From the Jimmy Webb-penned “Still Within the Sound of My Voice” sung by Linda Ronstadt:
...Are you still within the sound of my voiceI am calling like the echo of a passing train that criesOne last time before it fades into the distant hills and dies
One of the greatest singers of my generation, Ronstadt, now 78, hasn’t been able to perform professionally since 2009 due to Parkinson’s disease. The 2019 documentary The Sound of My Voice (on various streaming platforms) chronicles the rich and interesting career that preceded this tragedy.
Watch the trailer below:
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: “Ronstadt won 10 Grammys, regularly sold out massive arenas and had 11 platinum-selling albums. She was the first artist to top the pop, country and R&B charts simultaneously, and when she recorded ‘Canciones de Mi Padre,’ songs she remembered from her childhood, it became this country’s bestselling Spanish-language album ever.”
As seen in the documentary, Ronstadt can still use her voice to sing at home and is “still engaged with the world…In spite of her tongue-in-cheek hit ‘Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me,’ the last thing Linda Ronstadt has ever wanted was for anyone to feel sorry for her” (Ren Jender, NPR).
Some film critics wanted a deeper look at Ronstadt in The Sound of My Voice, but what I loved about the film is echoed by Linda Ruth Williams, Seattle Film Blog: “Mostly, the documentary makes you want to take a deep dive into her discography, especially that amazing run of albums from the 1970s, and that’s one of the best things you can ask from any music documentary.”
Nell Minow, rogerebert.com: “This is not the usual ‘sex, drugs, and rock and roll,’ ‘Behind the Music’-style story. Ronstadt abused diet pills for a while and had some high-profile romances, but she was always completely devoted to her singing. Fans and critics often make a binary distinction: Musician or rock star? Ronstadt was, above all, a singer.”
As a singer Ronstadt is “the queen,” according to Bonnie Raitt; she’s “the Beyoncé” of her generation, also lovingly admired by such peers as Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, who recorded two successful albums along with Ronstadt, Trio (1987) and Trio II (1999).
And yet, “Her friends reflect on her nagging self-doubts, unshakable insecurities and constant striving for perfection. Ronstadt chimes in, ‘I’m never really satisfied with what I do’” (Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle). (See this previous post on perfectionism.)
What Sound of My Voice offers viewers is “a staggering onslaught of breathtaking vocal performances” from her past, states Selvin. Among the songs included are “Ronstadt singing the aching ‘Long, Long Time,’ the ebullient ‘When Will I Be Loved,’ the soulful ‘Blue Bayou.’ She nails the soprano part in ‘Pirates of Penzance,’ takes ownership of the Sinatra standard ‘What’s New,’ practically makes love to New Orleans R&B crooner Aaron Neville on ‘Don’t Know Much’.”
Selvin concludes, “For the film’s final statement on Ronstadt’s legacy, they go to the final credits with a clip from the induction ceremony for her entrance to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. It takes five women to stand in for Ronstadt — Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow and Carrie Underwood — and they still don’t sound as good as Ronstadt.”
