a painfully blown attempt at straightforward rock 'n' roll

With Linda Ronstadt's 1980 album "Mad Love", she very much went in a straightforward rock 'n' roll direction that did away with any trace of country influence. The album credits inform us that the album was recorded from October 24th, 1979 through January 10th, 1980. However, it really sounds like the kind of album that gets knocked out in a couple day-long sessions. Peter Asher once again handled the production duties, & with musicians such as Russell Kunkel (drums), Bob Glaub (bass), & Bill Payne (keyboards) playing on track after track, you can rest assured that you get excellent musical performances on here. However, the material is a huge problem. With this album containing 10 songs & running less than 32 minutes in the first place, there's really no margin for error, & track upon track is weak & rote. Also, although Linda's vocal abilities are clearly intact, her vocals here leave a lot to be desired--at times she gives an exhausting 'pouty teenage girl' treatment to the material, & other times she makes painfully forced attempts at sounding dramatic. All that said, this album is strikingly reminiscent of the debut album by Carole King's daughter Louise Goffin, who was in her teens at the time she made it--that album, entitled "Kid Blue", came out in 1979, was on the Elektra/ Asylum label just like "Mad Love" is, & features more than a few of the same musicians this album does. The "Kid Blue" album isn't bad overall, and although Goffin was at times obnoxious & amateurish on it, it was quite understandable considering her age at the time & the fact that it was her debut. On the other hand, for the veteran Ronstadt, who was 33 when this was recorded, to be sounding this way is quite shocking, & when you add to this the weak raw material, you end up with a heck of a disappointing album. The riffy title track does get the album off to an irresistibly fun start--it was written by guitarist Mark Goldenberg, another key player on this album. Unfortunately, his other two songwriting contributions include the rote rocker "Cost Of Love" (with annoying Ronstadt vocals), & "Justine" which is quite sluggish & exhausting. The hit "Hurt So Bad" is melodramatic, yet undeniably catchy, featuring great guitar work from Danny Kortchmar, as well as some impossible-to-resist tormented vocals from Ronstadt. The uptempo "How Do I Make You" does have some catchiness, but the slight lyrics about wanting attention from some guy, along with the repetitive chant of the title make it tiring. "I Can't Let Go" is one of those "you're no good for me but I love you anyway" songs, & it's slight, has overblown vocals, & has a Beatle-esque guitar line that gives the song a sugariness that makes it even more annoying. "Look Out For My Love", a Neil Young cover, is a dull ballad, & the power ballad-ish "Party Girl", written by Elvis Costello, is even worse, with its 'emotive' vocals & atrocious lyrics. "Girls Talk", another Costello tune, is really catchy & has a great Ronstadt vocal, but likewise, it's let down by the annoyingly whiny lyrics, & the heavy repetition of the title on the fade is eye-roll inducing. In the end, "Mad Love" is a blown attempt at making a great rock 'n' roll album, & it's a huge disappointment.

An "A" for ambition, a "D" for execution

I don't know of any pop singer in the last 30 years who has been as ambitious, and successfully so, as Linda Ronstadt. Time and again she has ventured out of her comfort zone to tackle an untried musical genre. "Mad Love" was her one and only attempt to infuse some of Pat Benetar's new wave energy into her own music.

What works on this album is that the songs are catchy, Linda's voice is powerful and mysterious and always Linda. What doesn't work is...the same things. Even at its corniest, new wave could be quirky, raw and unconventional. "Mad Love" is nothing more or less than a Linda Ronstadt country-rock-pop album with some fuzzy guitars. She still relies on songwriters like Neil Young and Elvis Costello (okay, he's got New Wave credentials, but she used his songs before), along with some 60's remakes and other less familiar but typically formulaic writers.

It's a little less pop and more rock than most of her previous albums, so longtime fans will probably enjoy it. But it wears thin, contributes nothing to new wave, and ultimately is overshadowed by the better collections that came before and after.

One note: I believe this album is responsible for Linda adding "Heat Wave" back into her live show. Until Mad Love, she maintained that "Heat Wave" took to much energy to pull off appropriately on stage. On the Mad Love tour, I must have decided that she couldn't support that attitude while touring with a new wave album.

Linda Lets Her Hair Down

I've always appreciated Linda Ronstadt for having a great voice, but I've also had some reservations about her sound being a little too stiff and over-produced. In this 1980 release, Ronstadt tried to let her hair down a little and perform in a more stripped down New Wave style. It would be an insult to true New Wave artists to say that this qualifies as a New Wave album, but I do think this is perhaps Ronstadt's most hard rocking effort.



Album highlights include moody renditions of Elvis Costello's Party Girls, Neil Young's Look Out for My Love, and the great soul ballad Hurt So Bad. How Do I Make You is a catchy and authentically New Wave number. If you like Ronstadt's voice but wish she would rock a little more than in most of her albums, this is probably the CD for you.