Maps of Music

Prisoner In Disguise (1975)

Where the lyrics of Prisoner In Disguise take you, and where it was really made.

Most of the songs on Linda Ronstadt's sixth solo LP were written by other people, and the gatefold shows their lyric sheets in the songwriters' own handwriting.

Key places

Recorded and mixed at The Sound Factory (1975)

Recording site The Sound Factory — Discogs credits list The Sound Factory as the place where the album was recorded and mixed. The point sits on the studio building's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mastered at The Mastering Lab (1975)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — Doug Sax mastered the album at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California. The point is placed at the Hollywood city centre, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Prisoner In Disguise: Linda Ronstadt's sixth solo LP, released 1975
• Second album for Asylum Records
• Released 15 September 1975
• Follows Heart Like a Wheel, her multi-platinum breakthrough
• Heart Like a Wheel was her first number one album on the US Billboard 200 in early 1975
• Features string arrangements by David Campbell
• Produced by Peter Asher; engineered by Val Garay
• Original vinyl release used a gatefold design

Background

• Songs chosen from friends and songwriters: James Taylor, Lowell George of Little Feat, JD Souther and Anna McGarrigle
• Includes a song written and originally recorded by Jimmy Cliff
• Includes an interpretation of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You"
• Emmylou Harris joins Ronstadt on the standard "The Sweetest Gift"

Recording

• Discogs credits list The Sound Factory as the place of recording and mixing
• Doug Sax handled mastering at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California

Cover

• Gatefold centre section shows a photo of sheets with song lyrics
• Most of the lyrics are in the original songwriters' own handwriting
• Cover design by John Kosh; photography by Ethan Russell

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born July 15, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona; American singer across rock, folk, pop, country, and soul.
• In the mid-1960s joined the folk-rock trio the Stone Poneys as lead singer, releasing three albums in 1967–68.
• Solo debut Hand Sown ... Home Grown (1969), described as the first alternative country record by a female recording artist.
• Became the first female "arena class" rock star; top-grossing concert artist of the decade.
• Voted Top Female Pop Singer of the 1970s; "You're No Good" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Worked with producer Nelson Riddle on the Great American Songbook trilogy What's New, Lush Life, and For Sentimental Reasons.
• Recorded Canciones de Mi Padre (1987), the best-selling non-English-language album in US music history.
• Retired in 2011 after losing the ability to sing; later diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014; Kennedy Center Honoree in 2019.

Formation

• At age 14 formed a folk trio with her brother Peter and sister Gretchen.
• Moved to Los Angeles in 1964 to form a band with Bobby Kimmel.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Stereo Review (Steve Simels, December 1975 issue): praised Ronstadt's singing on Parton's "I Will Always Love You" as "absolutely gorgeous, full-bodied and intense"
• Roll Um Easy, written by Lowell George, was very popular on the burgeoning AOR (album-oriented rock) format
• Heat Wave, a rockified remake of the 1963 hit by Martha and the Vandellas, reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
• The B-side Love Is A Rose, a countrified version of Neil Young's song, reached #5 on the Hot Country Songs chart

Records

• Billboard album chart: peaked at #4
• Country album chart: reached #2
• Certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
• Tracks Of My Tears: #11 on the country singles chart and #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1976; #4 on the adult contemporary chart
• The Sweetest Gift: #12 on the country singles chart in early 1976
• Heat Wave, Love Is A Rose and Tracks Of My Tears were among the album's chart singles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Trisha Yearwood cited the album as an inspiration at the start of her career and brought it to her producer.
• The gatefold centre photo shows lyric sheets, mostly in the original songwriters' own handwriting.
• Discogs credits list The Sound Factory as the recording and mixing location.
• Doug Sax mastered the album at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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