Search - Ronnie Spector :: Last of the Rock Stars

Its good but also sad

Scott B. Saul | COOPER CITY, FL USA | 09/14/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you are here, you are probably a big Ronnie Spector fan. 40 years past her prime will not attract a general audience. While I find this cd enjoyable I also must recognize that her voice is not even close to what it used to be.



Perfect example "You can't put your arms around a memory" is not new, its off the Johnny Ramone produced "She Talks to Rainbows" from 8 years ago. For some reason, its also on this disc. The 8 year old voice is dramatically different from the more recent songs here. "Memory" is in a different league from these songs!



Rather than a knock on Ronnie Spector, its a testament to Johnny Ramone. With only 5 songs, he truly brought the best out of Ronnie Spector.



My spin is this...The Ronnettes were great. Her work with that group is superior to anything else. When she sings today, we (the eccentric Ronnie fans) want to hear something that echos "Be My Baby". We want to hear the trademark vibrato in her voice and classic drum intro. When you hear it on another song, it brings a nostalgic twinkle to your eye.



On Springsteen's/Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", Money's "Take Me Home Tonight" and Southside Johnny's "You mean so much to me baby" isn't that what they were looking for to give the song its gleam?



Johnny Ramone recognized that and incorporated the Ronnettes' cliches into his 5 song EP. He also knew to not allow any instrumentation to compete with her voice. He knew what to do with her voice.



On this latest cd, it is a hodepodge of many different songs. Any song that rocks out, with loud distorted guitars, does not do Ronnie justice. The first song on this cd does that and fails.



You would think that her version of the Ramones' "Here today, gone tommorow" would be a good choice, but this song fails too. Guitar solos, Ramones song, Ronnie's vibrato...its not a winning mixture.



The best songs are the ones with a familiar 1960s feel to it. It is a more natural vehicle for her voice. "Hey Sah Lo Neh". "Work out fine" and "There is an end" are the best songs.



I saw Ronnie Spector live during the winter of 2006. Her band was made up of, like, teenagers. They were not impressive musicians but, they injected youth, vitality and coolness into her work. Their versions of the classic Ronnettes songs gave them new life. Forget about the guest musicians here (they bring nothing to the cd. You would not even know they were there if they were not on the liner notes) Ronnie should be playing with musicians that are not all nostalgic.



An ideal cd would be a live cd, performing her classic songs, in an intimate setting, with her right-out-of high school bandmates. This is inferior to "She talks to Rainbows" but much better than her 1970s 1980s tacky dance songs."

WORTH THE WAIT

Sammy Spammy | Miami Beach | 07/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ronnie Spector kept announcing that this CD would be released "soon", but "soon" turned into eight years! Fortunately it was worth the wait. Her voice is magical (one UK review described it as a "delicious thrill"), with that distinctive vibrato still intact. One minor complaint is the song "Girl From the Ghetto", which comes across as mean spirited and spiteful. It's obvious that she's singing about ex-husband Phil Spector. It comes across as being two steps backward intead of a step forward in her life. For somebody who claims that she wants to move on with her life and forget the past, the song has no place on this CD. An upbeat, cheerful pop tune would have been much better to include instead of something nasty. "Won't Stop Saying Goodbye" is a delight, sounding like a cross between an early-70s Cass Elliot tune mixed with The Partridge Family (the backing vocals of "baaa-baaa-baaa, baaa-baaa-baaa" sound very Partridge Family-like.) My personal favorites are "Out In the Cold Again", with Ronnie's soaring vocals; and "Ode To LA", something like a Ronettes throwback with a modern sound. Overall an excellent CD! I look forward to a future release in the next few years, not another eight years!"

Last of the Rock Stars ~ Ronnie Spector

Gregory M. Logan | Hampton, VA USA | 11/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Since "Be My Baby" I have loved Ronnie Spector. This latest collection of songs is good. Ronnie still has a wonderful voice. The ballads are excellent and I feel this is where she needs to continue singing. I did not like the "rock" songs that tried to recapture the Phil Spector Wall-of-Sound."