ronstadt's best 70s albums so listenable and their star into such a towering artist. © Robert Baird / Qobuz