Linda Ronstadt - Hummin' to Myself
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Free Music Notes for Hummin' to Myself
Free Music Review: Ronstadt at her best.
Hit: 4 Stars
We have several of Ms. Ronstadt's CDs and enjoy them all. "Hummin'" has some selections not on the CDs we already had and she is in top form vocally. She is an attractive and gifted performer. Free Music Review: Linda is extaordinary
Hit: 5 Stars
There are in every generation only a handful of great vocal talents: singers who have range, power and clarity with an ability to connect to the audience. Linda doesn't sing in the 40s and 50s "jazz" style Instead she uses her remarkable range, diction and sense of swing.
Sarah Vaughn was way before my time but she clearly had it all. By contrast my favorite jazz singer Billie Holliday had a unique touching quality to her voice but limited range and power. In my generation the incomparable Aretha Franklin set the standard. It is a measure of the state of critical hyperbole that some compare the extremely talented singer songwriter Alicia Keys to Aretha despite her far more modest instrument. The opera soprano Kathleen Battle though not a popular artist, sings spirituals with so much heart and power you feel connected to the ages. Who else? If you ever saw Whitney Huston live, you know she had remarkable talent. Her life is as tragic in its own way as Billie Holiday's.
I love countless other women vocalists: Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson, Bonne Raitt, Etta James, Renee Fleeming, Annie Lennox. Each has something special, but none as grand as Linda.
For the collector her broad appreciation of styles presents a challange. My taste is not to ranchera or county inflected songs, so this more jazz styled album is a favorite. Virtually every album she has recorded is essential and the box set she put together is a bargain.
Free Music Review: Beware of people quoting experts
Hit: 4 Stars
Another well-performed album of standards from Linda Ronstadt.
Mostly I wanted to provide a warning about three (originally, two) almost identical one-star reviews from Fartok Eikburrg, Vilma Santos, and (now) Mr. PinStripe (suspiciously identical: all make similar spelling errors and the original two take time to criticize Ms. Ronstadt's political opinions).
All the reviews quote "the jazz critic Will Friedwald" as disparaging Linda Ronstadt. Other critics have pointed out that Mr. Friedwald has very definate (and seemingly arbitrary) opinions and that not everyone shares them. In addition to disliking Ms. Ronstadt (whom he lumps in with Toni Tennielle) he also dislikes Cleo Laine, Diane Schuur, Arstud Gilberto, Micheal Fienstein, and the Inkspots. All of these singers have their fans and detractors--and Mr. Friedwald's opinion is certainly an informed one. However, to suggest that Mr. Friedwald is the ultimate arbitrator of jazz taste or expressing a universal opinion among "experts" is misleading.
Just as an antidote, Rosemary Clooney has spoken very highly of Linda Ronstadt's albums of standards (quoted in an article with Leonard Feather, a far more respected critic than Mr. Friedwald currently is). The fact that musicians of the calibre of Nelson Riddle and Robert Magnusson work with Ronstadt also speaks volumes about how her peers regard her.
Free Music Review: Hummin' to Myself
Hit: 4 Stars
What a pleasure to hear Linda revisiting the Great American Songbook. I still enjoy the two albumns from the 80's. It finishes all too soon - a couple more tracks would have been welcome.Free Music Review: Hummin' to Myself
Hit: 4 Stars
First, a confession: I have been a Ronstadt fan for decades, and have have been fortunate enought to have seen her on Broadway in "Pirates of Penzance", on Rock Arenas belting as only she can, in an intimate setting with Emmylou Harris singing country and bluegrass, and most recently in a world-class symphony hall singing big band jazz a la Nelson Riddle arragements with a great symphony orchestra.
This album is an intimate project with a small jazz combo. Linda's voice is rich as ever, and the warmth of her vocals truly shine with the stripped down arrangements of "Hummin' to Myself".
I am not familiar with the selections, but they are quickly growning on me. The album itself is definitely a keeper, if falling a bit short of some of her classic work.