Well you guys talked me into making this a recurring feature. Luckily I keep my records fairly organized (in a chaotic fashion that only makes sense to me of course), so I can assure the first few won't be complete duds. I'll wait till this feature gets established before I start reaching into the other shelfs. So what does that get us this week. It gets us Linda Ronstadt's 1974 album Heart Like A Wheel. One of her best albums no doubt, though I prefer 1977's Simple Dreams to this one.
Heart Like A Wheel was the album that propelled Ronstadt to superstar status, hitting number one on the Billboard charts, the country charts, and also earning her a grammy.
The biggest single off Heart Like A Wheel was undoubtedly "You're No Good", made famous a few years later by an up and coming band called Van Halen you may have heard of. This album like her earlier albums featured a plethora of musicians from the Laurel Canyon area of L.A. including JD Souther, Don Henley, Glen Frey, Emmylou Harris, Herb Pederson, Dave Lindley, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, etc... Laurel Canyon in the late 60's early 70's was a nexus of country rock artists, starting with The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield and culminating years later with The Eagles and Jackson Browne. Ronstadt was square in the middle of this movement with The Eagles themselves as her backing band on her earlier albums.
This is also the album where Ronstadt established herself as a master interpreter of others songs. Including what I like to think is a tribute to recently deceased Gram Parsons with her version of "Dark End Of The Street", which of course was recorded by The Flying Burrito Brothers on their first album. Other covers include "You're No Good", originally an R&B hit for Dee Dee Warwick, The Everly's "When Will I Be Loved", Hank's "I Can't Help It I'm Still In Love With You" (which features some beautiful harmonies with Emmylou), and my favorite off this album, her version of Little Feat's "Willin" (featured in one of the best music scenes ever a few years later in the movie Abyss). This album is a masterful blend of country, rock, r&b, and just enough Pop to take it up the Billboard charts to #1. Cosmic American Music indeed.
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