Trying to move on from “Lonely Runs Both Ways” this morning, I flipped through the CD binder in my car and chose “Cry Like A Rainstorm” by Linda Ronstadt. I have no idea why I like this album. Joy absolutely cannot stand it.
When you listen to CLAR, you can tell right away that it’s from the 80’s. It just has that sound to it. The album is best known for “Don’t Know Much”, a duet with Linda and Aaron Neville. Even though that’s the best known song, there are quite a few others that I like much better, particularly “Still Within The Sound Of My Voice”, “Cry Like A Rainstorm”, “All My Life”, and “Shattered”.
I will admit that CLAR is not a shining example of lyrical prowess. With lines like, “I need you like a fly needs a plane, I need you like a ball needs a game, I need you like a pool needs a cue”, it isn’t going to win any songwriting awards. However, this is the last album where Linda’s voice still really hits the mark (in my opinion at least, though there are a few songs on “Feels Like Home” where she still pulls it off). She’s backed by an orchestra and choir for most of the album and on certain songs everything somehow reaches near perfection (in that 80’s power ballad, guilty pleasure sort of way).
You really need to add a new section labeled “Brad’s guilty pleasures”… toss this, the duck song and the screeching banshee song under that category. Alternately, you can call it “Things I should be shot for admitting I like.”
Comment by Carrie — July 28, 2005 @ 11:25 pm