Linda Ronstadt – The ’70s Collection (2014)

It's hard to consider a Linda Ronstadt best-of without the inclusion of her first single with the Stone Poneys back in 1968, "Different Drum," written by Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, but, since it's not here, we'll have to. This Warner Platinum collection does have plenty for both the novice and the seasoned listener, including her covers of the Eagles "Desperado," and Warren Zevon's "Poor Poor Pitiful Me," and of course, Roy Orbison's "Blue Bayou." There are other things missing as well, but that has more to do with an individual's preference more than with a well-rounded portrait of the diversity and range of hits in Ronstadt's career. These exist simply in a wide range of tracks from Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day," to the glorious Motown nugget "Heat Wave" (Martha Reeves & the Vandellas struck gold with it back in 1966), or the lilting "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me." The simple fact that Ronstadt could take songs that were bona fide hits with supposedly definitive versions and make them her own is a testament written in stone to her wide-ranging abilities as an interpretive vocalist. Recommended.