Editorial Reviews

As a succinct, emotionally riveting alternative to her 1999 box set, The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt is about as close to perfect as a single-disc retrospective can be. Its 21 cuts run the gamut from her folk-rock and country stylings ("Different Drum" and "Long Long Time") to the state-of-the-art West Coast rock of her superstar years in the '70s (exemplified by her 1978 cover of Warren Zevon's propulsive "Poor Poor Pitiful Me"). The set also spotlights her stirring, hard-edged approach to rock and soul classics such as Smokey Robinson's "Tracks of My Tears" and Phil Everly's "When Will I Be Loved" as well as gorgeous ballads, such as her haunting treatment of Roy Orbison's "Blue Bayou" and her soul-baring take on Anna McGarrigle's "Heart like a Wheel." Three sublime duets demonstrate Ronstadt's remarkable capacity for individual statement within the context of a musical dialogue: the soaring "Somewhere Out There," with James Ingram, and two tête-à-têtes with Aaron Neville, the string-laden love song "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life." The disc closes with one of her most ethereal performances, 1993's "Winter Light," which floats a ghostly, Enya-like vocal above stately piano accompaniment and a gauzy wash of strings. Here, Ronstadt's at the top of her range, weaving a spell on the strength of vocal timbre, relegating the lyrics to footnote status. It's a long way from "Different Drum," but the journey is never less than invigorating. David McGee, Barnes & Noble

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