Linda Ronstadt
Heart Like A Wheel

THE REVIEW

If you were born in Tucson, Arizona, you are at least used to two things: dust and country music.

Linda Ronstadt is the voice of the genuine and dusty heart of America in the early '70s, the prairies dominated by vast blue skies, stories of fields and herdsmen. "Heart Like a Wheel" is the last album that concludes her contract with Capitol Records; Linda's voice will then move to David Geffen's Asylum to continue a successful career. The album is the essential summary of the early artistic life of this delicate and passionate voice that is unjustly known in Italy only for the cover of "It's So Easy" by Buddy Holly. A pinch of native country combined with a more rock twist with the radio-friendly "You're No Good" makes "Heart Like a Wheel" a very soft and pleasant product, ideal for this autumn period when one is always looking for something warm to warm up a bit towards the late afternoon, when the evening has already taken its place. Recorded with a multitude of musicians and guests, from Emmylou Harris to David Lindley, its strong points are in the beautiful ballad that gives the album its title, a song that stands out for its very sweet piano melody, and in the famous "Willin'" by Lowell George, a typically country-sounding track along with the genre classic "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)". To complete it all, a very good production by Peter Asher.

Released at the end of 1974, it immediately achieved extraordinary sales and critical success, with the exquisite lightness of the melodies and Linda's very sexy voice being appreciated, to be rediscovered with a spin of the needle.