Over the course of her 40-year singing career, Linda Ronstadt’s albums landed on the charts dozens of times, but 1977’s Simple Dreams took the number one spot for five consecutive weeks and became her must successful record, surpassing her previous hit album, Heart Like A Wheel. The record included RIAA platinum-certified single “Blue Bayou,” a country rock interpretation of a Roy Orbison song; “It’s So Easy,” which was originally covered by Buddy Holly; and Warren Zevon’s “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.” And then it got nominated for all these Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance/Female for “Blue Bayou,” and won its art director, Kosh, a Grammy Award for Best Album Cover.
Simple Dreams has received a new coat of paint in celebration of its 40th Anniversary, featuring a newly remastered version, plus live songs taken from a 1980 concert performance. Who could forget Ronstadt’s stab at the Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice.” She and Dolly Parton also covered “I Never Will Marry,” a Top 10 hit on the Country charts. In addition to the remastering, the Expanded Edition has live recordings of “It’s So Easy,” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” and “Blue Bayou” from an HBO concert. It certainly ranks as a favorite of manager Peter Asher, who says in the liner notes that Ronstadt’s voice “affects me like no one else’s.” For anyone curious about the singer and her rocking past, Simple Dreams is the record to own.
~ Shawn Perry
