Heart like a Wheel

Ronstadt, Linda

album cover

An Atypical Peak of California Pop

Ten love songs rendered with great care and Laurel Canyon laid-back-ness, Linda Ronstadt's plaintive Heart like a Wheel sounds like it belongs next to the records singer-songwriters like Neil Young and Jackson Browne were making in Southern California in the early '70s. It's got the soothing background vocals, and crop-dusting acoustic guitars that could have flown in from an Eagles session.

But in almost every way, it stands apart from that scene. Where the singer-songwriters proffered their own visions, former Stone Poneys singer Linda Ronstadt didn't write any songs—instead, she sought out little-known gems from emerging tunesmiths like Kate and Anna McGarrigle, who wrote the title track. And where the songwriters usually aimed for a unified mood, Ronstadt goes the other way, covering long-discarded soul hits ("The Dark End of the Street") and chipper Everly Brothers pop ("When Will I Be Loved") as well as more delicate meditations about love and the human spirit ("Heart like a Wheel").

The writerly notions are held together by Ronstadt's assured, easygoing lead vocals. In contrast to the oft-wistful (or apologetic) songwriters, she sings with a steely authority, using delicate pencil-sketch shades to underscore her lyrics. The album opens with "You're No Good," the shout of betrayal that became her first number 1 single: Ronstadt belts it as though she wants to rattle the clock off the wall. Just when you get used to this firecracker persona—she's the roar Helen Reddy needed for "I Am Woman"—Ronstadt changes her tone dramatically, etching "Faithless Love" in a mood of dejection mixed with vulnerability. The temperament changes from song to song as Ronstadt shines light on the faint shadows, moments she treasures that others might have missed. She sings in a way that can make you think she wrote the music, and in a sense she did: Even though some of these songs kicked around for decades, they're completely reborn when she sings them.

Genre: Rock
Released: 1974, Capitol
Key Tracks: "You're No Good," "When Will I Be Loved," "The Dark End of the Street," "Heart like a Wheel."
Catalog Choice: Simple Dreams
Next Stop: Jennifer Warnes: Famous Blue Raincoat
After That: Nicolette Larson: Nicolette
Book Pages: 659–660