Get Closer
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Album Summary
Linda Ronstadt laid down 'Get Closer' in 1982, releasing it through Asylum Records with her trusted collaborator Peter Asher once again sitting in the producer's chair. Asher had been the architect behind some of the most beautifully crafted pop records of the late 1970s, and his fingerprints are all over this one — polished, warm, and built for the radio. The album arrived at a genuinely fascinating crossroads moment, with the musical world turning its eyes toward new wave and synthesizers, while Ronstadt and Asher held steady to the kind of soulful, song-driven pop-rock craftsmanship that had made her one of the defining voices of her era. It was a record made with care and conviction, even as the commercial winds were shifting around it.
Reception
- The album performed modestly on the charts, unable to match the blockbuster commercial heights of Ronstadt's late 1970s peak, a reflection of both the rapidly changing radio landscape and the early MTV era reshaping listener tastes across the board.
- The title track 'Get Closer' earned meaningful radio airplay and stood as one of the album's strongest commercial moments, keeping Ronstadt's name alive on adult contemporary formats during a competitive period.
- Critical response was mixed, with a number of reviewers finding the record somewhat familiar in its approach, though nearly everyone agreed that Ronstadt's vocal performances remained utterly beyond reproach.
Significance
- 'Get Closer' stands as one of Linda Ronstadt's final full commitments to the straight pop-rock format, marking the closing of a chapter before she embarked on some of the most adventurous and unexpected artistic turns of her career.
- The album captures the broader tension of the early 1980s music industry in vivid relief — established artists of the classic rock and pop tradition navigating a landscape being rapidly transformed by new wave, post-punk, and the rise of MTV culture.
- Even within the constraints of a commercial pop-rock framework, Ronstadt's vocal performances throughout the record continued to affirm her standing as one of the most technically gifted and emotionally resonant singers her generation ever produced.
Tracklist
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A1 Get Closer 118
2:29
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A2 The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress 75
3:03
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A3 I Knew You When 99
2:53
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A4 Easy For You To Say 176
4:03
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A5 People Gonna Talk 116
2:38
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A6 Talk To Me Of Mendocino 82
2:57
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B1 I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine 104
4:01
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B2 Mr. Radio 141
4:07
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B3 Lies 97
2:35
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B4 Tell Him 174
2:35
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B5 Sometimes You Just Can't Win 78
2:30
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B6 My Blue Tears 73
2:40
Artist Details
Linda Ronstadt is a stone-cold legend, a powerhouse vocalist out of Tucson, Arizona who burst onto the scene in the late 1960s and absolutely owned the 1970s with a sound that could slide effortlessly from country-rock to pop to straight-up blue-eyed soul — the kind of voice that made you pull your car over and just *listen*. She bridged the gap between the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter scene and mainstream radio gold, racking up hits like You're No Good and Blue Bayou while producing some of the best-selling albums of the entire decade, and in doing so she became one of the first women in rock to truly command the industry on her own terms. Her influence stretches wide and deep, paving the way for a generation of female artists who dared to be both commercially successful and artistically fearless, and her legacy stands as a testament to what happens when raw talent meets absolute determination.
