Aug. 10, 1978 review: Linda Ronstadt in Memorial Auditorium

 


A sweetheart of the ‘70s that we miss terribly these days.

Aug. 10, 1978 

Ronstadt, Band

Revel at Height

Of Their Powers

        Singer Linda Ronstadt socked her ringing upper range to 9,000 fans in Memorial Auditorium Wednesday night and treated them to a preview of her newly-finished album, due out in September.

        For Ronstadt, who in previous years was sometimes uncertain or uneven, this was a singular show of strength and self-assurance. At last she seemed at home on stage and confident of her musical stature.

        Her backup quintet enhanced this impression at every turn. Guitarist Waddy Wachtel burned through solos like a demon and never missed a harmony. Don Gralnick’s piano provided a magic interlude that led to “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me.” And drummer Russ Kunkel was the very model of tasteful intensity.

        Ronstadt matched this crew for slightly more than an hour (plus two encores), belting out song after song at the top end of her alto, wherein lies the heart of her success and popularity.

        There was little restraint in her outfit either – a revealing top of black lace, satin gym shorts cinched with a thin rhinestone belt and black spike heels. Her big brown eyes and short curly hair rounded out the picture.

        The new songs included a Little Feat number, a Warren Zevon item about the radio, Smokey Robinson’s 1965 hit “Ooo Baby Baby,” Doris Troy’s 1963 “Just One Look,” the old Elvis Presley standard “Love Me Tender,” Elvis Costello’s “Alison” and Chuck Berry’s “Back in the U.S.A.,” which was her second encore.

        The sound system rendered her high notes forcefully, but the midrange was virtually inaudible unless the band backed down to a whisper. For Ronstadt, this was a minor handicap, but it crippled the opening set by Livingston Taylor.

        Taylor, the lanky younger brother of James Taylor, is a fine singer-songwriter who’s eager to kindle his comeback via his first new album since 1973, “Three-Way Mirror.” It’s hard to say how much this night advanced his hopes.

        The lack of a sound check for his quartet and the weird response of the microphone conspired to muffle the potential charm of songs like “L.A. Serenade” and “Going Round One More Time.” He fared better in the Aud all by himself opening for Jethro Tull many moons ago.

        Another thing missing was the much-touted “concert bowl” arrangement. The crowd of mostly couples filled all the available seats except the oranges and the stage sat in its usual spot with the screen partition hanging idly behind it.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Linda Ronstadt in New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Aug. 16, 1978.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: By the end of 1978, Linda Ronstadt had become the highest-paid woman in rock and that album she released in September, "Living in the USA," shipped double-platinum, the first LP by any artist to do that. Her rendition of the Smokey Robinson song was a hit single.

These days Linda Ronstadt has homes in San Francisco and Tucson. She no longer sings, though. Her voice has been squelched by an awful disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy, which resembles Parkinson's disease.

Nothing on setlist.fm about this Memorial Auditorium date. In fact, the website says the show was at the Dome Arena in Rochester. At any rate, here’s what she did the previous night at the Providence, R.I. Civic Center:

All That You Dream (Little Feat cover)

Blue Bayou (Roy Orbison cover)

When Will I Be Loved (Everly Brothers cover)

Ooo Baby Baby (The Miracles cover)

Willin' (Little Feat cover)

Alison (Elvis Costello cover)

That'll Be the Day (Crickets cover)

Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley cover)

Just One Look (Doris Troy cover)

Desperado (Eagles cover)

Mohammed's Radio (Warren Zevon cover)

It's So Easy (Crickets cover)

Someone to Lay Down Beside Me (Karla Bonoff cover)

Poor Poor Pitiful Me (Warren Zevon cover)

Tumbling Dice (Rolling Stones cover)

You're No Good (Dee Dee Warwick cover)

Sorrow Lives Here

Back in the U.S.A. (Chuck Berry cover)

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