For Sentimental Reasons
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Album Summary
For Sentimental Reasons is a 1986 release from Linda Ronstadt on Asylum Records, and honey, this record is something special. Produced by George Massenburg, the album finds Ronstadt stepping away from the rock and country-pop world that made her a household name and walking straight into the warm, amber glow of the Great American Songbook. These sessions captured a vocalist at the height of her powers choosing to honor the music that came before her — the standards, the jazz ballads, the songs that built American popular music from the ground up. It was a bold move, a soulful move, and the results speak for themselves.
Reception
- The album reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart, proving that Linda's audience was willing to follow her anywhere — even into the smoky, candlelit territory of classic pop and jazz standards.
- Critical reception was a mixed bag, with some reviewers rightly celebrating her vocal control and interpretive depth, while others felt the production occasionally leaned a little heavy for material that breathes best with room to move.
Significance
- For Sentimental Reasons marked one of the most striking stylistic pivots of Ronstadt's career, signaling that this woman was not content to be defined by one genre — she had the voice and the vision to inhabit the entire American vocal tradition.
- The album arrived at a moment in the 1980s when a handful of established rock-era artists began reaching back toward pre-rock American songwriting, and Ronstadt did it with more grace and genuine reverence than almost anyone else who tried.
- By committing fully to material like 'Round Midnight and My Funny Valentine, Ronstadt helped legitimize the idea that a rock and pop star could be a serious, credible interpreter of jazz-influenced standards — paving the way for her own continued evolution as an artist.
Tracklist
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A1 When You Wish Upon A Star 164
3:46
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A2 Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered 89
4:24
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A3 You Go To My Head 117
3:36
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A4 But Not For Me 64
5:24
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A5 My Funny Valentine 83
3:00
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B1 I Get Along Without You Very Well 95
4:15
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B2 Am I Blue 109
2:54
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B3 I Love You For Sentimental Reasons 77
3:42
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B4 Straighten Up And Fly Right 72
2:15
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B5 Little Girl Blue 105
4:35
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B6 'Round Midnight 79
4:19
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.
