Tell Him I Said Hello - Linda Ronstadt, Canning, Jack J.
Never Will I Marry - Linda Ronstadt, Loesser, Frank
Cry Me a River - Linda Ronstadt, Hamilton, Arthur
Hummin' to Myself - Linda Ronstadt, Fain, Sammy
Miss Otis Regrets - Linda Ronstadt, Porter, Cole
I Fall in Love Too Easily - Linda Ronstadt, Cahn, Sammy
Blue Prelude - Linda Ronstadt, Bishop, Joe [1]
Day Dream - Linda Ronstadt, Ellington, Duke
I've Never Been in Love Before - Linda Ronstadt, Loesser, Frank
Get Out of Town - Linda Ronstadt, Porter, Cole
I'll Be Seeing You - Linda Ronstadt, Fain, Sammy
What is it about erstwhile '60s rock stars nearing 60 that draws them to standards? Just as Rod Stewart has mined the works of Styne & Cahn and Cole Porter for his bankable (if heavy-handed) Great American Songbook ser... more »ies, so, too, has Linda Ronstadt turned to pop classics in the autumn of her career. Of course, Ronstadt has been here before, having enlisted Nelson Riddle to guide her through three standards collections in the '80s. With Hummin' to Myself, the peripatetic vocalist eschews the robust big-band arrangements that marked What's New and its offspring for small-ensemble treatments of the likes of "Miss Otis Regrets" and "Day Dream." With either Alan Broadbent or Warren Bernhardt at the keys and Bob Mann, Christian McBride, and Lewis Nash making up the rhythm section on most tracks, Ronstadt gets more than capable instrumental support from some seasoned jazz pros, and while she won't make anyone forget Ella Fitzgerald, she brings her distinctive brand of brass to "Never Will I Marry" and "Get Out of Town." Meanwhile, she eases through languid takes of "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "Cry Me a River," the latter borrowing considerably from Julie London's defining version, but substituting melancholy for London's playful sultriness. --Steven Stolder« less
What is it about erstwhile '60s rock stars nearing 60 that draws them to standards? Just as Rod Stewart has mined the works of Styne & Cahn and Cole Porter for his bankable (if heavy-handed) Great American Songbook series, so, too, has Linda Ronstadt turned to pop classics in the autumn of her career. Of course, Ronstadt has been here before, having enlisted Nelson Riddle to guide her through three standards collections in the '80s. With Hummin' to Myself, the peripatetic vocalist eschews the robust big-band arrangements that marked What's New and its offspring for small-ensemble treatments of the likes of "Miss Otis Regrets" and "Day Dream." With either Alan Broadbent or Warren Bernhardt at the keys and Bob Mann, Christian McBride, and Lewis Nash making up the rhythm section on most tracks, Ronstadt gets more than capable instrumental support from some seasoned jazz pros, and while she won't make anyone forget Ella Fitzgerald, she brings her distinctive brand of brass to "Never Will I Marry" and "Get Out of Town." Meanwhile, she eases through languid takes of "I Fall in Love Too Easily" and "Cry Me a River," the latter borrowing considerably from Julie London's defining version, but substituting melancholy for London's playful sultriness. --Steven Stolder
"Four years after her last album, 2000's A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, Linda Ronstadt is back with HUMMIN' TO MYSELF, which returns her to the pop/jazz standards genre that she had mined quite successfully three times in the mid-1980s with the late Nelson Riddle.
This time around, however, Linda is working with a jazz ensemble and not a large-scale orchestra, and the results give her even greater vocal flexibility now than the Nelson Riddle recordings gave her twenty years before. Working with long-time friends George Massenburg and John Boylan, Linda gives nothing less than her very best on the album's eleven tracks. The swing element is much more in evidence this time around than it had been on the Nelson Riddle albums, particularly on "Never Will I Marry" (which she had tried to record for a failed standards album all the way back in 1980), and on the Cole Porter standby "Get Out Of Town." She also takes on in very subtle fashion the Julie London classic "Cry Me A River", and gets very poignant on the album's final track, "I'll Be Seeing You."
As has been the case throughout her entire career, Linda has made it a priority to be true to herself and to the spirit of the song, and that tradition continues on HUMMIN' TO MYSELF, working with stellar musicians like Bob Mann, Alan Broadbent, Jim Horn, Peter Erskine, and others to produce the finest collection of pop and jazz standards by any pop/rock veteran out there. Even if Linda is not the most natural of jazz/pop singers in the strictest sense, she does have a natural feel for these songs; and the fact that the sound of the album has more in common with the jazz of the late 1960s than the World War II era has more than a little to do with how brilliantly HUMMIN' TO MYSELF sounds.
After nearly thirty-eight years worth of recordings, it is brilliant to know that Linda is still in fine form. HUMMIN' TO MYSELF is vigorously recommended."
Exquisite!
terroh | OH | 12/06/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Is there anything Linda Ronstadt cant do? Let's see, she started as a country singer, drifted into pop/rock, dabbled in New Wave and operetta, American songbook standards, Mexican/Spanish language and now jazz. What's left? Rap and Opera? There's still time, Linda! Unlike Streisand, who mostly played it safe on her last CD, Linda has never been afraid to take chances. Take the tricky arrangement on Never Will I Marry. What 60-something singer would risk tackling this, and be able to pull it off?? This is a great set, with expert back up and arrangements. My only big complaint is its too short. Maybe there's another session waiting for us down the road? Among the more sublime cuts: Never Will I Marry; Cry Me A River; Hummin to Myself; DayDream; I've Never Been In Love Before; Get Out of Town and I'll Be Seeing You (one of my favorite songs, I only wish she had repeated the verse, its too short). There isnt a bad cut on here. One could argue technically, Linda isnt a jazz singer, but with a voice like this, why split hairs? Her voice is still beautiful and as crystal clear as a bell. Exquisite."
There's No Voice Like This Blessed Gift...
Concert Man | 11/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a teenage boy who was smitten by Linda, as I'm sure most young guys were in the 70's, not much has changed from then until now, except for the fact I have a much better appreciation of her incredble god given talent.
I admire and respect a slew of singers from all genres of music but in my opinion, in my lifetime Linda Ronstadt is the finest singer on earth. When she hits those high notes she literally takes my breath away. And she does that quite often on this new...and absolutely wonderful album of pop standards. Her amazing voice is totally to the forefront here, backed by a wonderful band of musicians.
If you love Linda, and even if you are new to her, give this album a try. Linda is from an era when women actually had to be able to SING to get into the business..unlike today. Her musical catalog so far is nothing short of jaw dropping. She has done it all and continues to do so.
Now all that said, I hope her next album will be a return to rock.
There's no singer on earth like Linda. This album is highly recommended."
The Real Thing
Gaston Peeters | Belgium | 11/27/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"In the mid-eighties Linda Ronstadt,at the time the arguably most famous woman in rock,took the world by surprise when she recorded a trilogy of albums filled with pre-rock pop and jazz standards under the guidance of legendary conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle(of to name but a few,Frank Sinatra,Nat "King" Cole and Judy Garland fame). All three albums reached platinum status and introduced this great music to an entire new generation of music lovers. Now,with "Hummin'To Myself" Linda makes her return to the Great American Songbook. Not that she ever left this type of music behind,because she has kept on singing these songs in concert ever since,making the predictable remarks that she's now only jumping on the bandwagon created by Rod Stewart misinformed at best and just plain meanspirited at worst.
Anyway,"Hummin'To Myself" is quite different from the Riddle trilogy in that on these Linda was accompanied by an orchestra,and were more of the traditional pop variety,whereas on "Hummin'" Linda is accompanied by a small ensemble of expert musicians and qualifies as a "pure" jazz album. This does not mean that all of a sudden Linda starts scatting,or that she has become an improviser. On the contrary,Linda always stays close to the melody "as it is written" and uses the extraordinary beauty of her voice to demonstrate in a quite un-demonstrative way (contrary to what we are used to from so many power-ballad divas these days) how gorgeous these songs really are. More or less the same approach as that of,say,Jane Monheit or even Ella Fitzgerald on most of her songbook albums.
It has to be said that Linda has grown A LOT as a singer of this type of music since the days of her Riddle albums. Although those were not without merit,Linda sometimes sounded a tiny bit out of her element and stiff on occasion. No such problems here though. If you didn't know any better you would think that the lady has sung this music all of her life. It's in the uptempo material that her progress is the most spectacular. On Tracks like "Never Will I Marry" and "Get Out Of Town" she swings harder and with much more confidence than she did on any of the Riddle stuff.
The ballads are brilliant too. Songs like "Tell Him I Said Hello","Miss Otis Regrets" and "Cry Me A River" are beautifully phrased and benefit greatly from the gorgeous and creamy sound of Linda's voice. This is not the music of a rock singer who tries to sing jazz. This is a "valid" jazz album by one of the best singers of the last 40 years.
Much,but not all of the praise must go to Ronstadt. The arrangements by Alan Broadbent (who also plays the piano) are attractive and varied,and the musicianship from the instrumentalists is first class throughout. Clearly a labour of love from all those involved. Warmly recommended!"
Jazz Equivalent to Heart Like a Wheel....Excellent
Yellow Flower | 11/11/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Part of appreciating this lady is not TRYING to understand her but just listening to the music she makes. As a rock star she could growl with the best of them and as she learned her interpretive trade she could sing with the best of them. This CD is really really excellent: Soulful, Very Well Sung, Great Sound Engineering, Good Song Selection and Unique.
The songs on this CD come in clearly. It's recorded in high form with some of the highest recording techniques around. Thanks to George Massenburg (engineer). Likewise, this CD can be played anywhere: restaurant, dinner party, pool party, summer, winter, etc. So this CD has good ambience.
Tell Him I said Hello - Originally recorded by Betty Carter. This is a soft sounding gem of a song.
Never will I Mary - A swingining hip tune.
Cry Me A River - No posturing. great tune. well sung.
Hummin to Myself - Great toe tapping, unique song.
Miss Otis - I like this songs interpretation. It's about a women that was strung up and hung. Very Dark.
I fall in Love to Easily - Very classy and sophisticated singing.
Blue Prelude - Bluesy Song
Day Dream - Never heard this song before but I like the light interpretation
Never been in Love - good interpretation. simple, straight.
Get out of Town - soulful, bluesy, rocking
I'll Be seeing you - Great straight forward interpretation
This really is a Soulful, Bluesy and Intimate Linda Ronstadt. I would highly recommend this CD."