Karla Bonoff: Karla Bonoff CD Track Listing

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Karla Bonoff Karla Bonoff (1977)
Originally Released September 1977\nCD Edition Released 1990 ??\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: If Karla Bonoff's debut album sounded like the sort of record that Linda Ronstadt or James Taylor were making at the same time, that shouldn't have been a surprise: the rhythm section of Leland Sklar and Russell Kunkel was the same, the tasteful chicken-scratching of guitarist Waddy Wachtel was present, and so was a cheering section including Ronstadt, Don Henley, Eagle associate J.D. Souther, and other charter members of the SoCal country/folk/rock club of the '70s. Also, Ronstadt had cut three of the songs on her last album and Bonnie Raitt had done one. All of this meant that, despite Bonoff's competent singing, which actually better accentuated the lyrics of her songs than Ronstadt's, it was hard for her to get out from under the shadow of the members of her peer group who had preceded her. Nevertheless, heard today, the album's ten songs paint an effective picture of the ups and downs of love, circa the mid-'70s. -- William Ruhlmann\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nKarla's strong debut album, November 14, 2004\nReviewer: Dave "missing person" (United States)\nKarla Bonoff, along with Kenny Edwards, Wendy Waldman, & Andrew Gold consisted of the group Bryndle who released their self-titled debut in 1995. However, this group, consisting of the exact same members, had already formed all the way back in the late '60s/ early '70s--they signed to A&M Records & recorded an album, and although I believe a single was released, the album, curiously, was never released. Waldman & Gold both contribute performances on this 1977 self-titled debut, as does Edwards who also produced the album. Although this album, which came out in or around September of '77, is largely excellent & never awful, it's not hard to see why cynical critics and cynical music listeners in general would have been rather straight-faced with it when you take some other facts into consideration. Linda Ronstadt's "Hasten Down the Wind" album came out in August of `76, so in other words, basically a year before this album appeared, & it featured 3 Bonoff songs--"Someone To Lay Down Beside Me", "Lose Again", & "If He's Ever Near"--all of which Bonoff does herself on here. Also, the song "Home" had been done by Bonnie Raitt on her "Sweet Forgiveness" album which had come out earlier in the same year that this did, & the song "Isn't It Always Love" had been done by an artist named Karen Alexander & was released on her 1975 album which was also titled "Isn't It Always Love" (it was released on Elektra/Asylum). Alexander wasn't really a singer-songwriter by definition, but she did sing & write all of her own material with "Isn't It Always Love" being the only exception I know of--also, Andrew Gold, of all people, appeared on Alexander's version, & I believe it was released as a single as well. So, that's 5 out of 10 songs from this album that had already been released quite recently on albums by other artists. Plus, although Karla's piano & vocal version of the tender "Lose Again" is terrific, it easily could have originally been the demo for the forceful, powerful full band version that had been unleashed on Ronstadt's album the year before. Certainly Bonoff had every right to do her own versions of her own songs, but it seems that quite a few people found this album overly redundant. Of the remaining 5 tracks on the album, two of them weren't written by Karla, & they`re both really bland--"Faces In the Wind" is a musically limp ballad, & "Flying High" is a dull, sugary coming-of-age tune. All the rest of the tracks on the album are Bonoff solo compositions, & a couple are good-but-not-great--the waltzing "Home" is a somewhat saccharine-y feel good tune (no wonder Bonnie Raitt recorded it), and the album closer "Rose In My Garden" is nice, but a little underdeveloped. Still, like I said, the album is largely excellent. Bonoff's version of "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me" does away with the intro portion that Ronstadt's version contains, but otherwise it's very similar, but it is ultimately superior--it has a brilliant, haunting piano riff, great Bonoff vocals, & is additionally punctuated by the brilliant, perfectly executed lead guitar work by Waddy Wachtel. The easy-riding "I Can't Hold On", a song about frustration with a boyfriend, is extremely catchy, as is the bouncy "Isn't It Always Love" which is about the `necessary evil' nature of love. "Falling Star" very much sounds like a blend of James Taylor, Jackson Browne, & Linda Ronstadt, & it's a wonderfully melodic, beautifully sung acoustic guitar-dominated ballad, & the wistful ballad "If He's Ever Near" is a gem as well--both of these songs, along with "Lose Again", put Karla's winningly intimate magic on full display. Lots of legendary musicians appear on the album including, in addition to the ones I already mentioned, Russell Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Greg Ladanyi, & Jai Winding, & even Linda Ronstadt herself appears on background vocals, as do Glenn Frey & J.D. Souther, resulting in an extremely well-performed album. You can get 7 of the 10 tracks from this album, including all of the must-haves, on Karla's 1999 compilation "All My Life--The Best of Karla Bonoff", so if you only want to have a couple CDs worth of Bonoff in your collection, skip this & go for the "All My Life" disc which also supplies you with a bunch of other gems from Karla's discography. However, definitely make sure you pick up her second album, 1979's "Restless Nights", which is terrific--stylistically and sonically, it's basically identical to this debut, but it's even better, so if you like this, you simply can't go wrong with it.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nLost Treasure, August 20, 1998\nReviewer: davez@peoplefirst.com (San Diego, CA)\nHow Karla Bonoff did not become a superstar from this album alone is beyond me. Great song writng delivered by a likable, engaging voice that makes you feel the emotion in every song. Listening to her sing, you just know she has personally felt the pains of love that she spins (At least I hope so, because she sure made me feel mine). I can not recommend this album enough, it is on my top 10 all time list with little to no fanfare from anyone.\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing artists: Andrew Gold, Glenn Frey, John David Souther, Leland Sklar, Linda Ronstadt, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel, Wendy Waldman \nProducer: Kenny Edwards
This rock cd contains 10 tracks and runs 37min 41sec.
Freedb: 8308d30a
Buy: from Amazon.com

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