Best Song on Linda Ronstadt's "Heart Like a Wheel"

hmm. real hard call. my first instinct is "when will i be loved," cuz i love the arrangement of it here. but "you're no good" is hard to gainsay. will have to think about it.

Guitars on "You're No Good" win this.

God, yeah, Andrew Gold's guitars are great. For years I thought Waddy Watchel played'em.

^^^^would smash

Never owned this album. Surprised by how much goodness it contains. Voted for "Willin'" but easily could have been "You're no good," or "It doesn't matter anymore."

Please don't make me choose between The Dark End Of The Street and When Will I Be Loved. Please don't make me do that.

When Will I Be Loved

TS heart like a wheel vs. prisoner in disguise

Never heard this but Little Feat's "Willin" is a fucking great song.

"Alice-Dallas Alice"

I just listed to her version. Not bad.

I've decided to go for "Dark End of The Street", actually, because there's something especially memorable about it (well, I AM more goth than...heheh), and "You're No Good" & "When Will I Be Loved" will probably get their share of votes anyway.

http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/jerry-brown_linda-ronstadt.jpg

"You're No Good" although the Swinging Blue Jeans version is much better.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

A surprise, this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKUj3WMfKFE

awesome. this album is pretty unbeatable. didn't vote in this poll i don't think, but it'd be hard for me to vote against the title track.

I love her confidence in that clip: it's an arena show but there is no hesitation (opening for Neil on the Time Fades Away tour probably helped!)(kinda wonder how much of the backstage madness she partook of)

I've a pretty ambiguous relationship with Ronstadt---she's blessed with a divine voice, but she often sounds like she just doesn't get her material. Like, trying to pull off "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine" with James Taylor? Still, that voice: even when it's hollow, it's so pretty that it compels your attention.

man, "Willin'" was robbed!

Should have gotten bonus points for her Lowell George anecdotes.

I would have voted for "You're No Good." Not only the best track but the only cover here that I'd prefer over the original. (But to be fair, nearly all of the covers are still excellent - it's a great album!)

man, "Willin'" was robbed!

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, April 20, 2022 11:42 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Just a great tune. Miranda Lambert used to play it live a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k8aatLUVsI

I'm partial to "It Doesn't Matter Anymore."

I forgot she covered that.

That and "It's So Easy"- are there some more songs associated with Buddy Holly? Would have liked to hear her sing "Learning the Game." But I guess Sandy Denny already did it.

I tend to agree with Euler's comment above--her voice certainly is pretty, but she doesn't always (or even often) deliver much of an emotional punch. Some of that may be down to production, and the arrangements on this album don't do her any favors--they tend to be fairly plodding. But she doesn't move me much, in the end.

I've heard that before and used to believe it and maybe still halfway believe it but I am starting to come around if only because she always seems to have a great band.

are there some more songs associated with Buddy Holly?

"That'll Be the Day," (#11, 1976)

D'oh!

I liked her cover of "Blue Bayou" as a kid, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original.

What about her Warren Zevon cover(s)?

Feel like it helped me to think of her as kind of a female Elvis. Even if her covers don't improve or radically reinterpret the original they still usually end up having some reason for existing. See also Susanna Hoffs.

What about her Warren Zevon cover(s)?

I don't want to talk about it.

I tend to agree with Euler's comment above--her voice certainly is pretty, but she doesn't always (or even often) deliver much of an emotional punch. Some of that may be down to production, and the arrangements on this album don't do her any favors--they tend to be fairly plodding. But she doesn't move me much, in the end.

I don't want to be too down on Ronstadt, but outside of Heart Like a Wheel her covers tend to be really hit-or-miss for me for that reason. Production is part of it, but sometimes she seems to oversing something, like she's trying to belt out the words with a lot of force without really processing what she's singing. But even when she misses, she has impeccable taste in terms of material - she was an early champion of Zevon and she covered Elvis Costello before anyone in mainstream American knew who he was.