No one can deny that Linda Ronstadt has proved to be one of the most talented pop female singers, and has one of the best voices, and offers the most divers of vocal styles in history. She can make you cry and make you rock. Pure and soft, powerful and demanding. Ronstadt's vocal range spans several octaves from contralto to soprano. She can comfortably take folk, country, rock and roll, R&B, opera, Mexican-folk, and even vintage American jazz/pop standards, and make them her own. She has recorded songs composed from the 1920's through to the 2000's.
At age 29, Prisoner in Disguise was her sixth solo album, and the follow-up to her huge-selling album Heart Like a Wheel. Linda became the most successful female singer of the 1970's. She was the first female to sell out stadiums and arenas, first female artist to receive three consecutive platinum albums (and would ultimately go on to have eight consecutive platinum albums, and then another six between 1983 and 1990). She has won too many professional awards to list here.
Prisoner in Disguise continues where Heart Like a Wheel left off- an amazing mix of country‑rock, folk, and R&B, with the same producer and recording engineer, and many of the same close-friend composers and L.A. musicians.
The original album's sound
- Clean, high‑headroom vocals (Ronstadt's voice is recorded with exceptional clarity and warmth)
- Country‑rock rhythm section with tight drums and melodic bass
- Acoustic layering (Andrew Gold's multi‑instrumental overdubs are everywhere)
- String arrangements that elevate the emotion without overwhelming the mix
During this time, Linda was living with J.D. Souther in an apartment just below the Hollywood sign on North Beachwood Drive. She was touring with Jackson Browne and her previous back-up bandmates, the Eagles. She was rising quickly to the top.
The album was recorded between February and June 1975 at the Sound Factory on Selma Ave. in Hollywood. The studio was (it's still in business) one of the most technically sophisticated in L.A. at the time— accurate control rooms, excellent isolation, and a warm, detailed tracking sound that suited Ronstadt's hybrid of country‑rock and pop polish. Most of the bed tracks were laid down live. There are also strings and woodwinds on several tracks.
I don't need to talk about how great this album is and all the wonderful performers and performances there are on it, I only need to talk about the sound quality of this MoFi release. My original copy is Asylum Records 7E-10145 with CSM etched in the dead wax. This means it was a Columbia Santa Maria pressing, which is regarded as the cleanest, quietest of the three Columbia plants in this era. Though the record is almost perfectly flat and is as centric as it gets, I have never been especially impressed with the noise floor found on Asylum records, and this one is no exception. It sounds good, but noisey.
I also own an HDCD Asylum 1045-2 compact disc. It is much quieter, and as a result, has some superior sound qualities. However, the MoFi 45 RPM vinyl sounds glorious!
MoFi released this album at the 50th anniversary of its original release in 1975. There are no bonus tracks, just a wonderful, improved, more accurate sound of the original.
The MoFi Album's sound
- More dynamic vocals and instruments
- Wider‑bandwidth and lower‑distortion reveal more detail, better transients, and fuller bass.
- Improved separation and micro‑detail in instruments.
- Strings sound less congested and strident, more open and lush.
- Live‑band rhythm tracks are livelier and punchier.
This is another huge win for MoFi in my book. This is the best version of this recording available I know of now. Though it's vinyl and it's gone through DSD, it sounds like you're listening to a great test pressing of the original master tape. Great job! I want more like this.
The Technicals
- Produced by Peter Asher
- Engineered by Val Garay
- Mastered by Krieg Wunderlich at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA using the GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog mastering chain
- Source: 1/4" / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master → DSD256 → analog console → lathe
- Plating by: RTI
- Pressed by: Fidelity Record Pressing (FRP) in California. MoFi's new in‑house‑adjacent plant (a joint venture with RTI)
- Packaging: Numbered, 180g, 45RPM, 2LP set, Stoughton Printing gatefold jacket
- Vinyl surface noise: Very good
- Vinyl Centricity: Very good
- Vinyl warp: Very good
- Album Packaging: Very nice!
