Heart Like a Wheel
| Heart Like a Wheel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Linda Ronstadt | ||||
| Released | November 1974 | |||
| Recorded | June–September 1974 | |||
| Genre | Rock, country rock | |||
| Length | 32:19 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Peter Asher | |||
| Linda Ronstadt chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Heart Like a Wheel | ||||
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Heart Like a Wheel is a Grammy Award-winning album by Linda Ronstadt. It is her fifth solo album and is regarded by some as her breakthrough recording. It was released in November 1974 and was her last studio project for Capitol Records.
Recording
The album was released in 1974, on Capitol Records, and was co-produced by Peter Asher and Andrew Gold.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
| Robert Christgau | A-[2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
Reception
The album spent four weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart in early 1975. The follow-up single release, a version of the Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved," spent two weeks at number 2 on the Hot 100 in June 1975 and reached number 1 on the Cash Box Pop singles chart and on the Hot Country Songs chart. Buddy Holly & the Crickets song, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", also appeared on the Pop, Adult Contemporary and Country charts.[4] An Allmusic writer described it as "a landmark of '70s mainstream pop/rock."[1]
Stephen Holden's 1975 review Rolling Stone described the title track as "a masterpiece of writing and arrangement" and lauded the album's expansive repertoire, production and song selection.[5] The album's cover of Hank Williams's "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)," peaked at number 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.[6]
Heart Like a Wheel spent 51 weeks on the album chart[7] and Billboard magazine picked Ronstadt as top female pop artist of the year. An Allmusic writer described it as "a landmark of '70s mainstream pop/rock."[1]
In 1976 the album won 11 Grammy Awards including Best Country Vocal Performance Female, Best Pop Vocal Performance Female. The album was also nominated for Album Of The Year.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Heart Like a Wheel at number 164 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[8]
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "You're No Good" | Clint Ballard, Jr. | 3:44 |
| 2. | "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" | Paul Anka | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Faithless Love" | J. D. Souther | 3:15 |
| 4. | "The Dark End of the Street" | Chips Moman, Dan Penn | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Heart Like a Wheel" | Anna McGarrigle | 3:10 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "When Will I Be Loved" | Phil Everly | 2:04 |
| 2. | "Willin'" | Lowell George | 3:02 |
| 3. | "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" | Hank Williams | 2:45 |
| 4. | "Keep Me from Blowing Away" | Paul Craft | 3:10 |
| 5. | "You Can Close Your Eyes" | James Taylor | 3:09 |
Personnel
- Linda Ronstadt – lead and background vocals
- Andrew Gold – guitar, percussion, piano, drums, keyboards, electric piano, tambourine, ukulele, background vocals
- Peter Asher – guitar, percussion, background vocals, cowbell
- Ed Black – guitar
- John Boylan – guitar
- David Campbell – viola, string arrangements
- Paul Craft – guitar
- Kenny Edwards – bass, background vocals
- Chris Ethridge – bass
- Jimmie Fadden – harmonica
- Richard Feves – bass
- Glenn Frey – guitar
- Emory Gordy – bass
- Tom Guidera – bass
- Emmylou Harris – harmony vocals
- Don Henley – drums, background vocals
- Dennis Karmazyn – cello
- Sneaky Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar
- Russ Kunkel – drums
- Lloyd Myers – drums
- David Lindley – fiddle
- Cissy Houston – background vocals
- Sherlie Matthews – background vocals
- Maria Muldaur – background vocals
- Clydie King – background vocals
- Wendy Waldman – background vocals
- Joyce Nesbitt – background vocals
- Herb Pedersen – banjo, background vocals
- Danny Pendleton – pedal steel guitar
- Dennis St. John – drums
- Timothy B. Schmit – bass
- J. D. Souther – guitar, lead and background vocals
- John Starling – guitar
- Bob Warford – guitar
- Gregory Rose - string arrangements
Production notes:
- Peter Asher – producer
- Gregory Rose – conductor, string arrangements
- George Massenburg – engineer
- Peter Kelsey – engineer
- Peter Swettenham – engineer
- John Haeny – engineer
- David Hassinger – engineer, mixing
- Val Garay – engineer, mixing
- Dennis Ferrante – engineer
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Rod Dyer – design
- Leandro Correa – photography
- Eve Babitz – photography
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Billboard 200 | 1[9] |
Reissues
| Year | Label | Edition |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Audio Fidelity | 24 Karat Gold HDCD |
References
- 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Heart Like a Wheel at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2005.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Linda Ronstadt > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 16 April 2006.
- ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "Linda Ronstadt". The Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 701–702. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ↑ Linda Ronstadt > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2006.
- ↑ Holden, Stephen (January 16, 1975). "Linda Ronstadt Heart Like a Wheel > Album Review". Rolling Stone (178). Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2006.
- ↑ "Country Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (April 1, 2007). Joel Whitburn presents The Billboard Albums (6th ed.). ISBN 978-0-89820-166-6. Cited in "Linda Ronstadt Top Pop Albums". http://www.ronstadt-linda.com. Retrieved 28 July 2006. External link in
|work=(help) - ↑ Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "164 | Heart Like a Wheel - Linda Ronstadt". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. Retrieved 11 February 2005.
- ↑ Heart Like a Wheel - Linda Ronstadt > Charts & Awards > Billboard Album at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
External links
- Heart Like a Wheel at Myspace (streamed copy where licensed)
- Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company The Radio3Net reference generates a bad gateway error and is not accessible Juy 2016
| Preceded by Fire by Ohio Players |
Billboard 200 number-one album February 15–21, 1975 |
Succeeded by AWB by Average White Band |
