the "How Do I Make You" single? And come to think of it, where is "Lago Azul," the Spanish language version of "Blue Bayou"? I already own most of this collection in one format or another -- LP, cassette, 8-track tapes. For me, as I suspect it will be for other die-hard Ronstadt fans, it is Disc #4 that is the most interesting, since this is the disc containing the most previously unreleased material. I imagine that that it is an enormously ambitious undertaking to put together a box set that does justice to such an eclectic career as Linda Ronstadt's, and this one pretty much does the job. It's all here: the hits, the forays into other genres & languages, the duets & the movie themes. Please don't retire, Linda!

One can certainly quibble about the song selection in this box set. For my part, I would have liked to see "I Knew You When", "When Something is Wrong With My Baby", "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me", "The Tattler", anything from "Don't Cry Now", and another of the amazing vocals from "Canciones de Mi Padre". That's just for starters - the point is, with as richly diverse a career as Linda Ronstadt's, you're not going to be able to put out a 4 CD retrospective and include every fan's favorites. Something's going to get slighted.

What this collection does do is provide a broad perspective of all the facets of her career. I don't see how one could listen to the 4 CDs start to finish and not gain renewed respect for her considerable artistry. I'm not saying everything she ever touched is perfect, by any means, but she has shown consistent versatility, intelligence and taste, not to mention a vocal gift from the Gods.

I had not heard a lot of the rarities on side 4, and they show fresh dimensions of her talent. Particulary, the selections from Randy Newman's "Faust", Philip Glass & Suzanne Vega's "Freezing" and the acapella version of the traditional "The Blacksmith" are haunting. And "Honky Tonk Blues" and "Lightning Bar Blues" are terrific unreleased country rockers from the mid-70's that its great to hear.

I admit I'm prejudiced - I fell in love with Linda's voice the first time I heard it ("Different Drum"). I've followed her career faithfully from then and enjoyed every unpredictable step along the way. I certainly hope she stops all this foolish talk of retirement. "Western Wall" proves she can keep making quality music for many years to come, and its my fervent wish that she will!

Could one box set ever hold the myriad manifestations of Linda's exceptional voice? I agree that there are a few omissions here: "Rambler Gambler," Spanish "Blue Bayou," "Desperado" (? ), duet with Smokey Robinson from Motown 25, but there are gems as well: Linda and Emmylou tearing it up on "Honky Tonk Blues"; a wonderfully raunchy live "Tumblin' Dice," a touching live "Keep Me From Blowin' Away" with the Seldom Scene. It's amazing to traverse the musical landscape Ronstadt has pursued: from wrapping her voice around the aging Sinatra in "Moonlight in Vermont" to the Nelson Riddle work, to Spanish excursions to Phillip Glass to Little Feat's raucous "All That You Dream." As this box set so clearly illustrates, there will never be another singer as versatile as Linda.

Half of the material of this set was new to me, but after a couple listenings I am admiring her for the many genres she was able to sing so well. The 4th CD blew me away, and I enjoyed listening to a lot of material new to me on the 3rd CD of the set.

I only wished it was longer, as I used to have her "Greatest Hits volume 1" and "Greatest Hits volume 2" on LP; and wished that all those cuts were on this set as well.

Linda Ronstadt has dominated radio airwaves all over the world for more than thirty years. I own some of her albums, and being interested in outtakes & rare tracks by excellent performers such as Linda Ronstadt I was looking forward to the release of the four-CD set.

The biggest disappointment, apart from some very awkward selections, was the lack of background information which is usually an additional & very welcome bonus for fans willing to spend that much money on a single item. This box sets offers you some nice (though not very recent)pictures but very little on musician credits or recording dates.

Linda Ronstadt has recorded some exceptionally fine music (she did miracles with Jimmy Webb tunes, for example) but also a lot of tracks way below her talent - and this exactly what this box set reflects.