Wikipedia

Prisoner in Disguise

Prisoner In Disguise(1975) isLinda Ronstadt's sixth soloLPrelease and her second for the labelAsylum Records.It followed Ronstadt's multi-platinum breakthrough album,Heart Like a Wheel,which became her first number one album on the USBillboard 200album chart in early 1975.

Prisoner In Disguise
Studio albumby
Linda Ronstadt
ReleasedSeptember 15, 1975
RecordedFebruary–June 1975
StudioSound Factory(Los Angeles)
GenreRock,country rock
Length35:57
LabelAsylum,Rhino
ProducerPeter Asher
Linda Ronstadtchronology
Heart Like a Wheel
(1974) 		Prisoner In Disguise
(1975) 		Hasten Down the Wind
(1976)
SinglesfromPrisoner in Disguise
  1. "Love Is a Rose"
    Released: August 19, 1975 (Charted on September 6)
  2. "Heat Wave"
    Released: September 2, 1975 (Charted on September 20)
  3. "Tracks of My Tears"
    Released: December 2, 1975 (Charted on December 20)

History

edit

Ronstadt chose songs from friends and songwriters such asJames Taylor,Lowell GeorgeofLittle Feat,JD SoutherandAnna McGarrigleas well as one written and originally recorded byJimmy Cliffand an interpretation ofDolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You".The album features stringarrangementsbyDavid Campbell.Among the guest musicians,Emmylou Harrisjoined Ronstadt on the standard "The Sweetest Gift".

The original vinyl album release was agatefolddesign, and the center section featured a photo of various sheets with written lyrics to the songs, most of which were in the original songwriters' own handwriting.

Trisha YearwoodcitedPrisoner in Disguiseas an inspiration, bringing the album to her producer at the start of her career saying, “This is the kind of music that I want to make."[1]

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB[3]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Steve Simels inStereo Review's December 1975 issue described Ronstadt's singing onParton's "I Will Always Love You"as" absolutely gorgeous, full-bodied and intense ".[6]The album peaked on theBillboardalbum chart at #4.[7]It also reached #2 on thecountryalbum chart,[8]and has been certifiedPlatinumby theRecording Industry Association of America.

"Heat Wave", a rockifiedre-makeof the 1963 hit covered byMartha and the Vandellas,peaked at #5 on theBillboardHot 100singles chart. ItsB-side,a countrified version ofNeil Young's "Love Is A Rose", generated its own airplay and peaked at #5 on theHot Country Songschart.[9]

The double-sided hits "Tracks Of My Tears", are-makeof a 1965 hit bythe Miracles,and "The Sweetest Gift", an older country standard then most recently recorded by theSeldom Scene,[10]also made it to the Country singles chart, peaking at #11 and #12 respectively in early 1976. "Tracks" also peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on theadult contemporarysongs chart. An album track composed byLowell George,"Roll Um Easy", was very popular on the burgeoning AOR (album-oriented rock) format.

Track listing

edit
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Love Is a Rose"Neil Young2:46
2."Hey Mister, That's Me Up on the Jukebox"James Taylor3:56
3."Roll Um Easy" (featuringLowell Georgeon slide guitar)Lowell George2:58
4."Tracks of My Tears"Warren "Pete" Moore,William "Smokey" Robinson Jr.,Marvin Tarplin3:12
5."Prisoner in Disguise" (featuringJD Southeron harmony vocals)JD Souther3:54
6."Heat Wave"Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Eddie Holland2:46
7."Many Rivers to Cross"Jimmy Cliff4:05
8."The Sweetest Gift" (featuringEmmylou Harrison harmony vocals)James B. Coats3:00
9."You Tell Me That I'm Falling Down" (featuringMaria Muldauron harmony vocals &James Tayloron acoustic guitar)Carol S. Holland,Anna McGarrigle3:17
10."I Will Always Love You"Dolly Parton3:00
11."Silver Blue" (featuringJD Southeron harmony vocals)JD Souther3:03
Total length:35:57

Personnel

edit

Production

edit

Charts

edit
Chart (1975–1976) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 76
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 13
USBillboard200[13] 4

Certifications

edit
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Platinum 1,000,000^

^Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

edit
Release history and formats forPrisoner in Disguise
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America September 15, 1975
  • LP
  • cassette
 Asylum Records [15]

References

edit
  1. ^"100 Greatest Women / #8 Trisha Yearwood".CountryUniverse.net. 24 June 2008.Retrieved2012-12-15.
  2. ^Allmusic review
  3. ^Christgau, Robert(1981)."Consumer Guide '70s: R".Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies.Ticknor & Fields.ISBN089919026X.RetrievedMarch 12,2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^"Prisoner in Disguise".Rolling Stone.30 September 1975.
  5. ^Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004).The Rolling Stone Album Guide.New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p.701.ISBN0-7432-0169-8.rolling stone linda ronstadt album guide.
  6. ^"Album Review / Linda Ronstadt- Prisoner in Disguise".Ronstadt-linda.com.Retrieved2012-03-06.
  7. ^"Linda Ronstadt Top Pop Albums".Ronstadt-linda.com. 1946-07-15.Retrieved2012-03-06.
  8. ^"Prisoner in Disguise > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums".Allmusic.Retrieved2012-03-05.
  9. ^"Linda Ronstadt Top Country Singles".Ronstadt-linda.com.Retrieved2012-03-06.
  10. ^"Act Two".Allmusic.Retrieved2012-03-05.
  11. ^Kent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 258.ISBN0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^"Top RPM Albums: Issue 4050a".RPM.Library and Archives Canada.Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  13. ^"Linda Ronstadt Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  14. ^"American album certifications – Linda Ronstadt – Prisoner in Disguise".Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. ^Ronstadt, Linda (September 15, 1975). "Prisoner in Disguise(Liner Notes) ".Asylum Records.7E-1045 (LP); TC-51045 (Cassette).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prisoner_in_Disguise&oldid=1263622828"