Dangerous, 1976-1987

Artist: Ronnie Spector
Label: Raven [Australia]
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 612657004821
EAN: 0612657004821
ASIN: B000003IX1

Release Date: 1997-02-11

Dangerous, 1976-1987

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Tracks:

Say Goodbye To Hollywood
Baby Please Don't Go
You Mean So Much To Me
Take Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby)
Who Can Sleep?
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
You Mean So Much To Me (Live)
Ronnie Spector Interview

Similar Items:

Something's Gonna Happen
Last of the Rock Stars
She Talks to Rainbows
Unfinished Business
The Best of the Ronettes

Album Description

'Ronnie's voice!' Billy Joel once enthused, 'I mean, it sounds almost lubricated. It's got a smell to it, like sweat and garlic. There's an urgency to that voice, a sexuality that screams street to me. Ronnie's sound is like the neon glow that hits the streets under the elevated tracks on a hot summer night. She's got the natural vibrato that sounds like it's coming straight up from her gut - and there's no one else who sings like that. Ronnie can wring more emotion out of one long phrase than most singers can from a whole song.' So saying, Joel wrote a song for his idol called SAY GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD and she recorded it with Bruce Springsteen's E. Street Band - Clarence Clemmon's hot horn screeching mightily. That powerhouse track - only ever available on a vinyl single - leads off this powerful, driving CD which documents the period of Ronnie's greatest recordings after her Ronettes era under

Album Details

Famed Session Vocalist, Ronettes Member and Ex-Wife of Legendary Producer Phil Spector. This Collection Spans her Solo Career. Includes the Hit with Eddie Money 'Take Me Home Tonight'& the Rare Billy Joel Cover 'Say Goodbye to Hollywood'. Plus More.

Customer Reviews:

cheap embarassment to such a great artist.......2006-09-08

This is a cheap compilation.

The packaging and artwork look homemade. Why in the world would that particular cover photo be used? It looks like Ronnie is smiling through pain. The packaging is indicative of a bootleg.

The production of the cd is poor and the sound quality should be much better. Once again, sounds like a bootleg.

The songs are an odd assortment. Some are okay and others are cheesy. The duets with other artists are interesting but these are inferior songs to the Ronnettes work and Joey Ramone collaberation.

Besides the work with Eddie Money and Southside Johnny, this was not the best period for Ronnie Spector.

It is amazing that such a beloved artist (who still plays live) ha such a limited catalog. Why no live cds of her recently?

She currently plays in a band with real young players meaning the sound has a nice contemporary feel. Why no quality compilation with Ronnettes, 80's cheese, Joey Ramone produced grandeur and cool things from today?

Her catalog could and should be so much better!

Excellent voice.......2003-12-27

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?

livin' legend.......2003-05-03

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.

Gems and zircons.......2001-10-15

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.)

Not a good time period for an icon.......2001-10-09

I almost feel bad for doing this. I love Ronnie Spector. She has got one of the most amazing voices in recorded sound. One of those voices, not drastically different to Stevie Nicks, that's haunting and beautiful, raspy, smoky, dark, bruised. I love the Ronnettes and even her recent stuff "She talks to rainbows" - which is an amazing cover of a Ramones song. But anyway. I bought this cd because I like Ronnie and was interested in this cd. I did have a thought hoping the content was better than the HORRIBLE cover art. But no. Sorry, these songs are not memorable and not very good (production-wise, quality wise). I was shocked how bad it actually was. And whoever said these were "rocking", um, I just don't know how they ever came up with that. "Take Me Home Tonight" with Eddie Money, is a song everyone knows, and it's really the only good song on here.

I'm doing this because I'm tired of fans of artists that will vote anything that that artist does as 4 or 5 stars, misleading someone that might be interested in that artist.

Joey Ramone was a big fan of Ronnie. I happen to be a big Ramones fan as well. I like and support Ronnie Spector, but I can't recommend this.

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