Rolling Stone review of 1982
Loser: California rock
The smooth-as-glass soft-rock sound that reaped sizable profits throughout the Seventies came a cropper in 1982. Get Closer by Linda Ronstadt (above) went gold – a surprising feat, since it never cracked the Top Thirty – but was nevertheless a far cry from her platinum successes of old. "It was disappointing but not surprising," says Mike Wyner, chief record buyer for the forty-four stores in the Record World-TSS chain. "She's not an original talent, and her sales have been declining." The Envoy by Warren Zevon sold even fewer copies than Ronstadt's LP, and while solo albums from Glenn Frey and Don Henley have been picking up steam, their sales were below expectations.