When the Teen-Idol Glow Changed: David Cassidy’s Tenderly and Alan Tarney’s 1985 Romance Reinvention
On Tenderly, David Cassidy stepped out of inherited fame and into a sleek 80s atmosphere...
Melody Era
Linda Ronstadt and Valerie Carter Made Devoted to You Feel Like a Promise Whispered at Bedtime
In Linda Ronstadt and Valerie Carter’s hands, an Everly Brothers vow became less like a...
Linda Ronstadt Let J.D. Souther’s Don’t Cry Now Bleed Quietly in 1973
Before the breakthrough came the ache: Linda Ronstadt’s 1973 title track turned J.D. Souther’s restraint...
Before the Arena Roar, Neil Diamond’s And The Singer Sings His Song Found Quiet Power at the Troubadour
At the Troubadour in 1970, Neil Diamond let a singer’s public role turn inward, making...
Buried Beside Their Last ’70s No. 1, Bee Gees’ I’m Satisfied Deepened Spirits Having Flown
With I’m Satisfied, the Bee Gees tucked a dazzling vocal puzzle behind a No. 1...
One Low Voice Made the Plea Human: Josh Turner on The Choice for Soles4Souls
In a crowded charity chorus, Josh Turner made The Choice feel less like a slogan...
Two Harmonies Deepened Gram Parsons’ In My Hour of Darkness: Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris on Grievous Angel
On In My Hour of Darkness, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris do not crowd Gram...
Two Voices Find One Ache: Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton’s When I Stop Dreaming on Luxury Liner
On Luxury Liner, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton turned a Louvin Brothers lament into a...
Two Women Wrote the Goodbye: Emmylou Harris’s “Easy From Now On” and Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
On “Easy From Now On”, Emmylou Harris turned a co-written farewell into the soft-spoken doorway...
A Crowd’s Old Wound Reopened: John Fogerty’s 2009 Garden Party With Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit
On his 2009 return to The Blue Ridge Rangers, John Fogerty turned Ricky Nelson’s Garden...
A Comeback With an Old Echo: David Cassidy’s You Were the One Reunited Him with Tony Romeo
On You Were the One, David Cassidy did not run from the echo of his...
Peter Asher’s 1960s Hit Came Back Older in Linda Ronstadt’s “I Go to Pieces” on We Ran
On 1998’s We Ran, Linda Ronstadt did not simply revisit a 1960s pop hit; she...
A Proposal With Years Behind It: Neil Diamond’s Marry Me Now on Melody Road With Don Was
On Marry Me Now, Neil Diamond turns a proposal into a late-career act of presence,...
Neil Diamond Sounded Unusually Wired on Primitive, the 1984 Title Track of His Sixteenth Studio Album
In Primitive, Neil Diamond met the glossy pressure of 1984 without surrendering the restless pulse...
Eight Weeks That Made Disco Inescapable: Bee Gees’ Night Fever and the Saturday Night Fever Takeover
For eight weeks in 1978, Bee Gees’ Night Fever did more than top a chart;...
The Night Bee Gees Reclaimed Grease at One Night Only, Returning Frankie Valli’s Hit to Barry Gibb
When the Bee Gees sang “Grease” at One Night Only, a hit made famous by...
When Josh Turner Lowered His Voice: Eli’s Lullaby and the Quiet Power of a 2015 Digital Single
With Eli’s Lullaby, Josh Turner set aside the push of country radio and let his...
Two Baritones, One Quiet Spark: John Anderson and Josh Turner’s “Goldmine” Collaboration
On Goldmine, John Anderson and Josh Turner turn a simple country title into a meeting...
Three Voices, One Restraint: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on Making Plans
On Making Plans, three famous voices step back from stardom and let country harmony do...
Linda Ronstadt Made Heart Like a Wheel the Quiet Center of Her 1974 Breakthrough Album
Before the hits grew bright around it, Heart Like a Wheel sat at the center...
Emmylou Harris Hid a Quiet Jewel in “Diamond in My Crown” on The Ballad of Sally Rose
On “Diamond in My Crown”, Emmylou Harris turned a gospel image into one of the...
Emmylou Harris Didn’t Chase Tammy Wynette on Too Far Gone — She Made Pieces of the Sky Ache Differently
On Too Far Gone, Emmylou Harris did not try to overpower Tammy Wynette; she changed...
A Barroom Classic Turned Newly Exposed: Emmylou Harris’s “The Bottle Let Me Down” on Pieces of the Sky
On Pieces of the Sky, Emmylou Harris did not simply cover Merle Haggard’s barroom sorrow;...
Where the Story Turns Cold: Emmylou Harris’s “Timberline” and The Ballad of Sally Rose
In Timberline, Emmylou Harris turns a country road story into a high, exposed place where...
Before Creedence Had a Name, The Golliwogs’ “You Better Be Careful” Found a New Frame on Fight Fire
Before Creedence Clearwater Revival had a name, The Golliwogs’ “You Better Be Careful” caught the...
Alone in the Studio, John Fogerty Turned Dream/Song Into a 1975 Test of Control
On Dream/Song, John Fogerty made a full-band sound feel like a private room, where craft,...
The Teen-Idol Shadow Fell Away in David Cassidy’s “Soul Kiss” on Didn’t You Used to Be…
On “Soul Kiss,” David Cassidy lets the old teen-idol frame fall back, revealing an adult-pop...
David Cassidy’s Heart of Emotion Caught His 1985 Reinvention in a Synth-Pop Mirror
On Heart of Emotion, David Cassidy did not chase his old reflection; he stepped into...
The Ache Linda Ronstadt Barely Touches in Karla Bonoff’s “If He’s Ever Near” from 1976’s Hasten Down the Wind
On a quiet Karla Bonoff ballad, Linda Ronstadt lets restraint do the work that power...
A Stax Hurt Changes Rooms: Linda Ronstadt Recasts William Bell’s ‘Everybody Loves a Winner’ on Don’t Cry Now
On Don’t Cry Now, Linda Ronstadt carried a wounded Stax soul confession into a California...