Simple Dreams (40th Anniversary Edition)

The classic 70s albums that Ronstadt and Peter Asher made together are so much alike that they can feel like one long, well-recorded session as she effortlessly glides between emotions and genres with awesome vocal prowess and impeccable taste in material. This aesthetic was distilled to its purest essence here and not surprisingly, its greatest success.

Gone for these sessions is multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold who has been replaced by Waddy Wachtel’s crunchier guitar tone and more rocking approach—both welcome and immediately apparent. The instrumental gang present on past albums has been paired down to fewer strings and simpler arrangements; J.D. Souther, Don Henley and Dolly Parton all add backing vocals. Famous for knocking Fleetwood Mac's Rumors out of the top spot on the U.S. Billboard Pop Album Chart and buoyed by the most reflective and compelling track sequence in her entire catalog, Simple Dreams is animated by a wonderfully fearless eclecticism. While her rousing cover of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy" feels right, her decision to cover Roy Orbison proved life-changing. Initially sung in the lower reaches of her vocal range, she soon cuts loose on his luscious ballad "Blue Bayou," lingering on every word and fashioning the archetypal hit single that epitomizes her certain ear and broad vision for what material she could connect to emotionally and vocally make her own.

Powerful versions of two of Warren Zevon's finest songs ("Poor Poor Pitiful Me"—toughened up by Wachtel's electric guitar growl—and the junkie lament "Carmelita") show yet again the affinity Ronstadt has for Zevon's peculiar worldview. As final proof that in the 70s she could literally sing almost anything well, she zestfully digs into a credible, razor-toned, guitar-driven version of the Jagger/Richard's Exile-era hit, "Tumbling Dice." While Gilbert & Sullivan, traditional Mexican music and collaborations with Nelson Riddle were all in her future, Ronstadt's run of classic 70s albums hit a highpoint with this tour de force. © Robert Baird / Qobuz