Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Chicago Tribune | [2] |
| Los Angeles Times | [3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind is a studio album by American singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt, released in October 1989 by Elektra Records. Produced by Peter Asher, the album features several duets with singer Aaron Neville—two of which earned Grammy Awards—and several songs written by Jimmy Webb.
The album sold over three million copies and was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone. It was also a major success throughout the world. The album has been out of print since 2009.
Composition
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind is a diverse collection of songs in the rock, R&B, and pop genres. In addition, the album contains a few ballads, most notably Jimmy Webb's "Adios". Of the twelve tracks, Ronstadt elected to include four duets with Aaron Neville, of Neville Brothers fame. In addition, the album is noted for its big production values including backing musicians The Skywalker Symphony, Tower of Power horns, and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. There are also tracks by songwriters Jimmy Webb, Karla Bonoff, and an appearance of Brian Wilson, as back up singer and musical arranger on Ronstandt's fourteenth Top 10 Adult Contemporary single "Adios". The album's arrangers include Marty Paich, David Campbell, Jimmy Webb, Greg Adams, and Terrance Kelly.
Reception
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind received critical acclaim and put Ronstadt back at top of the charts with the #1 gold-certified hit single "Don't Know Much", one of the duets with Neville. "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life", another chart-topping duet with Neville, won Grammy Awards in 1990 and 1991 respectively for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The album earned Ronstadt a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female alongside Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Estefan, and Paula Abdul. The album reached #7 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, spending well over a year on the chart, and selling over three million copies in the United States alone (certified triple platinum).
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind stands as one of Ronstadt's three biggest selling studio albums of all-time in the United States (along with Simple Dreams and What's New). It was also one of her biggest selling albums worldwide, especially in Australia and the United Kingdom, selling over 100,000 copies (certified gold). This album is currently out of print.
When the album broke Billboard's Top 10 in late 1989, Ronstadt, along with Barbra Streisand, became the only other female artist in music history to have as many - or more - Top 10 albums.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Still Within the Sound of My Voice" | Jimmy Webb | 4:32 |
| 2. | "Cry Like a Rainstorm" | Eric Kaz | 3:36 |
| 3. | "All My Life" | Karla Bonoff | 3:36 |
| 4. | "I Need You" | Paul Carrack, Nick Lowe, Martin Belmont | 2:52 |
| 5. | "Don't Know Much" | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Tom Snow | 3:35 |
| 6. | "Adios" | Jimmy Webb | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Trouble Again" | Karla Bonoff, Kenny Edwards | 3:19 |
| 8. | "I Keep it Hid" | Jimmy Webb | 3:58 |
| 9. | "So Right, So Wrong" | Paul Carrack, Nick Lowe, Martin Belmont, J. E. Ceiling, James Eller | 3:28 |
| 10. | "Shattered" | Jimmy Webb | 2:54 |
| 11. | "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" | Isaac Hayes, David Porter | 3:52 |
| 12. | "Goodbye My Friend" | Karla Bonoff | 3:44 |
Personnel
- Music
- Linda Ronstadt – lead and background vocals
- Aaron Neville – lead and background vocals
- Jimmy Webb – acoustic piano, orchestral arrangement
- Brian Wilson – arrangement, background vocals
- Greg Adams – horn arrangement
- David Campbell – orchestral arrangement, conductor
- Terrance Kelly – orchestral arrangement, conductor, director
- Marty Paich – orchestral arrangement, conductor
- Greg Sudmeir – musical coordinator
- Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, organ
- Pavel Farkas – concertmaster
- Don Grolnick – acoustic piano
- William D. "Smitty" Smith – electric piano, organ
- Andrew Gold – electric guitar, 12-string guitar
- Mike Landau – electric guitar
- Dean Parks – electric guitar
- Larry Epstein – bass
- David Hungate – bass
- Lee Sklar – bass
- Jeff Neighbor – bass
- Russ Kunkel – drums
- Carlos Vega – drums
- Peter Asher – percussion
- Mike Fisher – percussion
- Rosemary Butler – background vocals
- Jon Joyce – background vocals
- Arnold McCuller – background vocals
- Tower of Power – horns
- Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir
- Skywalker Symphony Orchestra
- Jeff Beal – musical coordinator, trumpet
- Production
- Peter Asher – producer
- George Massenburg – recording and mixing
- Frank Wolf – engineer
- Bob Edwards – assistant engineer
- Sharon Rice – assistant engineer
- Mike Ross – assistant engineer
- Jim Schelter – assistant engineer
- Ivy Skoff – production coordination
- John Kosh – art direction, design
- Robert Blakeman – photography
- Janet Stark – personal assistant
- Charles Barber - assistant to Marty Paich
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | UK Albums Chart[5] | 43 |
| 1989 | US Billboard 200 | 7 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Don't Know Much" | Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 2 | ||
| 1990 | "Adios" | Adult Contemporary | 9 |
| "All My Life" | Adult Contemporary | 1 | |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 11 | ||
| "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" | Adult Contemporary | 5 | |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 78 |
