The Stone Poneys | ||||
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Studio album by The Stone Poneys | ||||
Released | January 30, 1967 | |||
Recorded | October – November 1966 | |||
Studio | Capitol (Hollywood) | |||
Genre | Folk rock | |||
Length | 27:24 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer | Nik Venet | |||
The Stone Poneys chronology | ||||
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Reissue Cover | ||||
Singles from The Stone Poneys | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The Stone Poneys is the debut studio album by the Stone Poneys;other than the single of "So Fine" in 1965,this album marks the first official recordings by Linda Ronstadt.
The album was released in the LP format on Capitol on January 30,1967,in both monaural and stereophonic editions (catalogue numbers T 2666 and ST 2666,respectively).
In March 1975,Capitol reissued the album under the name The Stone Poneys Featuring Linda Ronstadt (catalogue number ST-11383),following the multi-platinum success Linda Ronstadt had in 1974-75 with her #1 album Heart Like a Wheel . Though the original release did not chart,this reissue reached #172 on the Billboard album chart. As a result,this heretofore virtually unknown first album by the Stone Poneys was more widely available in the 1970s and 1980s than the subsequent albums that featured the band's more familiar songs.
The front cover was essentially the same except for a circular area in the upper right hand corner titled "Early Linda!" that had the appearance of a sticker (and apparently was an adhesive sticker in some cases);while new liner notes on a redesigned back cover mentioned that this was Ronstadt's "first album ever". The song listing in the reissue highlighted Ronstadt's three solo performances on "Just a Little Bit of Rain","Orion" and "2:10 Train";she also sang solo on one verse of "Train and the River" that was not so identified.
As with the other two Stone Poneys albums,Capitol reissued this album on CD in 1995. In 2008 –more than 40 years after this album was released –Raven issued a 27-track "two-fer" CD simply called The Stone Poneys,featuring all tracks from this album and also the second Stone Poneys album, Evergreen,Volume 2 ,plus four tracks from their third album, Linda Ronstadt,Stone Poneys and Friends,Vol. III .
The songs on this album typically shade more toward the "folk" than the "rock" side of the folk-rock musical genre. Kenny Edwards recalls of these sessions:"The first record was just basically bass,drums,and us:the live representation of what we did,with the addition of a rhythm section. I don't think that we had any radio play." [2] The themes on the songs are familiar ones from folk music:the seasons,weather,stars,trains,love. "Sweet Summer Blue and Gold" b/w "All the Beautiful Things" is the only single released from the album,with very limited success.
The majority of the songs (including both sides of the 45) were written by bandmembers Bobby Kimmel and Kenny Edwards –Edwards alone wrote "Back Home" –and all of their songs are performed in precise three-part harmony. Kimmel and Edwards had already started writing songs together before Ronstadt moved to L.A.,and they were probably being written with group singing in mind. Although she has sung harmony vocals many times over her career –notably on the Trio and Trio II albums that she recorded with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris –these songs are unlike any other material that Ronstadt has recorded,particularly since her voice is at the same level as those of the two men.
Even on her solo performances,her vocals are rather under-stated:Ronstadt was far from self-assured at this point in her career. Of her lead vocals on "2:10 Train",Richie Unterberger has written:"Although Ronstadt was herself quite young when she sang it,she did so with reasonable conviction,though it was really the knowing world-weariness of the song itself that carried the day." [3] Her lead on the single verse in "Train and the River" comes as a revelation,since it best shows off the gorgeous tones in Linda's voice that drove her career to great heights in years to come –perhaps because Linda did not have to carry the whole song. (This is not the same song as the one of the same name by Jimmy Giuffre).
The other song that the group sung in harmony,"Wild About My Lovin'" is in the public domain and has been recorded many times over the years;as an example,the Lovin' Spoonful included it on their 1965 debut album Do You Believe in Magic .
The Fred Neil song "Just a Little Bit of Rain" (also known as "Little Bit of Rain") –perhaps Ronstadt's strongest solo performance on this album over an entire song –was performed by Judy Henske on her 1965 album that was also essentially named for the song "Little Bit of Sunshine…Little Bit of Rain". The song was later covered by many others from the 1960s through the 2000s,among them JoséFeliciano,Sandy Denny and Eric Andersen. [4]
Another of Ronstadt's solos,"2:10 Train" was written by Tom Campbell and Linda Albertano who,like the Stone Poneys themselves,were struggling singer/songwriters in the Los Angeles folk scene;the same is true of Steve Gillette,whose songs would appear on later Stone Poneys albums. Recording each other's songs was common in this time period;for instance,Gillette included "2:10 Train" on his 1967 eponymous album. [3]
The Rising Sons –whose members included Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal –recorded "2:10 Train" in the same time period (May 1966),although it was not released until a compilation CD was brought out in the early 1990s. [3] Also,this song is among those included on Carolyn Hester's excellent 1965 concert album,Carolyn Hester at Town Hall. [5] More recently,Jimmy Gaudreau,a member of the progressive bluegrass band Chesapeake,included this song as the title cut on his 2008 CD 2:10 Train. [6]
The final solo by Ronstadt,"Orion" was also written by Tom Campbell and is among dozens of songs by this name. [7] The reference of course is to the constellation;the lyrics also address Pollux and Castor,and the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades).
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Sweet Summer Blue and Gold" | Bobby Kimmel, Ken Edwards | 2:18 |
2. | "If I Were You" | Kimmel, Edwards | 1:58 |
3. | "Just a Little Bit of Rain" | Fred Neil | 2:20 |
4. | "Bicycle Song" | Kimmel, Edwards | 1:53 |
5. | "Orion" | Tom Campbell | 3:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Wild About My Lovin'" | Traditional – Adapted by Kimmel, Linda Ronstadt and Edwards | 3:50 |
2. | "Back Home" | Edwards | 2:00 |
3. | "Meredith (On My Mind)" | Kimmel, Edwards | 2:10 |
4. | "Train and the River" | Kimmel, Edwards | 2:18 |
5. | "All the Beautiful Things" | Kimmel, Edwards | 1:55 |
6. | "2:10 Train" | Campbell, Linda Albertano | 3:20 |
Linda Maria Ronstadt is an American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music.
Stone Poneys were a folk rock trio formed in Los Angeles, consisting of Linda Ronstadt on vocals, Bobby Kimmel on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Kenny Edwards on lead guitar. Their recordings include Ronstadt's first hit song, a cover of Mike Nesmith's "Different Drum". The group featured Ronstadt showcasing an eclectic mix of songs, often from under-appreciated songwriters, requiring a wide array of backing musicians.
Hand Sown ... Home Grown is a studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. It was originally released by Capitol Records in March 1969. Although Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III credited Ronstadt, Hand Sown ... Home Grown was the first studio album that solely credited her. The album consisted of 11 tracks, many of which were covers that fused the country rock and folk genres. The album received a positive response from critics following its release.
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.
Different Drum is the first compilation album by Linda Ronstadt to be released by Capitol. Half of the tracks are taken from the second and third albums by The Stone Poneys; while the other half are from her first three solo albums.
And the Hits Just Keep on Comin' is an album by Michael Nesmith. Recorded for RCA Records, it was his fifth solo album after leaving The Monkees. The album was recorded and released in 1972; all ten tracks had been composed by Nesmith prior to and during his time as a member of The Monkees.
Bryndle was an American folk-rock band first formed in the late 1960s in Los Angeles.
Silk Purse is a studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. It was released by Capitol Records on April 13, 1970 and was Ronstadt's second solo studio album in her career. Silk Purse contained a total of ten tracks that experimented with country music. It included covers of songs by Hank Williams and Mel Tillis. Featured on the album were two singles. Among them was the song "Long, Long Time", which became Ronstadt's first charting single in the US and Canada. Silk Purse was given positive reviews from several publications including AllMusic and Cashbox. It was Ronstadt's first to make chart positions in Australia, Canada and the US.
Bleecker & MacDougal is the debut solo studio album by the American folk musician Fred Neil. It was released in May 1965 by Elektra Records. The recording, which unlike many folk albums at the time featured electric guitar backing, had an influence on the folk rock movement.
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". The album was the best-selling studio album of her career, and at the time was the second best-selling album by a female artist. It was her first album since Don't Cry Now without long-time musical collaborator Andrew Gold, though it features several of the other Laurel Canyon-based session musicians who appeared on her prior albums, including guitarists Dan Dugmore and Waddy Wachtel, bassist Kenny Edwards, and producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Asher.
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."
Winter Light is an album by American singer Linda Ronstadt, released in late 1993 to critical acclaim and commercial disappointment.
Evergreen, Vol. 2 is the second album from the Stone Poneys, released five months after The Stone Poneys. It was the most commercially successful of the Stone Poneys' three studio albums.
Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III is the third and final studio album by The Stone Poneys, released on April 29, 1968. Singer Linda Ronstadt would release her first solo album the following year.
Young Brigham is an album by American folk musician Ramblin' Jack Elliott, released in 1968.
Kenneth Michael Edwards was an American singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist, mandolinist, and session musician. He was a founding member of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and a long-time collaborator with Linda Ronstadt and Karla Bonoff.
H. P. Lovecraft II is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft and was released in September 1968 on Philips Records. As with their debut LP, the album saw the band blending psychedelic and folk rock influences, albeit with a greater emphasis on psychedelia than on their first album. H. P. Lovecraft II failed to sell in sufficient quantities to reach the Billboard Top LPs chart or the UK Albums Chart, despite the band being a popular act on the U.S. psychedelic concert circuit. Legend has it that the album was the first major label release to have been recorded by musicians who were all under the influence of LSD.
Bobby Kimmel is an American musician and songwriter who currently performs with the acoustic folk group I Hear Voices. He has been recording and performing in concert for over 50 years and was a founding member of the Stone Poneys, along with Linda Ronstadt and the late Kenny Edwards.
Stoney End is a 1972 compilation album of previously released songs by folk rock band The Stone Poneys featuring singer Linda Ronstadt. It was released by Pickwick Records in the U.S. and Canada.
Live In Hollywood is a live album by Linda Ronstadt. It was recorded at Television Center Studios in Hollywood, California on April 24, 1980, for broadcast as a special on HBO. All tracks from this recording except "Blue Bayou" and "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" are previously unreleased. This is the first live album released by Ronstadt. The master tapes, thought to be lost, were discovered through a chance encounter with a Warner Brothers engineer leading to their recovery.