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| Get Closer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 27, 1982 | |||
| Recorded | August 1981–August 1982 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Rock [1] | |||
| Length | 36:31 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Producer | Peter Asher | |||
| Linda Ronstadt chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Get Closer | ||||
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Get Closer is the eleventh studio album by singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1982.
With her previous album, Mad Love , in 1980, Ronstadt's career took a turn away from the country-rock style she'd succeeded with for more than a decade. In 1980–81, she sang light opera on Broadway in The Pirates of Penzance , and during production of the play in New York she expressed a desire to record an album of standards. In 1981, she recorded a session with producer Jerry Wexler and a small jazz combo for a planned album titled Keeping Out of Mischief, but Ronstadt was dissatisfied with the results and cancelled its release. [2] Although she would later revisit the concept (and most of the songs she'd attempted with Wexler) for a trilogy of albums with Nelson Riddle, Get Closer was recorded to satisfy her label obligations, with Ronstadt working again with producer Peter Asher and returning to the genres that had resulted in her commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s.
The album contained two tracks originally recorded for but left off of previous albums: A remake of George Jones's "Sometimes You Just Can't Win," recorded for Simple Dreams in June 1977 with JD Souther on harmony vocals; and a cover of Dolly Parton's 1971 song "My Blue Tears," performed with Parton and Emmylou Harris as part of a planned trio album that was never released due to scheduling and record company conflicts. The trio version was originally recorded in January 1978; Parton, Ronstadt and Harris would eventually record and release the first of two albums together in 1987 ( Trio , followed by Trio II in 1999).
Also on Get Closer was a duet with James Taylor on a remake of Ike and Tina Turner's "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine"; and covers of two mid-1960s hits: The Knickerbockers' "Lies" and The Exciters' "Tell Him." A version of the 1965 Everly Brothers song "The Price of Love" was recorded for the album as well, but remains unreleased. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Robert Christgau | C+ [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
Asylum Records released Get Closer in late September 1982. [7] Reviewers wrote about a newfound confidence in Ronstadt's vocals. Ken Tucker of Rolling Stone magazine wrote in his November 11 review, "Linda Ronstadt's voice has never sounded better than it does on Get Closer...its spirit is unassailable." Noting her turn in Pirates, Tucker wrote that Ronstadt's vocal development on Broadway "hasn't made her self-conscious. Just the opposite, in fact: Linda Ronstadt is no longer a prisoner of technique." Tucker did decry much of the album's second side, saying that some of the oldies in the soul genre were performed too meticulously. [6]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times also hailed Ronstadt's vocal performance on the album, writing, "Miss Ronstadt's singing is so strong and unaffected." He called the title track "the album's most adventurous performance" and noted that Ronstadt's "shouting, growling exuberance" was "reminiscent of Aretha Franklin's 'Respect.'" [8]
In The Boston Phoenix , Milo Miles found Ronstadt's album to be "an unusually casual, dry-eyed curtain call — it includes nods to her songwriting kith and kin as well as leftovers from her heyday and a few glassy late-period laments. Get Closer does not sum up or revise Ronstadt’s career so much as it lifelessly recycles a once-potent formula now helplessly (hopelessly?) out of synch with even rock’s mainstream." [9]
Commercially, the album was a disappointment, peaking at number 31 on the Billboard album chart in late 1982, [10] her first album to fail to make the top 5 since 1973. It was, however, certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 500,000 copies, and surpassed American sales of 900,000 copies by the time of its deletion from print
This album's driving title track, "Get Closer" was written by Washington D.C.–based singer-songwriter Jon Carroll, [11] an original member of the Starland Vocal Band. The song, notable for its unusual 7
4 septuple meter, was later chosen to promote Close-Up toothpaste ("Want love? Get Close-Up").
Assisted by a popular MTV music video, "Get Closer" peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the Top 20 in Cash Box magazine. It garnered considerable airplay on AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) stations while its follow-up single, "I Knew You When", was also aided by a popular music video and peaked at number 37 Pop, number 25 Adult Contemporary, and number 84 Country.
Ronstadt's seductive interpretation of Jimmy Webb's "Easy For You To Say" was a surprise Top Ten hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in the spring of 1983. "Sometimes You Just Can't Win," the B-side to the "Get Closer" single, peaked at number 27 on Billboard 's Hot Country Songs chart. [12]
Ronstadt was nominated in early 1983 for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female and Best Rock Vocal Performance Female for the album and the song "Get Closer", losing to Melissa Manchester and Pat Benatar respectively. [13] The album did, however, win the Grammy for Best Album Package, an art director's award. The trophy went to well known designers Ron Larson and Kosh.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Get Closer" | Jon Carroll | 2:29 |
| 2. | "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" | Jimmy Webb | 3:03 |
| 3. | "I Knew You When" | Joe South | 2:53 |
| 4. | "Easy for You to Say" | Jimmy Webb | 4:03 |
| 5. | "People Gonna Talk" | William Wheeler, Lee Dorsey, Morris Levy, Clarence L. Lewis | 2:38 |
| 6. | "Talk to Me of Mendocino" | Kate McGarrigle | 2:57 |
| 7. | "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (with James Taylor) | Rose Marie McCoy, Sylvia McKinney | 4:01 |
| 8. | "Mr. Radio" | Roderick Taylor | 4:07 |
| 9. | "Lies" | Buddy Randell, Beau Charles | 2:35 |
| 10. | "Tell Him" | Bert Berns | 2:35 |
| 11. | "Sometimes You Just Can't Win" (with JD Souther) | Smokey Stover | 2:30 |
| 12. | "My Blue Tears" (with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris) | Dolly Parton | 2:40 |
| Total length: | 36:31 | ||
| Chart (1982/83) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [14] | 31 |
| Canadian RPM Top Albums | 48 |
| United States (Billboard 200) | 31 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [15] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | September 27, 1982 |
| Asylum Records | [16] |
Heart Like a Wheel is the fifth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt, released in November 1974. It was Ronstadt's last album to be released by Capitol Records. At the time of its recording, Ronstadt had already moved to Asylum Records and released her first album there; due to contractual obligations, though, Heart Like a Wheel was released by Capitol.
Trio is a collaborative album by American singers Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. It was released on March 2, 1987, by Warner Bros. Records. The album has platinum certification in the U.S. for sales of one million copies, and has total worldwide sales of approximately four million. A second collaborative album, Trio II, was released in 1999.
Trio II is the second collaborative studio album by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. It was released on February 9, 1999, by Asylum Records.
Blue Kentucky Girl is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1979. The album features Harris delving into more traditional country than the country-rock sound of her previous releases. Songs include work by Willie Nelson and Gram Parsons. Rodney Crowell's "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" featured harmonies by Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, and came out of the women's ill-fated 1978 recording sessions, where they first attempted to record a "trio" album.
Evangeline is the eighth studio album by Emmylou Harris. It was composed mostly of leftover material from past recording sessions and which did not fit into any of her other albums. Songs included a remake of "Mister Sandman", "Evangeline", which she had previously performed with The Band, Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now", and a cover of John Fogerty's "Bad Moon Rising". Though it received mixed reviews upon its release, the album was yet another commercial success for Harris. It was certified Gold in less than a year after its release. A single release of "Mister Sandman" did well on the charts, though neither Ronstadt's nor Parton's record companies would allow their artists' vocals to be used on the single, so Harris rerecorded the song, singing all three parts for the single release. Rodney Crowell's "I Don't Have to Crawl" was released as the album's second single.
Roses in the Snow is the seventh studio album by country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1980. While Harris' previous release, 1979's Blue Kentucky Girl, featured traditional, straight-ahead country, Roses in the Snow found Harris performing bluegrass-inspired music, with material by Flatt and Scruggs, Paul Simon, The Carter Family, and Johnny Cash. Cash, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, The Whites, Ricky Skaggs, Willie Nelson and Tony Rice made guest appearances. "Wayfaring Stranger" was released as the first single in 1980 and went to #7 on the Billboard Country charts. The second single, a remake of a Simon & Garfunkel song, "The Boxer", reached #13. Backing musicians included Albert Lee and Jerry Douglas.
The Ballad of Sally Rose is the eleventh studio album by American singer Emmylou Harris released in February 1985. It marked a significant departure for Harris for two reasons. First, all the songs were written by her and her then-husband Paul Kennerley, while her previous albums had consisted mostly of others' material. Secondly, it is a concept album, loosely based on Harris' relationship with Gram Parsons. The album tells the story of a character named Sally Rose, a singer whose lover and mentor, a hard-living, hard-drinking musician, is killed while on the road. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Gail Davies sing harmony on several of the songs. Many of the songs flow into one another to create a continuous momentum.
Pieces of the Sky is the second studio album and major-label debut by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released on February 7, 1975, through Reprise Records.
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind is a studio album by American singer/producer Linda Ronstadt, released in October 1989 by Elektra Records. Produced by Peter Asher, the album features several duets with singer Aaron Neville — two of which earned Grammy Awards — and several songs written by Jimmy Webb and Karla Bonoff. The album was a major success internationally. It sold over three million copies and was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone.
Prisoner In Disguise (1975) is Linda Ronstadt's sixth solo LP release and her second for the label Asylum Records. It followed Ronstadt's multi-platinum breakthrough album, Heart Like a Wheel, which became her first number one album on the US Billboard 200 album chart in early 1975.
Hasten Down the Wind is the seventh studio album by Linda Ronstadt. Released in 1976, it became her third straight million-selling album. Ronstadt was the first female artist to accomplish this feat. The album earned her a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in 1977, her second of 13 Grammys. It represented a slight departure from 1974's Heart Like a Wheel and 1975's Prisoner in Disguise in that she chose to showcase new songwriters over the traditional country rock sound she had been producing up to that point. A more serious and poignant album than its predecessors, it won critical acclaim.
Simple Dreams is the eighth studio album by the American singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1977 by Asylum Records. It includes several of her best-known songs, including her cover of the Rolling Stones song "Tumbling Dice" and her version of the Roy Orbison song "Blue Bayou", which earned her a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. The album also contains covers of the Buddy Holly song "It's So Easy!" and the Warren Zevon songs "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and "Carmelita".
Greatest Hits is Linda Ronstadt's first major compilation album, released at the end of 1976 for the holiday shopping season. It includes material from both her Capitol Records and Asylum Records output, and goes back to 1967 for The Stone Poneys' hit "Different Drum."
Mad Love is the tenth studio album by singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1980. It debuted at #5 on the Billboard album chart, a record at the time and a first for any female artist, and quickly became her seventh consecutive album to sell over one million copies. It was certified platinum and nominated for a Grammy.
Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions is a 1999 duet album by American singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Ronstadt and singer, songwriter, and guitarist Emmylou Harris, who had previously collaborated on two albums with Dolly Parton.
We Ran is a 1998 rock album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. The disc featured back-up from three members of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. It spent two weeks on the Billboard albums chart, peaking at #160.
Winter Light is an album by American singer Linda Ronstadt, released in late 1993 to critical acclaim and commercial disappointment.
Frenesí is a 1992 Grammy Award-winning album by American singer Linda Ronstadt.
Feels Like Home is a studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt released in 1995. It reached #75 and lasted 12 weeks on the Billboard album chart. It received excellent critical reviews upon release. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the disc sold 188,815 copies in the United States. This album is now out of print physically, although it is available digitally and five of its tracks were remixed and subsequently included on Trio II.
The Complete Trio Collection is compilation album by American singer-songwriters Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. It brings together newly remastered versions of their two award-winning albums, 1987's Trio and 1999's Trio II, with a third disc compiling 20 alternate takes and unreleased material. It was released worldwide on September 9, 2016, by Rhino Entertainment. A stand-alone version of the third disc, titled Farther Along, was released separately on vinyl.
