‘Box Set’ Reminds Fans Why Ronstadt Mattered

Has Linda Ronstadt told us so often over the years that she doesn’t feel comfortable singing many of her ‘70s and ‘80s hits that it’s now hard for us to still hear the magic in them ourselves?

In an interview just last year, Ronstadt said how much she admired her friend Emmylou Harris for Harris’ uncompromising attitude when it came to selecting material for albums.

About her own work, Ronstadt added, “I would compromise. . . . If I needed an up-tempo song to balance off a record, I’d do it, and the result is I made a lot of records that I didn’t like. I always wanted a song like ‘Heart Like a Wheel’ to be the hit. . . . When I look back, I think the music my voice was most suited for was the Latin jazz stuff that I sang on [1992’s] ‘Frenesi.’ ”

I raise the question because Ronstadt’s old hits did seem less stirring when she opened for the Eagles on New Year’s Eve at Staples Center. Was that because she felt disconnected from the material, or simply the fact that she felt rushed, trying to cram lots of the hits into 45 minutes? Or is it hard for fans to feel strongly about music that she seems to so easily dismiss?

Ronstadt’s “Box Set,” a four-disc retrospective from Elektra Records, gives us a chance to see just how good the old hits sound these days--as well as how well they measure up against her subsequent material, which has ranged from pop standards to Mexican folk music.

The first thing you notice about the set is that it is a broad look at Ronstadt’s career rather than a compendium drawn chiefly from the albums that made Ronstadt one of the biggest-selling artists in the world, from 1974’s “Heart Like a Wheel” through 1980’s “Mad Love.”

Rather than offer her music chronologically, which would more clearly showcase the hits, “Box Set” begins with three songs from 1998’s “We Ran,” which is her latest album. The collection, featuring tunes by such writers as John Hiatt and Bob Dylan, is a return of sorts to her folk-rock roots, but with less obvious commercial sheen in the arrangements. The tone of the tracks is more intimate and, generally, sophisticated.

To make sure no one misses the point that this is a personalized retrospective, Disc 1 then gives us 14 other songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s before it presents us with a ‘70s hit, “Hurts So Bad.”

While some Ronstadt fans may become impatient for the hits, there are some rewarding moments on Disc 1, including a teasingly understated version of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” which appeared on her “Dedicated to the One I Love” album in 1996, and the hauntingly beautiful interpretation of Jimmy Webb’s “Adios,” from the “Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind” album in 1989.

But what about the hits?

Was our affection misplaced the first time around?

Not at all.

Ronstadt’s choice of songs and her arrangements during her peak hit era may have been conservative, but the captivating purity in her voice gave the recordings an emotional spark that continues to illuminate her work.

Disc 2 takes us quickly through the hits, from “Blue Bayou” to “Different Drum,” before spotlighting some of the pop standards that she recorded in the ‘80s with Nelson Riddle, the arranger-conductor who is best known for his classic Capitol recordings with Frank Sinatra.

Ronstadt seems more comfortably vocally with the standards, but there’s not the same urgency or fire. Things work out much better on the disc’s five closing songs, all taken from her Spanish-language albums. Disc 3 is devoted to collaborations, a sign that Ronstadt enjoys sharing the microphone with other singers. The material ranges from her country teaming with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris to duets with a wide range of other singers, from James Taylor to Aaron Neville.

Disc 4 features rarities--including three songs she recorded for Randy Newman’s “Randy Newman’s Faust” album and such previously unreleased material as a duet with Harris on Hank Williams’ “Honky Tonk Blues.”

The set may be excessive at four discs, but Ronstadt isn’t just being indulgent by devoting most of the album to her non-hits. She may not have topped the charts in recent years, but her vocal command remains undiminished.

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In a separate release, Warner Archives/Rhino Records gives us a broad retrospective of the work of one of Ronstadt’s closest musical friends, the late Nicolette Larson. The two not only sang together, but also were roommates for a while.

The liner notes for “The Very Best of Nicolette Larson” recall the pair’s bonding. “We’re both chronic singers, addicted singers,” Larson is quoted as saying. “She’d sing. I’d sing. We’d both sing. We’d sing at the kitchen table. We’d sing at the fireplace. One of my most vivid memories is of us sitting in the dark . . . in crummy little terry-cloth robes singing the old Louvin Brothers song ‘You’re Running Wild’ and just sounding so pretty.”

The pair actually recorded “You’re Running Wild” for a 1986 album, though it’s another Louvin Brothers’ tune, “Angels Rejoined,” that is included in this 16-track collection.

Larson sang in the studio and on the road with such artists as Neil Young and Jesse Winchester before recording a debut album (“Nicolette”) in 1978 that led Rolling Stone magazine to name her the best female singer of the year. Her version of Young’s “Lotta Love” became a Top 10 hit that year.

Though Larson didn’t have another Top 10 pop hit, she enjoyed success in the country field in the ‘80s before she married drummer Russ Kunkel and devoted much of her time to Kunkel and their daughter, Elsie. Larson returned to the studio in 1994, but the product proved to be her last album. She died in 1997 of a cerebral edema at age 45.

Ronstadt and many of Larson’s other musical friends--including Harris and Crosby, Stills & Nash--joined in a moving tribute to Larson in 1998 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. In the highlights of the retrospective collection, Larson demonstrates why so many other quality singers were drawn to her. She may not have had the full vocal authority of a Ronstadt or Harris, but her singing is characterized by such a sunny disposition that the music has a warm, almost therapeutic feel.