- Discover more great music in our Proper Music store, and read about the very best of Proper Music's latest and forthcoming releases in Properganda Issue 19 (online flash version).
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| 1. Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Ronnie Spector & The E. Street Band |
| 2. Baby Please Don't Go - Ronnie Spector & The E. Street Band |
| 3. You Mean So Much To Me |
| 4. Take Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby) - Ronnie Spector & Eddie Money |
| 5. Who Can Sleep - Ronnie Spector & Eddie Money |
| 6. Love On A Rooftop |
| 7. Dangerous |
| 8. Burnin' Love |
| 9. Unfinished Business |
| 10. (If I Could) Walk Away |
| 11. Heart Song |
| 12. True To You |
| 13. When We Danced |
| 14. Good Love Is Hard To Find |
| 15. You Mean So Much To Me (Live) |
| 16. Ronnie Spector Interview |
Product Description
CD Description
After several years out of the limelight, in 1976 ex-Ronettes lead singer Ronnie Spector was invited to sing a Bruce Springsteen song with Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes ("You Mean So Much To Me"), this leading to a 'comeback' single with Springsteen's E. Street Band, her version of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye To Hollywood". Both of these projects were produced by Steve Van Zandt. A planned follow-up album didn't materialise but a decade later her appearance on Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight", on which she reprised her famous Ronettes' hit "Be My Baby", led to the 1987 album UNFINISHED BUSINESS, featuring songs by Diane Warren, Desmond Child and Gregory Abbott and guest appearances by Child and Bangle Susanna Hoffs. All these recordings make up this unique compilation, together with a live performance and an 18 minute interview with Ronnie recorded in New York in 1980. Tracks: with THE E. STREET BAND: Say Goodbye To Hollywood / Baby Please Don't Go / with SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY JUKES: You Mean So Much To Me / with EDDIE MONEY: Take Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby) / Who Can Sleep / UNFINISHED BUSINESS LP: Love On A Rooftop / Dangerous / Burnin' Love / Unfinished Business / (If I Could) Walk Away / Heart Song / True To You / When We Danced / Good Love Is Hard To Find / with SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY DUKES: You Mean So Much To Me (live) / RONNIE SPECTOR INTERVIEW.
Product Description
1-Say Goodbye To Hollywood& E.STREET BAND 2-Baby Please Don't Go& E.STREET BAND 3-You Mean So Much To Me& SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & ASBURY J 4-Take Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby)& Eddie Money 5-Who Can Sleep?& Eddie Money 6-Love On A Rooftop 7-Dangerous 8-Burnin' Love 9-Unfinished Blues 10-(If I Could)Walk Away 11-Heart Song 12-True To You 13-When We Danced 14-Good Love Is Hard To Find 15-You Mean So Much To Me (Live)& SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & ASBURY J 16-Ronnie Spector Interview (1995/RAVEN) 15 tracks (57:00) plus Interview (18:00) with 8 pages of notes (1995/RAVEN) 15 tracks (57:00) plus Interview (18:00) with 8 pages of notes
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
14 reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Gems and zircons
15 Oct 2001
Format:Audio CD
Ever since Ronnie Spector left Phil (or escaped) she's found it hard to jumpstart her career. Not only were her records few and far between, they were hard to find when first released. And if she didn't get a hit right away, she was gone - which is why there are so many record labels involved in her career. The UNFINISHED BUSINESS album gave her her best shot, because not only did it involve a major record label (Columbia), it came on the heels of her appearance on Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight", a gigantic hit. Unfortunately the material (which makes up the bulk of this CD) just wasn't good enough for her. She's a captivating singer, but she's no magician. Only "Love On A Rooftop" (which Cher later copped) captures the magic of her Ronettes records. "Who Can Sleep" (the single) is o.k. as is "Dangerous" and "Burning Love", but it's the bonus numbers that make this a keeper. Four or five years before this album she hooked up with Miami Steve Van Zandt, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Bruce Springsteen, who were all big fans, and cut 3 of her best post-Ronettes records. "You Mean So Much To Me" was written by Bruce, produced by Steve, and found Ronnie dueting with Southside on the closer of the Jukes' debut album, and is a gem. Ronnie could be found performing this with Southside during their early live shows, such as NYC's Bottom Line, where the live version was recorded. Loads of fun. This recording was followed by the Van Zandt produced single of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye To Hollywood" b/w Van Zandt's hypnotic ballad "Baby Please Don't Go" and both backed by the E Street Band. Since Joel based his song on "Be MY Baby", copping the opening drum riff, this seemed like a natural. But everybody's trying way too hard (except Ronnie, who hits the perfect groove) and the production, while fiery, is ultimately too much, leaving Billy Joel with the definitive version. Very good to be sure, but not GREAT. "Baby Please Don"t Go" however is a gem. With Clarence Clemon's soulful sax complimenting Ronnie's heartfelt vocal, this should be one of Van Zandt's proudest moments in music. And with it's inclusion on this CD,you won't have to hunt down [...] for this long out of print record (I think it was out of print the week it was released, that's how tuff it was to find when it came out. In the Village no less!). Th 45rpm stated these songs were from a forthcoming album, but when the record stiffed, no album appeared. I've always wondered whether an album was recorded, but I don't think we ever could have been lucky enough to have Ronnie make a whole album with Steve and Bruce & the guys. Rounding off the extra cuts is Eddie and Ronnie's "Take Me Home...". So you get about 8 solid cuts, which I guess in CD terms is about the norm, along with some beautifully produced but unworthy titles from one of Rock's great ladies.(Now if they had included Ronnie's version of "It's A Heartache" this would have been a must-have.)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Excellent voice
27 Dec 2003
Format:Audio CD
Ronnie Spector has been and still is one of the best female rock'n'roll performers, a fact that seems to be ignored massively by the public, though she has her followers and fans. No one else could have cut a better recording of "Say GoodBye to Hollywood", Billy Joel wrote it with her in mind, her version was ignored while he later had a hit with this song. Although her 1999 rendition of "Don't Worry Baby" (also initially written for her by Brian Wilson) keeps the fresh essence of the Beach Boys' recording, it doesn't sound dated, she manages to make it sound fresh. If you listen to her "Dangerous" CD you'll find her 1987 album "Unfinished Business" entirely included in it, with wonderful lushy power ballads, it was the sound of late 80s, which makes strange to believe that failed to chart, she also recorded a reworked (dance beat) version of Elvis' "Burnin' love" whichs sounds truly well. The leading Single was Diane Warren's "Love on a Rooftop", produced by Desmond Child. It was a fruitful period for Diane Warren, and this is one of her best songs, later recorded by Desmond Child himself and by Cher for her album "Heart of Stone" (with "If I Could Turn Back Time" as opening track) which would be the starting point for a long string of hits and a new and increasing successful time which continues today. It is used to say that nothing is predictable in music business, anyway I think that Ronnie Spector needs to find the right producer who can take the best from her and a label that takes care of publicity to get the massive popularity she once had as lead vocalist of The Ronettes. She still has the voice, that voice that got the admiration of John Lennon, Joey Ramone, George Harrison, Johnny Thunders, Brian Wilson, Eddie Money, Billy Joel, Keith Richard, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Cher and David Bowie. Could they all be wrong?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
livin' legend
3 May 2003
Format:Audio CD
Many female singers with long and successful careers in music are currently referred to as the "divas". I don't like to call them that way, I'd rather say great singers. Anyway nobody thinks of Ronnie Spector as a "diva", but as a rock icon or a living legend, from the 60s or perhaps from all time, as she's still on tour and recording sporadically. She enjoyed great success as lead vocalist of the Ronettes. Since then, as a solo artist, it seems that she's always trying to emerge, looking for that come-back song or album that could put her on top again.
The CD "Dangerous" contains in full her unfairly ignored late-80s album "Unfinished Business" (very good hard power ballads, carefully produced and arranged, with her sensual voice sounding better than ever), both the album and the leading Single "Love On the Rooftop" (produced by Desmond Child and written by the reliable hit-maker Diane Warren) failed the charts; there's no explanation, it was the sound of that moment, it had everything to be a great hit. "Dangerous" also contains "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", an excellent song, with big budget production, that Billy Joel wrote for her, which unexpectedly was a hit for him but not for Ronnie Spector.
"Take me home Tonight-Be My Baby" is the only track on this CD that enjoyed chart success in the 80s. It is a duet with Eddie Money, another Ronnie Spector's fan; actually she does a strong cameo appearance rather than duetting, but that song would have never been possible with any other female singer. Fortunately an Australian label collected all these Ronnie Spector's recordings since 1976 to 1987, and they are now available.
Then, another gap followed, towards the end of the century she recorded "She Talks to rainbows" an EP produced by Joey Ramone, it includes a superb rendition of "Don't Worry Baby" another great song that Brian Wilson wrote for Ronnie Spector over 30 years ago, it was then a hit for the Beach Boys and has finally seen the light with Ronnie's voice. In some way, with Ronnie Spector's music, it seems that we're living today partly in the 60s, it's difficult to explain but this is also part of her charm.
I wonder what happens with labels and producers, can't they realize all the power of that unique sensual voice?, a voice that you find once in a lifetime. Ronnie Spector should be back on a studio right now, many people are waiting to listen new songs by her, with good publicity she will sure enjoy hits.
The CD "Dangerous" contains in full her unfairly ignored late-80s album "Unfinished Business" (very good hard power ballads, carefully produced and arranged, with her sensual voice sounding better than ever), both the album and the leading Single "Love On the Rooftop" (produced by Desmond Child and written by the reliable hit-maker Diane Warren) failed the charts; there's no explanation, it was the sound of that moment, it had everything to be a great hit. "Dangerous" also contains "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", an excellent song, with big budget production, that Billy Joel wrote for her, which unexpectedly was a hit for him but not for Ronnie Spector.
"Take me home Tonight-Be My Baby" is the only track on this CD that enjoyed chart success in the 80s. It is a duet with Eddie Money, another Ronnie Spector's fan; actually she does a strong cameo appearance rather than duetting, but that song would have never been possible with any other female singer. Fortunately an Australian label collected all these Ronnie Spector's recordings since 1976 to 1987, and they are now available.
Then, another gap followed, towards the end of the century she recorded "She Talks to rainbows" an EP produced by Joey Ramone, it includes a superb rendition of "Don't Worry Baby" another great song that Brian Wilson wrote for Ronnie Spector over 30 years ago, it was then a hit for the Beach Boys and has finally seen the light with Ronnie's voice. In some way, with Ronnie Spector's music, it seems that we're living today partly in the 60s, it's difficult to explain but this is also part of her charm.
I wonder what happens with labels and producers, can't they realize all the power of that unique sensual voice?, a voice that you find once in a lifetime. Ronnie Spector should be back on a studio right now, many people are waiting to listen new songs by her, with good publicity she will sure enjoy hits.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
