Dan Fogelberg News

It's a bit disconcerting to remember a now-classic 28-year-old album cover featuring a very sexy Linda Ronstadt in roller skates and short shorts, only to have her remind the audience that her 60th birthday arrives this month.

With the tick of time, one would expect that her voice would be in a state of decline, and it is certainly not as dependable as it was in that earlier age. Ronstadt showed Friday at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles that she still has some impressive pipes: an wide dynamic range and the ability to maintain power even at frequencies that test her upper limits.

Nevertheless, her show proved a disappointment, not because of the state of her instrument but because of her lack of involvement.

Ronstadt never has been a particularly mobile or physical act. She tends to stand in one place and work her way through the material with a craftsman's persistence. Nonetheless, she has shown an ability in the past to wring every last drop of emotion from a particular piece, simply by imprinting the songs with a heart that seems both strong and vulnerable.

That was then. This is now. Her set was dominated by traditional pop standards and ballads from various sections of her own career, and she seemed more a technician than a communicator. Her enunciation was uncomfortably perfect, her stark changes in volume seemed more rote than inspired, and she treated the songs with scholarly reverence rather than passionate connection.

The signs of wear are evident, though not in any overwhelming way. Ronstadt stumbled ever so slightly during parts of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," and she had moments during Jimmy Webb's "Adios" in which she fell short of the precision for which she strives. She did, however, conclude the number with a note of great duration and clarity.

The sound, unfortunately, was muffled. At times, her tone suggested she might have a cold, and the drums had all the mushy boom of a 1960s record made on the cheap.

Using a four-piece rhythm section, she employed sax, flute and trumpet for various numbers, also adding background vocalists Arnold McCuller and Marlena Jeter, who sometimes -- particularly during "Just One Look" -- sounded more like four voices.

Surprisingly, Ronstadt avoided entirely her new album, "The Zozo Sisters: Adieu False Heart," recorded with Ann Savoy. Not so for opener Richie Furay, who presented several pieces from his current "Heartbeat of Love" CD. The Buffalo Springfield founder sings with accessibility, embodying the same airy vocal quality that worked for such country-rock/singer-songwriter contemporaries as Kenny Loggins, Dan Fogelberg and Glenn Frey. His set was overstuffed with midtempo pledges of romantic allegiance: A life without tension sounds great, but art without tension is uncompelling.

Still, Furay seemed to really be enjoying himself and appreciating the opportunity to make music. Ronstadt was there in body, but the spirit apparently stayed home.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter