Linda Ronstadt - Round Midnight (32 tracks) +Album Reviews

An Instant Modern Day Classic

Eric D. Harris | Chicago, IL United States | 03/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When the album "What's New" by Linda Ronstadt was released in 1983 I must admit I was a bit skeptical; Linda had done outstanding work in the Rock and Roll arena - many of her albums are now classics ("Mad Love", "Heart Like A Wheel" to name a couple) - but how would she fare singing standards made famous by the likes of icons like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra?I'm happy to say that my skepticism lasted exactly 3 minutess, 55 seconds, the length of the title track "What's New"; after hearing that one song, I immediately rushed out to purchase the album and have been in love with it ever since. When I learned that none other than the great Nelson Riddle had arranged the songs, I knew that this was an album I had to have in my collection.Nelson's musical output is now the stuff of legend, whether it was his own solo work or his collaborations with some of the greatest singers of the day - he worked with Nat "King" Cole on more than 15 albums, arranged countless songs for Frank Sinatra, and his work on Ella Fitzgerald's massive 5-album Gershwin songbook - his work remains seminal today among Jazz, Big Band and Standards lovers.To my suprise and delight, "What's New" was not the only Riddle/Ronstadt collaboration; "Lush Life" and "For Sentimental Reasons" were also to follow. These three albums now packaged as "The 'Round Midnight Collection" are now among my "Desert Island Top Twenty". There's not a clunker in this 32-song collection and Nelson Riddle's arrangements - some of his last known works - rank among his best; their sheer beauty never fail to take my breath away.I'm hard pressed to single out my favorites in this wonderful collection, as I love all 32 of these songs. In no particular order they are as follows: "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry", about one woman's resolve to move on with their life after the ending of a love affair and succeeding, until that one fateful day when her former lover passes her on the street. The dramatic finish is in true Nelson Riddle fashion and does not fail to deliver. "Lover Man", the Billie Holiday classic about the yearning for "something I've never had", gets a sparkling new polish; "What'll I Do?", a lover's plea about her lover who is far away, is an absolutely gorgeous rendering with a bluesy saxophone solo touch. "You Took Advantage Of Me" and "Can't We Be Friends?" both swing freely and breezily despite their lyrics; with "Sophisticated Lady", Duke Ellington's masterpiece of love gone wrong, is another stunner.The other truly transcendent moments included in this collection are "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "But Not For Me", the Judy Garland gem, "It Never Entered My Mind", and the sly and sexy delivery of "Straigthen Up And Fly Right" featuring a guest vocal appearance by James Taylor.Every one of these songs is superbly done and at the heart of this truly magnificent collection is that voice; Linda has never sounded better. She is expressive, impassioned, sweet, sexy - and breaks your heart in the process. She and Nelson never misstep and both singer and arranger treat each of these classics with the respect they deserve. The 'Round Midnight Collection is a last loving gift from arranger/composer nonpareil Nelson Riddle and Linda Ronstadt, a singer who, with a handful of classic standards, effortlessly bridged the gap between two generations. This collection is a must have for those who love Swing, Big Band, Jazz music and Standards. No matter whatever avenues Linda Ronstadt takes with regard to music, as far as I'm concerned she has done very well by the Past."

Classic

J. M. Zuurbier | Canada | 01/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The ROUND MIDNIGHT 2 CD set, compiles all three of Linda Ronstadt's album's, that she recorded in the early to mid 80's, with Nelson Riddle, shortly before he died. What they created in the studio is pure magic. This compiles her three albums, WHATS NEW (1983), LUSH LIFE (1984) and FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS (1986), onto 2 CDS, 32 songs in total. Its a great buy. The voice is remarkable, in my opinion SHE DOES have the voice to sing these songs. She beautifully sings through classics like "Crazy He Calls Me", "Skylark", "What's New", "I've Got a Crush On You", and other timeless classics, which she adds her own style and grace to. The songs are covers of jazz standards, and songs dating as far as the early 1900's. Linda truly outdid herself, proving her multitude of talent with this release. This is a classic, a must have for anyone who appreciates fine music. I highly reccomend this purchase."

In a word--SUPERB!

Catherine S. Vodrey | East Liverpool, Ohio United States | 09/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Linda Ronstadt's " 'Round Midnight" is, in a word, superb. Paired here with a lush orchestral backing arranged by the late great Nelson Riddle, she will knock the socks off any naysayer who says she oughtn't to touch the great standards of Cole Porter, Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Hoagy Carmichael, and more. She not only touches them--with her interpretations here, she helps them transcend their time (most notably, the rich musical period in American music between 1920 and 1945). Ronstadt allows herself to be set up when, on the opening number of "What's New," we are serenaded with strings. Wondering how she can possibly stand up to this, we are utterly transfixed when she comes in with that crème brulée voice of hers and asks, "What's new/How is the world treating you?" From then on out, the listener is in the palm of Ronstadt's hand. I'm glad to report that it's a lovely place to be. On "I've Got a Crush on You"--the very next song--there are new delights to be mined. Ronstadt wraps her voice around the lyrics with a sinuousness that underscores the flirtatiousness of the words. She manages to combine sex and innocence beautifully here. "Crazy He Calls Me" has Ronstadt swearing allegiance to her lover by swearing to move mountains, go through fire, whatever it takes to make him happy. She makes this promises with a musical shrug ("The difficult I'll do right now/The impossible will take a little while") that's impossible to resist. The winsome "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance" gets full-on Ronstadt saucer-eyed treatment, and the result is irresistible. She practically coos here, without ever sliding over the edge into self-parody. "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)" is like a love song dipped into caramel. The sound is slowed down, rich, something that requires contemplative attention--which Ronstadt gives it here in spades. It's a rich and mature lamentation on lost love, and she treats the lyrics with an attention and respect that reveals a whole mosaic of feeling underneath. My own personal favorite is the lovely Hoagy Carmichael tune "Skylark." The song opens with a shimmering strings arrangement, done so delicately as to conjure up fairies flying around the woods at dusk. A harmonica adds a grounding note underpinning the entire song, at the end winding up into a curlicue of sweet regret and memory. It's a masterful performance, and a masterful arrangement by the prodigiously talented Nelson Riddle.Other stand-outs here include "It Never Entered My Mind" (with the bittersweet regret inherent in lyrics like "I never go to shows at night/But just to matinées now/I see the show and home I go"); "Mean to Me" with its muted guitarwork; "You Took Advantage of Me," with its smoothy-smooth saxophones, brilliant brass section, and the wink in Ronstadt's voice as she sassily sings "What's the use, you've cooked my goose/You took advantage of me"; "My Old Flame," which has the most thrillingly drawn-out notes on the album (Ronstadt almost seems here to make a virtue of regret); Billy Strayhorn's justly famed "Lush Life," on which glowering piano provides dark counterpoint to Ronstadt's glowing vocal work; a surprisingly lovely and unsentimental "When You Wish Upon A Star"; and a moody and almost unbearably intimate version of " 'Round Midnight." There are treasures for every listener here, and rewards anew with each additional listening."

Still Great After 20 Years!

G-Dexter | Lakewood, NY United States | 05/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It seems inconceivable to me that I bought Linda Ronstadt's WHAT'S NEW way back in 1983! This was her first collaboration with the magnificent Nelson Riddle, and they were to follow up with two more equally fabulous albums, LUSH LIFE (1984) and FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS (1986). At the time, I was a mid twenties guy who would be, as likely as not, listening to Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. These albums certainly seemed to be out of place on my record shelf. I got more than my fair share of strange comments and askew looks from my friends when I would put one of these albums on to play, but I did not care. These albums introduced me to many of the jazz and swing standards, from Gershwin and Berlin, to Hoagy Carmichael, Rogers and Hart. From these albums, I moved on to create a respectable library of some of the most wonderful music ever written, performed by some of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

Linda Ronstadt's voice is enchanting and I prefer many of her versions over some of the giants in the genre like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Julie London. On a few songs, her phrasing isn't perfect and her tone is occasionally a bit inconsistent, but overall she did a remarkable job of making familiar classics her own. Among my absolute favorites on this collection are I DON'T STAND A GHOST OF A CHANCE; GOOD-BYE; BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED; and Monk's immortal `ROUND MIDNIGHT.

But let's give credit where it is really due: Nelson Riddle was perhaps the best arranger and conductor of this music ever, as was testified by those same great artists and many others who would seek him out to work on their albums. It is fitting that his final efforts resulted in such a great collection of songs, wonderfully performed.

Of course, when I first purchased these albums, they were on vinyl. By the early 90's the albums had been worn and scratched to the point of being nearly unplayable. After that, I wore out cassettes I had recorded from my albums. What a relief to me that Asylum chose to release all three albums as a double CD package, and now in 00's I have them downloaded digitally onto my MP3 player. A month probably hasn't gone by in over twenty years that I haven't played at least a few of these songs. I cannot imagine that in another twenty years, regardless of the format we'll all be using, that I'll have grown any less fond of these songs.

"

Linda at her best

Rodolfo Moralez, Jr. | Suffolk, VA | 12/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have the "What's New" and the "Lush Life" record albums, and I checked out "For Sentimental Reasons" at the local library. When I heard that box set of her Nelson Riddle albums was coming out on CD, I knew I had to purchase the set.The three albums were released between 1983 and 1986. In the albums, Ms. Ronstadt uses her incredible range and talent in how she envelopes the story of the song with her tones and singing. Whether you are hearing the pain in the words of "Am I Blue?" or "Mean to Me" or love of a child in "My Funny Valentine" to one of the best versions of "When You Wish Upon a Star," you will enjoy her musical range, the tempo, and the sincerity in the words of each song.If you like the 30-40s "Big Band" Era "Touch Songs," this box set is a "must-buy!" In addition, music does not compete with Ms. Ronstadt. It was truly an enjoyable collection."

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