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DISCID=7907890a
DTITLE=Linda Ronstadt / Simple Dreams (Japanese Pressing)
DYEAR=1977
DGENRE=Rock
TTITLE0=It's So Easy
TTITLE1=Carmelita
TTITLE2=Simple Man, Simple Dream
TTITLE3=Sorrow Lives Here
TTITLE4=I Never Will Marry
TTITLE5=Blue Bayou
TTITLE6=Poor Poor Pitiful Me
TTITLE7=Maybe I'm Right
TTITLE8=Tumbling Dice
TTITLE9=Old Paint
EXTD=Simple Dreams (Japanese Pressing)\n\nOriginally Released 1977\nCD
EXTD= Edition Released \n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Featuring a broader arra
EXTD=y of styles than any previous Linda Ronstadt record, Simple Dream
EXTD=s reconfirms her substantial talents as an interpretive singer. R
EXTD=onstadt sings Dolly Parton ("I Never Will Marry") with the same c
EXTD=onviction as the Rolling Stones ("Tumbling Dice"), and she manage
EXTD=s to update Roy Orbison ("Blue Bayou") and direct attention to th
EXTD=e caustic, fledgling singer/songwriter Warren Zevon ("Poor Poor P
EXTD=itiful Me" and "Carmelita"). The consistently adventurous materia
EXTD=l and Ronstadt's powerful performance makes the record rival Hear
EXTD=t Like a Wheel in sheer overall quality. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewi
EXTD=ne\n\nAmazon.com essential recording\nOn its face, Simple Dreams 
EXTD=seems a crazy quilt of styles, from the friendly country-rock rem
EXTD=ake of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy," the brooding covers of Roy O
EXTD=rbison's "Blue Bayou," and Dolly Parton's "I Never Will Marry" to
EXTD= dissolute tales of rock & roll madness like the Rolling Stones' 
EXTD="Tumbling Dice" and Warren Zevon's "Carmelita" and "Poor Poor Pit
EXTD=iful Me." Yet Ronstadt is able to keep it all together, proving h
EXTD=er interpretive depth and stylistic breadth all at once. Simple D
EXTD=reams is perhaps Ronstadt's most adventurous rock-oriented album,
EXTD= and, with the exception of the drum sounds, which indelibly iden
EXTD=tify this as a product of the '70s, it still works. --Daniel Durc
EXTD=hholz \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nLinda and her boys capture 
EXTD=the landscape of Southern California, February 24, 2006\nReviewer
EXTD=: John Jenks (West Hollywood, CA)\nSimple Dreams to this day rema
EXTD=ins my Linda Ronstadt desert island disc if, Heaven forbid, I cou
EXTD=ld only choose one. Let others genuflect on Heart Like a Wheel or
EXTD= those three ridiculous, effete Nelson Riddle albums. Ronstadt wa
EXTD=s always a more convincing interpreter of Eric Kaz than Gershwin 
EXTD=or Ellington, which is nowhere more evident than on Sorrow Lives 
EXTD=where -- acccompanied by only the late Don Grolnick's piano, mind
EXTD= you -- brave soul Ronstadt takes us on more harrowing curves and
EXTD= hairpin turns than a drunken Diana Ross driving down Topanga Can
EXTD=yon on her way to return some videos to Blockbuster. Indeed, Simp
EXTD=le Dreams marked the last time Ronstadt was ever willing to get t
EXTD=his down and this dirty, before she sent her chops off for vocal 
EXTD=training in preparation for Gilbert & Sullivan. Before she became
EXTD= an artiste. Before she began over-enunciating her t's. Disco be 
EXTD=damned, the album spawned four hits that were everywhere during t
EXTD=he time, with Blue Bayou enduring to become her own New York, New
EXTD= York. Never mattered much to me that Ronstadt didn't seem to kno
EXTD=w what she was singing about on Warren Zevon's Poor Poor Pitiful 
EXTD=Me or the Stones' Tumbling Dice; Linda was just keeping up with h
EXTD=er boys. And there are lots of them, including Eagle Don Henley, 
EXTD=Stone Poney crony Kenny Edwards, and the always welcome J.D. Sout
EXTD=her. (I can see why she would do him.) Even Andrew Gold, who'd le
EXTD=ft her stable and was riding the charts in his own right with Lon
EXTD=ely Boy, returned to mama in a cameo billed under the alias Larry
EXTD= Hagler. Only Dolly Parton's shimmering guest vocal on I Never Wi
EXTD=ll Marry keeps Simple Dreams from being an all-male affair. Ronst
EXTD=adt would evolve as an artist over the next three decades and bui
EXTD=ld an enviable catalogue that would have seemed unimagineable in 
EXTD=1977, but she would never again make an album as cohesive as Simp
EXTD=le Dreams. (Although Cry Like A Rainstorm... comes close, except 
EXTD=for those over-enunciated t's - "something's noT quiTe righT..." 
EXTD=) It's a shame to hear her disparage her 70's period as being not
EXTD= very musically interesting for a singer, dissing her hit records
EXTD= as (to paraphrase her) kinda sucking. If that's true, then Simpl
EXTD=e Dreams sucks. But in a GOOD way. In fact, ALL records should su
EXTD=ck like this. \n\nSERVING SUGGESTION: The Main Refrain by Wendy W
EXTD=aldman\n\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFollowing a Formula tha
EXTD=t Works...But for How Long?, November 8, 2002\nReviewer: S. Sitti
EXTD=g "Divawatch" (Washington, D.C.)\n\nWith this follow up to 1976's
EXTD= HASTEN DOWN THE WIND, and 1975's PRISONER IN DISGUISE, Ronstadt 
EXTD=sticks to the formula that made the two precursors so successful.
EXTD= It's mostly rock-country-pop, with a Buddy Holly cover (this tim
EXTD=e it's "It's So Easy")and a Dolly Parton cover (this time it's "I
EXTD= Never Will Marry")mixed in for good measure. This time she throw
EXTD=s in a Rolling Stones' cover too. ("Tumbling Dice"). \nRonstadt k
EXTD=eeps this songwriting potpourri tied together with her exacting v
EXTD=ocal skills and her ear for good production. And as always, she t
EXTD=ries her hand at a new songwriter (Warren Zevon) and creates love
EXTD=ly work with "Carmelita" and "Poor Poor Pitiful Me".\n\nBut with 
EXTD=all this musical melange, the vocal/emotional highlight is still 
EXTD=her stunning take on Roy Orbison's "Blue Bayou", which has by now
EXTD= become a standard of 70s interpretations. Once again, she seems 
EXTD=to really be able to let loose when she tackles something simple,
EXTD= rather than some of her other clever choices.\n\nNevertheless, a
EXTD=s successful as this formula has been for Ronstadt and as wonderf
EXTD=ully as she pulls it all together on this offering, the listener 
EXTD=can't help but feel that some of the bloom is off the rose.\n\nIt
EXTD='s apparent from repeated listens to this album that Ronstadt is 
EXTD=growing increasingly restless and in need of a vocal and stylisti
EXTD=c challenge. By the time we get to the next album, 1978's LIVING 
EXTD=IN THE USA, the formula has grown thin and given all it can, and 
EXTD=it starts to show slightly here.\n\nStill, this album would be he
EXTD=r last great one of the decade and perhaps her most successful un
EXTD=til 12 years later when she released her semi-comeback, 1989's CR
EXTD=Y LIKE A RAINSTORM, HOWL LIKE THE WIND.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER 
EXTD=REVIEW\nThe rival to HEART LIKE A WHEEL., April 10, 2000\nReviewe
EXTD=r: Matt Coker (Davis, CA, USA)\nSIMPLE DREAMS, released in 1977, 
EXTD=displayed how far Linda Ronstadt's music had evolved since she re
EXTD=corded "Different Drum" (my favorite song) with the Stone Poneys 
EXTD=ten years earlier. SIMPLE DREAMS is the most consistent and satis
EXTD=fying of any Linda Ronstadt collection, equal to HEART LIKE A WHE
EXTD=EL. Linda Ronstadt had a more Rock oriented backing band, and the
EXTD=y album has great rockers and even better ballads. The opening tr
EXTD=ack "It's So Easy", is radiant; the best version of the song I've
EXTD= heard. Linda's marvelous on Warren Zevon's "Carmelita", probably
EXTD= my favorite on the album. "Simple Man, Simple Dreams" is equally
EXTD= brilliant. The best way to listen to the poignant ballad "Sorrow
EXTD= Lives Here" would be a dark room with candles. You can hear the 
EXTD=ache and sorrow in her voice. The saddness of "Sorrow Lives Here"
EXTD= isn't dispelled by the gorgeous traditional "I Never Will Marry"
EXTD=. The scene set is soft and gentle, but demonstrates the remarkab
EXTD=le control Linda has over her voice. Another winner is her giant 
EXTD=selling single, the superb version of "Blue Bayou". It's breath-t
EXTD=aking. Few things in this world are meant to rock as hard as Warr
EXTD=en Zevon's "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", and few things do. Linda's voi
EXTD=ce is just as superior as it is on the ballads, but the tone is d
EXTD=ifferent, she rings with agression. The gentle touching "Maybe I'
EXTD=m Right" is throughly wonderful. Linda proves she can rock as har
EXTD=d as the Rolling Stones by covering their "Tumbling Dice", brilli
EXTD=antly I might add. I'm not overly fond of the closing "Old Paint"
EXTD=, but that's just me, it's a great Old West song ballad, keeping 
EXTD=Linda's Country/Folk roots close to her. SIMPLE DREAMS sold 3&1/2
EXTD= million copies in less than a years time. Whether you're looking
EXTD= for excellent rockers: "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" OR "Tumbling Dice"
EXTD=, affecting ballads: "Blue Bayou", "Sorrow Lives Here" or "Carmel
EXTD=ita", or Country/Folk: "I Never Will Marry"; SIMPLE DREAMS has ev
EXTD=erything. That's why it's one of Linda Ronstadt's best, and one o
EXTD=f Rock/Pop music's great classics.\n\n\nHalf.com Details \nContri
EXTD=buting artists: Dolly Parton, Don Henley, J. D. Souther \nProduce
EXTD=r: Peter Asher \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel: Linda Ronstadt (vocals
EXTD=, acoustic guitar); Dan Dugmore (acoustic guitar, steel guitar); 
EXTD=Waddy Wachtel (acoustic, electric & slide guitars, background voc
EXTD=als); Mike Auldridge (dobro); Charles Veal (violin); David Campbe
EXTD=ll (viola); Dennis Karmazin (cello); Don Grolnick (organ, Clavine
EXTD=t, electric piano); Steve Forman (marimba); Richard Feves (acoust
EXTD=ic bass); Kenny Edwards (bass); Rick Marotta (drums, percussion);
EXTD= Peter Asher (percussion, background vocals); Herb Pederson, Larr
EXTD=y Hagler (background vocals).\n\nThis was the fourth in a series 
EXTD=of hit albums Linda Ronstadt made in the mid-seventies, starting 
EXTD=with HEART LIKE A WHEEL. Like its predecessors, SIMPLE DREAMS is 
EXTD=a rich collection of pensive folk ballads, pop with country leani
EXTD=ngs, and good old rock & roll. Her skill in navigating this roots
EXTD=y terrain is exemplary, taking her from the swagger of her cover 
EXTD=of The Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice" to the sweet whisperings o
EXTD=f the acoustic "Maybe I'm Right." This record also features some 
EXTD=of her most enduringly popular hits, such as "Blue Bayou" and "Po
EXTD=or Poor Pitiful Me."\nThe rousing opening track, Buddy Holly's "I
EXTD=t's So Easy" featuring her trademark growl, along with "Tumbling 
EXTD=Dice" and the playful "Poor Poor Pititul Me," give the record mom
EXTD=ents of electrifying energy. It's the ballads, however, that comp
EXTD=rise the majority of the tunes. Included are two traditional song
EXTD=s, "I Never Will Marry" (featuring Dolly Parton) and "Old Paint,"
EXTD= both given simple but lovely arrangements by Ronstadt herself. T
EXTD=he melodramatic "Sorrow Lives Here" is almost a hint of what is t
EXTD=o come in the form of her collaborations with Nelson Riddle. Her 
EXTD=artistry is perhaps best demonstrated in "Blue Bayou;" the shift 
EXTD=from the quiet and husky verse to the yearning wail that is the c
EXTD=horus is nothing short of breathtaking.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n3 st
EXTD=ars out of 5 - ...[Her] most successful album ever....continuing 
EXTD=the commercial mix of classic and contemporary songs with stylish
EXTD= production values....emphasizing her great talent as an exponent
EXTD= of other people's work...\nQ (08/01/2000)\n\n[She] is captured h
EXTD=ere at the pinnacle of her mid-'70s success....a 10-track collect
EXTD=ion of hand-picked country-rock covers...\nMojo (07/01/2000)\n\n3
EXTD= stars out of 5 - ...[Her] most successful album ever....continui
EXTD=ng the commercial mix of classic and contemporary songs with styl
EXTD=ish production values....emphasizing her great talent as an expon
EXTD=ent of other people's work...Mojo (7/00, p.128) - [She] is captur
EXTD=ed here at the pinnacle of her mid-'70s success....a 10-track col
EXTD=lection of hand-picked country-rock covers...\nQ (08/01/2000)\n\n
EXTD=\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nThe thing about Linda Ronstadt is that sh
EXTD=e keeps getting better, and we keep expecting more and more of he
EXTD=r. She's always possessed that big, magnanimous voice, but it was
EXTD=n't until Heart like a Wheel that her interpretive and arranging 
EXTD=skills (the latter, and perhaps both, due to the felicitous pairi
EXTD=ng with producer Peter Asher) fully emerged.\n\nWith Hasten Down 
EXTD=the Wind, Ronstadt shed some long-lived inhibitions. Given Karla 
EXTD=Bonoff's red-hot, baldly emotional material ("Someone to Lay Down
EXTD= beside Me," "Lose Again," "If He's Ever Near"), she responded wi
EXTD=th her most personal--even visceral--singing. It doesn't quite ma
EXTD=ke sense to call her highly charged performances relaxed, but cer
EXTD=tainly she was a lot less stiff than before. Ronstadt had, quite 
EXTD=simply, become rock's supreme torch singer.\n\nWhat Ronstadt's bl
EXTD=ossoming skills suggest is a kind of latter-day Billie Holiday, a
EXTD= woman whose singing constitutes an almost otherworldly triumph o
EXTD=ver the worst kind of chronic pain. Throughout Simple Dreams (in 
EXTD=which Ronstadt and Asher wisely have scaled down the production),
EXTD= the singer evokes a bittersweet world of disappointments, fantas
EXTD=ies and cheerfully brazen assertions. What she lacks is the sense
EXTD= of humor and ironic self-effacement that made Holiday such an ex
EXTD=traordinarily subtle and intelligent performer.\n\nThat flaw, whi
EXTD=ch was most obvious in Ronstadt's sober reading of Randy Newman's
EXTD= outlandish "Sail Away," is evident here on Warren Zevon's darkly
EXTD= ironic "Carmelita." When Ronstadt, going to meet a dealer, sings
EXTD=, "He hangs out down on Alvarado Street/At the Pioneer Chicken st
EXTD=and" without even a smirk, it sounds as if she doesn't know that 
EXTD=a joke, however black, is being made.\n\nAnd all the way through 
EXTD=Simple Dreams' first side (which, except for the rousing opener, 
EXTD="It's So Easy," is made up of ballads), Ronstadt fails to step ba
EXTD=ck and take a look at herself. She's just a little too blue for c
EXTD=omfort. But that's a piddling complaint because it's a fine side.
EXTD= Ronstadt sings J.D. Souther's modestly self-pitying "Simple Man,
EXTD= Simple Dream" with a thorough sympathy for and understanding of 
EXTD=Souther's message--that the lover of simple truths is easily ridi
EXTD=culed. She gets Eric Kaz' complex "Sorrow Lives Here" (Kaz, it se
EXTD=ems, is getting ready to challenge Leonard Cohen as the world's m
EXTD=ost morose songwriter) just right. The lines "Everything seems to
EXTD= spin all around/But I can't see/Whether it happens/With or witho
EXTD=ut me" unite emotional and philosophical confusion dramatically, 
EXTD=and Ronstadt sings them as if she wrote them. "I Never Will Marry
EXTD=," the great traditional tune to which Dolly Parton's backwoods h
EXTD=armonies add a gorgeous dignity, should become her signature: it 
EXTD=frames her independence and loneliness with enormous restraint an
EXTD=d power.\n\nSimple Dreams' second side is better paced and begins
EXTD= with the song, "Blue Bayou," that caused me to compare Ronstadt 
EXTD=to Billie Holiday. The transition she makes from the introduction
EXTD= to the chorus ("I'm going back some day, come what may to Blue B
EXTD=ayou") is simply electrifying. What starts out as an ordinary lov
EXTD=e song becomes a passionate cry for escape that completely transc
EXTD=ends the song. Like Holiday, Ronstadt has developed an ability to
EXTD= invest her material with far more than it brings to her -- the w
EXTD=onderful jump to falsetto with which she ends "Blue Bayou" is a g
EXTD=reat deal more than merely wistful.\n\nSimple Dreams could have u
EXTD=sed more rockers like the second side's "Tumbling Dice" and Zevon
EXTD='s "Poor Poor Pitiful Me." Both are strongly male, and Ronstadt's
EXTD= substitution of a female presence (something that occurs through
EXTD=out the LP and serves as a sort of subtheme) is a joyous "anythin
EXTD=g you can do" statement. She moves through Zevon's role reversals
EXTD= convincingly, substituting a nicely assonant verse for a more gr
EXTD=aphic one that she might not have gotten away with.\n\nRonstadt's
EXTD= well-placed grittiness on "Tumbling Dice" (whose brilliant, high
EXTD=ly salty lyrics are finally intelligible) matches the song's sens
EXTD=e of risk and its keenly expressed bawdiness. "Tumbling Dice" mig
EXTD=ht seem a strange choice of material for Ronstadt, but what she's
EXTD= telling us, I think, is that she can live on the edge with the b
EXTD=est of them. And she's damned convincing. (RS 250 - Oct 20, 1977)
EXTD=  -- PETER HERBST
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