- Heart Like a Wheel
Infobox Album |
Name = Heart Like a Wheel
Type =Album
Artist =Linda Ronstadt
Released = November 1974
Recorded = June-September 1974
Genre = Rock,Country rock
Length = 32:19
Label = Capitol
Producer =Peter Asher
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:twazqj5bojfa link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Linda+Ronstadt link]
*"Rolling Stone " (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/lindaronstadt/albums/album/208307/review/5946498/heart_like_a_wheel link]
Last album = "Don't Cry Now " (1973)
This album = "Heart Like a Wheel" (1974)
Next album = "Prisoner in Disguise " (1975)Heart Like a Wheel (1974) is
Linda Ronstadt 's fifth soloalbum release and the last-ever of her studio projects forCapitol Records , arriving a year after 1973's "Don't Cry Now ", by her outgoing contract, Ronstadt owed Capitol one more album and, as such, brought in producerPeter Asher , who worked with her on "Don't Cry Now ", and multi-instrumentalist and arrangerAndrew Gold . Asher and Gold have been credited over the years as being a collaborative part of the album's artistic success.The result — a more refined and streamlined mix of country and
rock music than her previous releases, with less of a folk influence — proved to be Ronstadt's commercial breakthrough, the album that many critics later said would standardize the musical formula for her subsequent albums in the 1970s. Released in November 1974, "Heart Like a Wheel" became the first of her three No. 1 peaks on theBillboard 200 album chart, reaching the perch for the week ending Feb. 15,1975 , right alongside the No. 1 song on theBillboard Hot 100 , "You're No Good ." Ronstadt was featured for the first time on the cover of "Rolling Stone " magazine in itsMarch 27 1975 , issue. The B-side of the single for "You're No Good ," a cover ofHank Williams 's "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)," peaked at No. 2 on "Billboard"'sHot Country Songs chart ( [http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/topcount.htm link] ). The recording features harmony vocals byEmmylou Harris .The follow-up single release, a cover of
the Everly Brothers ' "When Will I Be Loved," spent two weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in late June 1975. It peaked at No. 1 on theHot Country Songs chart ( [http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/topcount.htm link] ). The B-side of "When Will I Be Loved," a melancholy cover of a Buddy Holly & the Crickets song, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," reached the lower end of both the pop and country charts ( [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:56nsa9tgb238~T51 link] )."Heart Like a Wheel" spent 51 weeks on the album chart ( [http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/toppopa.htm link] ). Based on her performance on the singles and album charts, "Billboard" magazine named Ronstadt the top female pop artist of the year. The album was certified gold in January 1975 by the
Recording Industry Association of America and double-platinum in 1991.Ronstadt won a
Grammy Award in 1976 for Best Country Vocal Performance/Female for "I Can't Help It." She was nominated for Best Pop Female Vocalist (losing toJanis Ian for "At Seventeen"), and the album was nominated for Album of the Year (losing toPaul Simon 's "Still Crazy After All These Years ")."
Rolling Stone " ranked "Heart Like a Wheel" No. 164 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time ( [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6599098/164_heart_like_a_wheel/ link] )There have been numerous subsequent covers of "
You're No Good " by artists includingVan Halen , the Swinging Blue Jeans, Aswad,Reba McEntire andWilson Phillips . Likewise, "When Will I Be Loved" has been recorded by theLittle River Band , Dave Kelly,Rockpile ,Vince Gill and Silk, among others. And "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" has been recorded byDon McLean ,Martin Simpson ,Vince Gill , Daniel O'Donnell,Danny Gatton ,Suzy Bogguss andEva Cassidy , among others. In 2005,the Corrs included a cover of theAnna McGarrigle -penned title track, "Heart Like a Wheel," on their album "Home".Track listing
# "
You're No Good " -Clint Ballard Jr. – 3:44
# "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" -Paul Anka – 3:26
# "Faithless Love" -J.D. Souther (also singing harmony) – 3:15
# "The Dark End of the Street " -Chips Moman /Dan Penn – 3:55
# "Heart Like a Wheel" -Anna McGarrigle – 3:10
# "When Will I Be Loved" -Phil Everly – 2:04
# "Willin'" -Lowell George – 3:02
# "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" -Hank Williams – 2:45
# "Keep Me from Blowing Away" -Paul Craft – 3:10
# "You Can Close Your Eyes" -James Taylor – 3:09Chart positions
External links
* [http://www.superseventies.com/spronstadt.html Album review]
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