Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505090041
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID GERMAIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Though her latest album, ``Feels Like Home,'' has been compared to the straight-ahead, 1970s style that made her the cover girl for a decade of homey, West Coast pop, Ronstadt insists she's not backtracking to her commercial heyday.
``That's what a lot of people have said, and it's puzzling to me, because it really isn't like my earlier music,'' Ronstadt said in an interview.
She said she chose ``Feels Like Home'' for the name of the album simply because of the 10 song titles, that's the one that fit.
``We went down the list of titles, `The Waiting'? No. `Teardrops Will Fall'? No. `Feels Like Home' was the one that worked'' - and not because it signified any sort of musical return to form,'' she said.
The title song, in fact, is a new tune by long-time Ronstadt buddy Randy Newman. It's culled from his forthcoming musical adaptation of the story of Faust, who sold his soul to Satan.
To hear Ronstadt tell it, she practically had to strike a deal with the devil to get the album done. It started as a duet record with Emmylou Harris, who suggested they bring in their compadre Dolly Parton from their 1986 country album, ``Trio.''
The project grew into ``Trio''-revisited, then Parton begged off on the post-studio work, asking her partners to delay the album because she didn't have time to help mix and promote it.
With her last album already two years old, the 48-year-old Ronstadt felt she couldn't wait. So she scrapped Parton's vocals and sorted through the tracks to see what she could salvage. She kept some tracks, Harris took some cuts for an album of her own, and Ronstadt went back into the studio to piece things together.
``We actually made three different records,'' Ronstadt said. ``I felt like a pilot in his ship, drifting from port to port and people saying, `No, you can't dock here. Try Naples.' The record company was having a fit.''
Finally, Ronstadt had the thing mixed down to a solo album with Harris' background vocals included on half the songs.
Maybe it's the patchwork construction that makes ``Feels Like Home'' seem like a conscious return to the breezy, countrified pop that put Ronstadt at the top of the charts throughout the 1970s. It also doesn't hurt that it's structured like something that originated on '70s vinyl, a short record with 10 tunes mostly in the three- to four-minute range.
The album has a spare twangy sound that's unlike anything Ronstadt has done in the last decade, which she's spent exploring big band music with Nelson Riddle, heavily orchestrated pop and duets with Aaron Neville and folk songs from her Hispanic heritage.
``The real similarity to this album and my earlier ones is that I'm exploring traditional material again, but in English, not Spanish,'' Ronstadt said.
The album includes a lovely trio harmony by Ronstadt, Harris and singer Valerie Carter on Neil Young's ``After the Gold Rush.''
The album's other notable cover is a soft, mandolin-laced take on Tom Petty's ``The Waiting.''
``Tom Petty's my absolute favorite in rock 'n' roll. I like him much better than Bruce Springsteen, so there,'' Ronstadt said. ``Tom Petty's sort of imitating Roger McGuinn, who's imitating Bob Dylan, who's imitating Woody Guthrie. I felt like I was hooked up to this whole musical heritage.
``It gets very crowded in your mouth because all these people are standing around in there. You have to get way back where your molars are to get it right.''
Getting the vocals right rarely has been a problem for Ronstadt, whose lusty, high-octane voice has graced a string of hits in the 27 years since she was first heard from on the Stone Poneys' ``Different Drum.''
Ronstadt figures her voice has improved from those early days, along with her production and arranging skills. She produced ``Feels Like Home'' with long-time comrade George Massenberg.
``I do think my voice is better than it was,'' she said. ``I have way more control and way more technique and discipline. When I get stuck, I can pull out my technique,'' Ronstadt said. ``I have this history jukebox of sound, this warehouse of sound in my head. You drop in a nickel and I can usually spit out what I need.''
by CNB