Linda Ronstadt Heard the River Differently on David Olney’s “Women ’Cross the River”
On Feels Like Home, Linda Ronstadt turned David Olney’s river song into a shadowed piece...
Melody Era
Emmylou Harris Made “Guitar Town” Run Faster at the Ryman With The Nash Ramblers Behind Her
On At the Ryman, Emmylou Harris took Steve Earle’s restless road song and let it...
A Restless Pulse Drives Emmylou Harris’s Rhythm Guitar Through The Ballad of Sally Rose
With Rhythm Guitar, Emmylou Harris gave The Ballad of Sally Rose its forward motion: a...
John Fogerty’s “Blue Moon Nights” Turns Blue Moon Swamp Toward the Ghost of Sun Records
With “Blue Moon Nights”, John Fogerty reached back to the raw pulse of early rock...
Before the Frenzy, The Partridge Family’s 1970 Album Cut “I Really Want to Know You” Lets David Cassidy Lean In
Buried beneath the bright arrival of The Partridge Family, I Really Want to Know You...
Linda Ronstadt Made “Crazy He Calls Me” Feel Dangerous Again on 1983’s What’s New
On “Crazy He Calls Me”, Linda Ronstadt did not imitate the old torch singers; she...
A Borrowed Anthem Got Heavier: Neil Diamond’s He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother on Tap Root Manuscript
On Tap Root Manuscript, Neil Diamond turned a well-traveled song of brotherhood into something closer...
Before the Spotlight Hardened, Neil Diamond’s Practically Newborn Caught Velvet Gloves and Spit in Motion
On a 1968 album cut tucked inside Velvet Gloves and Spit, Neil Diamond sounds less...
Bee Gees Took a Hard Left in 1991: High Civilization Turned Their Harmonies Into Techno-Rock
On the 1991 title track High Civilization, the Bee Gees sounded less like visitors to...
Bee Gees Turned the Lights Down on Horizontal, the 1968 Title Track That Darkened Their Baroque Pop
With Horizontal, the Bee Gees let their ornate pop drift into darker air, turning a...
When Randy Travis Let Go, Look Heart, No Hands Gave Greatest Hits, Volume Two a 1992 No. 1 Spark
With a childlike dare and a grown man’s calm, Randy Travis turned Look Heart, No...
A Gentle No. 1 Glow: Randy Travis’s Honky Tonk Moon Opened the Old 8×10 Era
With Honky Tonk Moon, Randy Travis turned a barroom image into something gentle, precise, and...
The Quietest Moment on Linda Ronstadt’s Heart Like a Wheel: How You Can Close Your Eyes Revealed Her Restraint
On You Can Close Your Eyes, Linda Ronstadt lets quietness do the work, turning a...
Linda Ronstadt Let Doubt Close Don’t Cry Now with Neil Young’s “I Believe in You”
On her 1973 Asylum Records debut, Linda Ronstadt closed with a Neil Young song that...
Before the Trio, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt Found Each Other on “Queen of the Silver Dollar”
On “Queen of the Silver Dollar”, Emmylou Harris turned a barroom portrait into something warmer,...
Emmylou Harris Turned Memory into Country Opera with The Ballad of Sally Rose in 1985
Before Emmylou Harris could tell Sally Rose’s story, she had to risk sounding less like...
The Dust Changed Emmylou Harris on Deeper Well, Wrecking Ball’s Grittiest Search
On Deeper Well, Emmylou Harris let the dust, doubt, and spiritual hunger of Wrecking Ball...
A Mother’s Watchful Prayer: Emmylou Harris’s My Baby Needs a Shepherd on 2000’s Red Dirt Girl
On Red Dirt Girl, Emmylou Harris turned maternal devotion into a quiet act of courage,...
No Band Left to Hide Behind: John Fogerty’s Ricochet, the 1973 B-Side to Comin’ Down the Road
On the back of a modest 1973 single, John Fogerty’s Ricochet carried the uneasy sound...
John Fogerty’s Funk Detour: Wasn’t That a Woman Pulled Eye of the Zombie Toward Motown
On Wasn’t That a Woman, John Fogerty steps away from the familiar swamp-rock frame and...
A Comeback Ends Quietly: David Cassidy’s “One True Love” Closes Didn’t You Used to Be…
At the end of David Cassidy’s 1992 comeback album, One True Love sounds less like...
The Quiet Last Page of Notebook: The Partridge Family’s As Long As You’re There with David Cassidy
At the end of Notebook, The Partridge Family let the bright machinery of pop fame...
The Small Ache Linda Ronstadt Lets Breathe in “Mr. Radio” on 1982’s Get Closer
On “Mr. Radio”, Linda Ronstadt finds drama in restraint, turning a modest cut from Get...
Three Voices, One Ache: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris Opened 1987’s Trio With The Pain of Loving You
Before Trio became a landmark meeting of three great voices, it opened with a warning:...
A Softer 1979 Neil Diamond Emerges in The Shelter of Your Arms on September Morn
On September Morn, Neil Diamond used The Shelter of Your Arms as a quiet refuge...
Before Olivia Made It a Hit, Bee Gees’ Come on Over Opened Main Course’s Country-Pop Heart
Before it traveled into Olivia Newton-John’s world, Come on Over caught the Bee Gees at...
A Soul Classic Found Country Fate: Randy Travis Took It’s Just a Matter of Time to No. 1
Randy Travis did not simply cover It’s Just a Matter of Time; he carried a...
When Kermit Met Linda Ronstadt Softly: “When I Grow Too Old to Dream” on The Muppet Show
In a television moment built on whimsy, Linda Ronstadt and Kermit the Frog turned an...
A Storm Song Starts Grinning: Emmylou Harris Turns Bad Moon Rising Country on 1981’s Evangeline
On Evangeline, Emmylou Harris took Bad Moon Rising out of the swamp and let it...
Donna Summer’s On the Radio Hit a Backroad on Emmylou Harris’s White Shoes
On White Shoes, Emmylou Harris did not simply cover Donna Summer; she sent On the...