The “paralysing” album Linda Ronstadt could never stop playing
Music is subjective, sure. It all comes down to personal opinions and tastes; however, it hits a certain point where surely something just becomes a fact. If enough idols scream the praise and discuss the impact of one classic album, surely that record becomes a thing of unarguable importance? Linda Ronstadt would say so.
In these instances, where artists are talking about the impact of an album, or the record that changed everything for them, there are certain titles that come up time and time again. There is a class of records that exists on a whole other plane. They go beyond simply being a good album and become something else entirely as the knock-on effect of the inspiration provided by it becomes insurmountable.
For artists in the ‘60s and ‘70s, especially, they were watching it all happen in real time. They saw so many of these albums being released and got to witness their impact first-hand. Even if they weren’t chart toppers, they were still releases that everyone could feel the influence of as music seemed to twist and change in its image.
One of those albums has to be The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, and Ronstadt was a fan. “I bought Pet Sounds in 1970 and listened to it unendingly,” she said as the Beach Boys album was on repeat in her life. It inspired her greatly and left her in awe, and she’s not the only one.
“I figure no one is educated musically ’til they’ve heard Pet Sounds,” Paul McCartney said of the record. Randy Newman said, “Pet Sounds is a remarkable achievement.” Elton John laid on the praise too, saying, “Pet Sounds is a landmark album. For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement.”
It’s tough to think of an album quite as impactful as that 1966 release that truly cemented Brian Wilson’s position as a leader and a genius, even. It was an album that changed everything, even inspiring The Beatles’ turn towards the trippy, sending the world of counterculture spiralling further into psychedelica.
However, artistic worth and charts don’t always match up, and Pet Sounds wasn’t really a chart topper. But still, Ronstadt could always feel its popularity and influence around her. “Those songs were very available on the radio. They say the record wasn’t successful at the time, but I heard many of those songs on the radio when it came out, ‘God Only Knows’, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, ‘Caroline No’ and ‘Sloop John B.’ I mean, all those songs were hits,” she said.
But her favourite was ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)’, which she said “has one of the most beautiful arcs of a melody I’ve ever heard. How can you sing about not talking, about silence? It’s paralysing and galvanising at the same time.”
Of Wilson, Ronstadt said wasn’t shy about packing the praise onto his work. “I don’t think there’s anyone his equal in popular music for this fifty years,” she said, seeing him as a true god amongst the scene.
