Linda ronstadt simple dreams autobiography
Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir
September 5, 2016
She has a unique legacy of music spanning rock, Broadway, traditional American, opera, children’s and Mexican songs. The book is about that music - not about Linda Ronstadt. While it says this in the title, I think fans will be disappointed; it is a very withholding memoir.
The content includes snippets about phrasing, vocal range, the sound of vowels, the technology, arrangements, rehearsals and choice of material. As close to anything personal are the pages in the beginning about her family and at the end about her father’s death (leaving the reader to speculate about the one sentence on her mother’s death).
The narrative is arranged in short vignettes. The later chapters have more substance than those on her early career, but all are sketchy. There is a lot of name dropping throughout.
Could it be so simple? She moved to LA and after one (two?) open mike performance(s) at the Troubadour was asked to open for Odetta… and then was offered a recording contract?
Some chapters have interesting caveats such as what happens at the first get together of a Broadway cast or that country record producers use focus groups to determine whether the fans like happy or sad songs.
In the Epilogue, teenage children magically appear.
A good example of how withholding this book is the topic of why Ronstadt has retired. I have read that she can no longer sing due to Parkinson’s. In the book she merely refers to voice deterioration after 50. If Parkinson’s is an unsubstantiated rumor, it is widespread enough that it should have been addressed. While it may be overlooked that a “musical memoir” ignores an artist’s children, I do think fans who have supported Ronstadt all these years deserve fuller explanation for her early retirement.
While stingy about her life, for a book this size, Ronstadt is generous with photographs. They represent most phases of her career. The book has a good Index and a Discography.
Since Ronstadt has done little song writing, she has no royalties. I’ve read that this was the motivation for writing this book. While this might satisfy Ronstadt’s need, it will not meet the desires of her fans. Perhaps she is holding back for volume 2 or merely hoping this will suffice. When I finished, I looked at the cover photo and it seemed to coyly say, like a kid with their technically completed homework, “Can I go out now?”
I’m not sure how to rate this, because it is genuine (no ghostwriter) but its limited writing on its limited scope makes it a limited book.
She has a unique legacy of music spanning rock, Broadway, traditional American, opera, children’s and Mexican songs. The book is about that music - not about Linda Ronstadt. While it says this in the title, I think fans will be disappointed; it is a very withholding memoir.
The content includes snippets about phrasing, vocal range, the sound of vowels, the technology, arrangements, rehearsals and choice of material. As close to anything personal are the pages in the beginning about her family and at the end about her father’s death (leaving the reader to speculate about the one sentence on her mother’s death).
The narrative is arranged in short vignettes. The later chapters have more substance than those on her early career, but all are sketchy. There is a lot of name dropping throughout.
Could it be so simple? She moved to LA and after one (two?) open mike performance(s) at the Troubadour was asked to open for Odetta… and then was offered a recording contract?
Some chapters have interesting caveats such as what happens at the first get together of a Broadway cast or that country record producers use focus groups to determine whether the fans like happy or sad songs.
In the Epilogue, teenage children magically appear.
A good example of how withholding this book is the topic of why Ronstadt has retired. I have read that she can no longer sing due to Parkinson’s. In the book she merely refers to voice deterioration after 50. If Parkinson’s is an unsubstantiated rumor, it is widespread enough that it should have been addressed. While it may be overlooked that a “musical memoir” ignores an artist’s children, I do think fans who have supported Ronstadt all these years deserve fuller explanation for her early retirement.
While stingy about her life, for a book this size, Ronstadt is generous with photographs. They represent most phases of her career. The book has a good Index and a Discography.
Since Ronstadt has done little song writing, she has no royalties. I’ve read that this was the motivation for writing this book. While this might satisfy Ronstadt’s need, it will not meet the desires of her fans. Perhaps she is holding back for volume 2 or merely hoping this will suffice. When I finished, I looked at the cover photo and it seemed to coyly say, like a kid with their technically completed homework, “Can I go out now?”
I’m not sure how to rate this, because it is genuine (no ghostwriter) but its limited writing on its limited scope makes it a limited book.