From fronting early Eagles to topping pop charts with bold ballads & rockers, Linda signals this hard left toward New Wave with Mad Love, but hires a known punker for credibility. How'd that go?🔬
Guys, this was a fantastic deep dive. I’m not really a huge LR fan, but I’ve always liked some of her songs. So when Dan picked the album in the great new @Andres Vital Records series, I made a mental note to finally give it a proper listen. Especially since it carried the “new wave” label.
Back in the early eighties, “new wave” became a catch-all term. Almost every rock and pop act tried something “new wave”, usually meaning a touch more electronics and a slightly edgier production than before.
What always fascinates me, as you probably know by now, is how the artist themselves viewed it at the time. Was it a conscious creative choice? Or was it more of a label imposed by critics or the record company as a marketing angle?
That’s why your collaboration was so illuminating. I love reading these kinds of stories that shed light on the why, they bring you closer to the artist, the album, and the songs. Mission accomplished!
Thanks, Pe! I love when the 'Stack pulls together, and inspires to create more! Dan and I don't get together without Andy's "Vital Records," and Dan was gracious enough to wax wise on "Mad Love" for our collab!
As for your third paragraph, Pe, that's always an "I wanna know!" thing for me, too! Remembering the tone/tenor of the day, I suspect, at times (and for some, not all artists), a label might have a powwow with management and/or artist about "see what you can do to give us something we can promote as new wave"---the promo machine was working overtime, late-'70s, anyway!
They also had a small array of promo pinback buttons, with "new wavey"-type "buck the system" sayings, like: "New Wave: Get behind it before it gets past you!" I've used that one to promote one of my articles on Notes! Shhhh. And, A&M produced a promo poster mocking rival Warner Bros act, Devo, with: "Are We Not Men? Who Cares?" Oh, those were the days, Pe!
I hadn’t come across that compilation before. They really should’ve called it This Ain’t No Wave 😁 I’ll be doing an episode on No Wave in the future and that might be the perfect segue into our Punk/Disco discussion.
Thanks! It was really fun to dive into one of my favorite albums. I think some may not even view it as particularly "new wave" now but for Ronstadt at the time the sound was different enough and more seemingly contemporary than her previous records.
I thought I had commented on this already, but apparently not! Glad it reappeared in my stream...For an article filled with Golds and Goldenbergs, I had to apply the missing part of that triptych with a Goldberg!
Also, another personal connection to this piece is that the music writer mentioned at the top, Jason Elias, was a friend of mine back in high school (and a bit in college). He was even in the very first band I ever played in, a few weeks after acquiring my first set of congas! I didn't know his rock journalist pedigree, so this was cool to learn!
I didn't know all that stuff about Cretones, so that was fun to learn. Especially the part about how the connection to working with Ronstadt was through Linda's dog walker! Maybe my next musical project will manifest via my dog walking business!
Thanks, Steve.....glad you caught us! Oh, believe me, I so thought about you when writing this! However much a birthright goy I may be, I'm an "honorary Jew"--my folks' best friends were a Jewish couple across the street, with daughters exactly my bro's age and mine, so we were constant, daily-playing friends, elementary-school age! I like to say The Marks were the Mertzes to my folks' Ricardos ("I Love Lucy" reference)! That's how good a friends they all were....lots of Pinochle games with smoking, drinking, and jazz records accompanying marked the kidhoods for my bro and I (just the parents would participate, of course)!
Plus, they were happy to share their holidays and traditions with us all, like the scroll on the door frame (I can say it, but I'm not about to try to spell it!), the yamulkah, Seder dinners, and some of the music! And, my bro married a Jewish gal!! So, I belong, Boobie (there....see? I've even seen a couple Streisand movies, too)!😉
Of course, I thought of you, too, when the dog-walking angle came up! This woulda been a remarkably serendipitous piece had YOU been the one collabbing on it! So many hooks and tags all pointing to/at you! I saw your Elias mention and research results....that's not an uncommon name, so certainly understandable!
Actually, I didn't know much about The Cretones, either, even as they existed during the time I was punkin' and new wavin', late-'70s and all! Thanks again, Steve!
Actually - I just looked up Jason Elias on allmusic.com and it's a different Jason Elias! Dang - the one I went to school with also writes about music. I probably should have done my research...
Guys… this was amazing!! First off, thanks a lot for the shout-out, link and kind words. I’m just incredibly happy that my chat with Dan in the series helped inspire this collaboration between you two.
I’m yet to listen to this album in full but it was fantastic to find out more about how it all came about, the behind-the-scenes magic Brad knows so well how to work, the serendipity element of it all, and Dan’s insights as well as his standout tracks. What he said about Linda not changing the gender in songs, which I didn’t know, was particularly interesting.
She’s clearly got the chops and I do love myself a bit of new wave so… this record sounds promising!
Thanks so much, Andy! Your first paragraph, and this collab with Dan just made me realize: Your "Vital Records" series will be like "grocery-shopping" for me....The sheer number of participants you've already got for the series times 3?!?! A collab cornucopia of aural delights await, methinks! I can't wait to see what albums your future guests bring with them!
When this album dropped (end of Feb '80), I had just landed in L.A. from Houston a month before, and was already on the job at Music Plus in Glendale (The San Fernando Valley).
We viewed the album with a little side-eye, as it appeared to be a little gratuitous on Linda's part...kinda "copping" this whole new wave/punk thing, like so many "unlikely" rock'n'pop artists (as we've discovered through Pe's marvelous work, and others') quietly (and loudly, in some cases) slid their way onto the disco dance floor, and tried fervently to make it look organic and natural (looking at you, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, KISS, and many others)!
This is on the album's Wiki, and I had considered including it, but, I think we got the drift, above, anyway (at least in the visuals): "The cover art's brash, hot pink and black ransom-note graphics and the singer’s new spiky, short-cropped hairstyle reinforced Mad Love’s claim to New Wave status." I mean, holy art direction, Batman! That's the exact same colour pallet as The Ramones' late-1977 "Rocket to Russia" album.....colours of pink, white, and black)!👉https://www.discogs.com/release/1292101-Ramones-Rocket-To-Russia And, many other new wave/punk artists used those hues, as well!
You'll notice that on my business card and FR&B front page, I had no problem adding the pink to the card's print.....why, just look at your coffee mug (after you add something hot)!😘
Plus, we at the record store, were really anxious to hear her Elvis covers! I think, then, as I remember, we way-too-hip-for-the-room record purveyors probably thought she was being far too pretentious for US to take her seriously. But, again, those are boots-on-the-ground, of the time reflections (I was 24).
Now, I appreciate it far more, and think she did a fine job molding her sound into something that could be more palatable for the time (her song choice and band members were key), however much some of her fans may have needed to "adjust" their preconceptions of her to "fit" "New Linda" into their sensibilities.......and record collections!
Thank you, Brad, for such detailed explanation and sharing your insights. It's always fascinating to hear "what was going on", not just behind the scenes during the album's creation and recording, as you did here in the article, but also, on the ground at record stores and in record collector/music circles at the time. I agree that in many cases, with the benefit of hindsight, we can add nuance and/or verbalise things we felt but couldn't, at the time, find the right words for.
Great job putting all of this together Brad! Hope everyone enjoys this deep dive!
You gave me a lot to work with, my buddy, my friend, Frank's Pal!😉I love connecting shared 🎵-loves with our fellow #MusicStackers! May there be more!
I'm so glad. I thought it came out really well!
Guys, this was a fantastic deep dive. I’m not really a huge LR fan, but I’ve always liked some of her songs. So when Dan picked the album in the great new @Andres Vital Records series, I made a mental note to finally give it a proper listen. Especially since it carried the “new wave” label.
Back in the early eighties, “new wave” became a catch-all term. Almost every rock and pop act tried something “new wave”, usually meaning a touch more electronics and a slightly edgier production than before.
What always fascinates me, as you probably know by now, is how the artist themselves viewed it at the time. Was it a conscious creative choice? Or was it more of a label imposed by critics or the record company as a marketing angle?
That’s why your collaboration was so illuminating. I love reading these kinds of stories that shed light on the why, they bring you closer to the artist, the album, and the songs. Mission accomplished!
Thanks, Pe! I love when the 'Stack pulls together, and inspires to create more! Dan and I don't get together without Andy's "Vital Records," and Dan was gracious enough to wax wise on "Mad Love" for our collab!
As for your third paragraph, Pe, that's always an "I wanna know!" thing for me, too! Remembering the tone/tenor of the day, I suspect, at times (and for some, not all artists), a label might have a powwow with management and/or artist about "see what you can do to give us something we can promote as new wave"---the promo machine was working overtime, late-'70s, anyway!
A&M Records put out a clear vinyl (or was it spotted?) compilation called "No Wave" in about '78. https://www.discogs.com/master/220949-Various-No-Wave
They also had a small array of promo pinback buttons, with "new wavey"-type "buck the system" sayings, like: "New Wave: Get behind it before it gets past you!" I've used that one to promote one of my articles on Notes! Shhhh. And, A&M produced a promo poster mocking rival Warner Bros act, Devo, with: "Are We Not Men? Who Cares?" Oh, those were the days, Pe!
Thanks again, my good man!
I hadn’t come across that compilation before. They really should’ve called it This Ain’t No Wave 😁 I’ll be doing an episode on No Wave in the future and that might be the perfect segue into our Punk/Disco discussion.
Punk’n’Disco….bring it on, yo!
🎃Punkin 💿Disco🤣💃
Thanks! It was really fun to dive into one of my favorite albums. I think some may not even view it as particularly "new wave" now but for Ronstadt at the time the sound was different enough and more seemingly contemporary than her previous records.
Thanks for your kind remarks!
I thought I had commented on this already, but apparently not! Glad it reappeared in my stream...For an article filled with Golds and Goldenbergs, I had to apply the missing part of that triptych with a Goldberg!
Also, another personal connection to this piece is that the music writer mentioned at the top, Jason Elias, was a friend of mine back in high school (and a bit in college). He was even in the very first band I ever played in, a few weeks after acquiring my first set of congas! I didn't know his rock journalist pedigree, so this was cool to learn!
I didn't know all that stuff about Cretones, so that was fun to learn. Especially the part about how the connection to working with Ronstadt was through Linda's dog walker! Maybe my next musical project will manifest via my dog walking business!
Great fun, guys!
Thanks, Steve.....glad you caught us! Oh, believe me, I so thought about you when writing this! However much a birthright goy I may be, I'm an "honorary Jew"--my folks' best friends were a Jewish couple across the street, with daughters exactly my bro's age and mine, so we were constant, daily-playing friends, elementary-school age! I like to say The Marks were the Mertzes to my folks' Ricardos ("I Love Lucy" reference)! That's how good a friends they all were....lots of Pinochle games with smoking, drinking, and jazz records accompanying marked the kidhoods for my bro and I (just the parents would participate, of course)!
Plus, they were happy to share their holidays and traditions with us all, like the scroll on the door frame (I can say it, but I'm not about to try to spell it!), the yamulkah, Seder dinners, and some of the music! And, my bro married a Jewish gal!! So, I belong, Boobie (there....see? I've even seen a couple Streisand movies, too)!😉
Of course, I thought of you, too, when the dog-walking angle came up! This woulda been a remarkably serendipitous piece had YOU been the one collabbing on it! So many hooks and tags all pointing to/at you! I saw your Elias mention and research results....that's not an uncommon name, so certainly understandable!
Actually, I didn't know much about The Cretones, either, even as they existed during the time I was punkin' and new wavin', late-'70s and all! Thanks again, Steve!
Actually - I just looked up Jason Elias on allmusic.com and it's a different Jason Elias! Dang - the one I went to school with also writes about music. I probably should have done my research...
Guys… this was amazing!! First off, thanks a lot for the shout-out, link and kind words. I’m just incredibly happy that my chat with Dan in the series helped inspire this collaboration between you two.
I’m yet to listen to this album in full but it was fantastic to find out more about how it all came about, the behind-the-scenes magic Brad knows so well how to work, the serendipity element of it all, and Dan’s insights as well as his standout tracks. What he said about Linda not changing the gender in songs, which I didn’t know, was particularly interesting.
She’s clearly got the chops and I do love myself a bit of new wave so… this record sounds promising!
Fantastic work, guys!!
Thanks Andres! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this album!
Thanks so much, Andy! Your first paragraph, and this collab with Dan just made me realize: Your "Vital Records" series will be like "grocery-shopping" for me....The sheer number of participants you've already got for the series times 3?!?! A collab cornucopia of aural delights await, methinks! I can't wait to see what albums your future guests bring with them!
When this album dropped (end of Feb '80), I had just landed in L.A. from Houston a month before, and was already on the job at Music Plus in Glendale (The San Fernando Valley).
We viewed the album with a little side-eye, as it appeared to be a little gratuitous on Linda's part...kinda "copping" this whole new wave/punk thing, like so many "unlikely" rock'n'pop artists (as we've discovered through Pe's marvelous work, and others') quietly (and loudly, in some cases) slid their way onto the disco dance floor, and tried fervently to make it look organic and natural (looking at you, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, KISS, and many others)!
This is on the album's Wiki, and I had considered including it, but, I think we got the drift, above, anyway (at least in the visuals): "The cover art's brash, hot pink and black ransom-note graphics and the singer’s new spiky, short-cropped hairstyle reinforced Mad Love’s claim to New Wave status." I mean, holy art direction, Batman! That's the exact same colour pallet as The Ramones' late-1977 "Rocket to Russia" album.....colours of pink, white, and black)!👉https://www.discogs.com/release/1292101-Ramones-Rocket-To-Russia And, many other new wave/punk artists used those hues, as well!
You'll notice that on my business card and FR&B front page, I had no problem adding the pink to the card's print.....why, just look at your coffee mug (after you add something hot)!😘
Plus, we at the record store, were really anxious to hear her Elvis covers! I think, then, as I remember, we way-too-hip-for-the-room record purveyors probably thought she was being far too pretentious for US to take her seriously. But, again, those are boots-on-the-ground, of the time reflections (I was 24).
Now, I appreciate it far more, and think she did a fine job molding her sound into something that could be more palatable for the time (her song choice and band members were key), however much some of her fans may have needed to "adjust" their preconceptions of her to "fit" "New Linda" into their sensibilities.......and record collections!
🤴Prince Andy roolz, no lie!
Thank you, Brad, for such detailed explanation and sharing your insights. It's always fascinating to hear "what was going on", not just behind the scenes during the album's creation and recording, as you did here in the article, but also, on the ground at record stores and in record collector/music circles at the time. I agree that in many cases, with the benefit of hindsight, we can add nuance and/or verbalise things we felt but couldn't, at the time, find the right words for.
I rule? Wow, thanks, but you rock!! 🤘🏻
💪😁👍💿