Greatest Hits (Linda Ronstadt album)

Last updated
Greatest Hits
LindaRonstadtGreatestHits.jpg
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedDecember 1, 1976
Recorded1967, 1970, 1973-1976
Genre Rock, country rock, folk rock
Length37:33
Label Asylum
Producer various
Linda Ronstadt chronology
Hasten Down the Wind
(1976)
Greatest Hits
(1976)
Simple Dreams
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Christgau's Record Guide B+ [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]

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."

Contents

It remains the biggest-selling album of Ronstadt's career, being certified seven times Platinum (over 7 million US copies shipped) by the Recording Industry Association of America [5] in America alone, with 1.87 million units consumed after 1991 when SoundScan started tracking sales. [6] It peaked at No. 6 on the main Billboard album chart and also reached No. 2 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, where it remained for over three years.

The album was criticized by the Rolling Stone Record Guide for being "premature," as Ronstadt continued to have record-breaking mainstream successes for many years following this release. By the time this collection came out, however, Ronstadt had already been recording hit records (as a solo artist and with the Stone Poneys) for a decade, and there were many examples of other artists releasing greatest hits albums much sooner, such as Elvis Presley.

In terms of being released while the performer was still in the midst of their career, this collection is unusual for a major artist in that it compiled works from two unrelated labels thanks to, as the sleeve states, a "special arrangement" between Asylum and Capitol; this overlap mirrors the situation in which Ronstadt briefly alternated releasing albums between Capitol and Asylum in 1973–74 in order to fulfil her contract with Capitol. [7]

Track listing

Original release

CD reissue

The CD reissue of the album was compiled with Ronstadt's second greatest hits collection and released by Rhino records in 2007 as Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & 2. [8]

No.TitleLength
1."You're No Good"3:40
2."Silver Threads and Golden Needles"2:20
3."Desperado"3:30
4."Love is a Rose"2:46
5."That'll Be the Day"2:32
6."Long, Long Time"4:21
7."Different Drum"2:45
8."When Will I Be Loved"2:05
9."Love Has No Pride"4:10
10."Heat Wave"2:46
11."It Doesn't Matter Anymore"3:26
12."Tracks of My Tears"3:12
No.TitleLength
13."It's So Easy"2:26
14."I Can't Let Go"2:43
15."Hurt So Bad"3:12
16."Blue Bayou"3:54
17."How Do I Make You"2:21
18."Back in the U.S.A."3:02
19."Ooo Baby Baby"3:18
20."Poor Poor Pitiful Me"3:41
21."Tumbling Dice"3:05
22."Just One Look"3:15
23."Someone to Lay Down Beside Me"3:58

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [17] 4× Platinum280,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [18] Platinum100,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [19] Gold10,000*
United States (RIAA) [20] 7× Platinum7,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

From the Liner Notes on the Original Vinyl Album.

Producers

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

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