Linda Ronstadt: 'Round Midnight - 3-Disc Original Asylum Records LP Set - 24/96 rip to redbook

The three LPs in the box set were originally issued separately as 'What's New,' 'Lush Life' and 'For Sentimental Reasons.'

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.

Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" is one of the lovliest renditions of this classic. 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 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. Linda Ronstadt and Nelson Riddle obviously worked very well together; and this is a must-have for their fans. In addition, people who enjoy classic pop vocals, love songs and even jazzy pop vocals that swing will cherish this two CD set for years to come.

Disc 1 ("What's New"), Side A:
01. What's New?
02. I've Got a Crush on You
03. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
04. Crazy He Calls Me
05. Someone to Watch Over Me

Disc 1, Side B:
06. I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance
07. What'll I Do
08. Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)
09. Good-Bye

Disc 2 ("Lush Life"), Side A:
01. When I Fall in Love
02. Skylark
03. It Never Entered My Mind
04. Mean to Me
05. When Your Lover Has Gone
06. I'm a Fool to Want You

Disc 2, Side B:
07. You Took Advantage of Me
08. Sophisticated Lady
09. Can't We Be Friends
10. My Old Flame
11. Falling in Love Again
12. Lush Life

Disc 3 ("For Sentimental Reasons"), Side A:
01. When You Wish Upon a Star
02. Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered
03. You Go to My Head
04. But Not For Me
05. My Funny Valentine

Disc 3, Side B:
06. I Get Along Without You Very Well
07. Am I Blue
08. I Love You For Sentimental Reasons
09. Straighten up and Fly Right
10. Little Girl Blue
11. 'Round Midnight

Essential Equipment used:
Clearaudio Champion 2 turntable & Unify tonearm
Benz Micro L2 cartridge
Extremephono tonearm cable
Aqvox USB-2 MKII D/A
(light manual declicking)
PLEASE NOTE: Burn gapless (no track gaps) to match original track layout.

rar pw: skylark