LINDA RONSTADT Prisoner In Disguise (Original Master Recording limited edition 9-track double album 2-LP mastered by Kreig Wunderlich at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, specially plated and pressed on 180-gram High-Definition audiophile vinyl cut at 45RPM. If there was any doubt whether Linda Ronstadt would emerge as the premier female vocalist of the 1970s, the question became moot when she dropped Prisoner in Disguise in 1975. Picking up exactly where she left off on Heart Like a Wheel, the singer pairs with the same perfectionist-oriented producer and many of the same session pros on a follow-up in every way the equal of her 1974 breakthrough. The platinum-certified set not only established Ronstadt as an all-time great. It confirmed her as the voice of the decade, a performer the press soon deemed The First Lady of Rock. Gatefold picture sleeve individually gold-foil numbered, still sealed inside its perforated loose bag. Recommended)
#Top 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time

TRACKLISTING AND EXTRA INFORMATION
Reissued at 45RPM for the First Time for Its 50th Anniversary and Elektra 75: Mobile Fidelitys 180g 45RPM 2LP Set of 1975 Record Plays with Superb Purity, Detail, Tonality, and Definition

1/4 / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, and reissued to celebrate Elektra 75, Mobile Fidelitys numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents the Top 5 album with extra groove space via 45RPM speed for the first time. This special 50th anniversary version plays with reference-caliber definition, depth, and dimensionality. The definitive vinyl edition of Prisoner in Disguise, it lifts prior veils that impeded the gorgeous singing and spectacular craftsmanship gracing the 11 songs.

The elevated degrees of clarity, presence, and separation exceed those of even Mobile Fidelitys long-out-of-print 33RPM reissue. Vocals often the most difficult instrument to faithfully portray resonate with superb tonality, openness, and naturalism. Here, theres practically nothing between you and Ronstadts whippoorwill deliveries. Her wide-spanning range and varied subtleties vibrato, hiccups, shivers, falsetto fades come across with rich, transparent detail. They affirm why Prisoner in Disguise is one of the four consecutive albums she made that sold a million or more copies, making her the first female artist to achieve that feat.

Each aspect of the record reveals how and why Ronstadt crashed through the glass ceiling not only with commercial and critical success, but by attaining then-unprecedented recognition in the form of national stories in the likes of Rolling Stone and Newsweek. Collaborating for the third time with producer Peter Asher, Ronstadt turns to her career-long strengths interpretative covers, roots-based music, aching balladry and seamlessly jibes with a Hall of Fame-worthy cast. James Taylor, Kenny Edwards, Herb Pedersen, JD Souther, David Grisman, and Russ Kunkel are some of the elite musicians along for the ride. David Campbell handles string arrangement and conducting duties.

Everyone works toward a common and sensible goal: Spotlighting, shading, and complementing Ronstadts singing. Playing with an all-for-one mindset so the meanings and emotions she pulls from every song get top billing and with a selfless restraint that helps expose the kernels of truth and beautiful melodies in indelible tunes by the likes of Neil Young, Lowell George, Jimmy Cliff, and Taylor. Few, if any, pop-rock singers ever exhibited adaptive skills on a par with that of the Arizona native. Her contemporaries ensure she has the ideal settings in which to maneuver.

It all begins with the swirling rustic charm on Youngs Love Is a Rose, a banjo-picked rendition that went to the Top 5 of the Billboard Country chart and establishes the vocal control, command, and smoothness Ronstadt demonstrates throughout the album. As further confirmation of her crossover appeal and boundless diversity, the B-side a catchy, soulful, strum-and-jangle take on the Motown smash Heat Wave garnered more attention and landed in the Top 5 of the Hot 100 chart. Adorned with organ swells and contemplative drama, Ronstadts memorable reading of another Motown staple, Tracks of My Tears, served as the third single and landed another Top 5 position, this one on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Successful hits aside, the timelessness of Prisoner in Disguise owes to its deeper cuts and Ronstadts all-in investment on material that sounds expressly written for her. Consider the mellow yet greasy and slightly sassy run through Little Feats Roll Um Easy. Or the forlorn version of Taylors Hey Mister, Thats Me Up on the Jukebox, its longing pedal-steel passages and tucked-and-pointed piano notes framing Ronstadts from-the-diaphragm phrasing with flawless precision. And delve into her startling version of Dolly Partons I Will Always Love You, Ronstadt using the full capacity of her range but never overdoing it and finishing with a transition into a higher register that doubles as a template for all country- and Americana-leaning pop singers who follow.

That poignant performance, and a tender duet with Emmylou Harris on The Sweetest Gift arguably the albums finest moment hints at the future Trio album shed record with her celebrated peers in the late 80s. Ronstadts knack for harmony, melody, and contrast explode into view, as does her wondrous blend with acoustic instrumentation (key in on the violins) and gospel-flecked nuance.

A songbird with a singular voice, Ronstadt time and again achieves sweet harmony in unison on Prisoner in Disguise, a record on which shes at her peak.

Side One:
1. Love Is a Rose
2. Hey Mister, Thats Me Up on the Jukebox
3. Roll Um Easy

Side Two:
4. Tracks of My Tears
5. Prisoner in Disguise

Side Three:
6. Heat Wave
7. Many Rivers to Cross
8. The Sweetest Gift

Side Four:
9. You Tell Me That Im Falling Down
10. I Will Always Love You
11. Silver Blue

Artist – Linda Ronstadt (click link for complete listing)
Title – Prisoner In Disguise (click link for more of the same title)
Year of Release – 2025
Original Year of Release – 1975
Format – 2-LP vinyl record set (Double LP Album)
Record Label – Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Catalogue No – MFSL2-608 (click link for more)
Country of Origin – United States (USA)
Language – Regardless of country of origin all tracks are sung in English, unless otherwise stated in our description.
Audiophile This is an Audiophile item. Click link for similar items
Additional info – Sealed, Picture Sleeve
Barcode – 821797260817
Condition – Factory sealed from new. This item is unplayed. Click here for more info.
RareVinyl.com Ref No – LIR2LPR878913
Related Artists – The Stone Poneys.

GENRES
POP.

ORDERING
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RareVinyl.com Reference Number – LIR2LPR878913

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