David Bowie wasn't the only '70s superstar to engage in regular, radical self-reinvention. Although she didn't push the artistic envelope like Bowie did, Linda Ronstadt has always kept her audiences guessing, introducing herself as country-pop's girl next door before transforming over the years into sexy rock chick, Broadway star, interpreter of the Great American Songbook and singer of traditional Mexican folk tunes.

 This four-CD set does its best to cover all the bases and depicts Ronstadt as a woman who, above all else, just loves to sing a good song. (She was, after all, among the first mainstream rock artists to cover -- albeit cluelessly -- the tunes of Elvis Costello.)

 The first two discs run through her pop singles and popular album tracks in reverse chronological order, ending with seven selections from her sessions with legendary arranger Nelson Riddle and five from her Spanish albums. The third disc is devoted to her collaborations with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Aaron Neville and Frank Sinatra, while the fourth rarities CD assembles five previously unreleased tracks, contributions to soundtracks and tribute albums, and other detritus. Not everything worked -- neither she nor her mid-'70s band of session musicians had the verve to deliver such ballsy rock and soul tracks as Tumblin' Dice or Heatwave, for instance -- but you've got to admire a singer driven to cut such a wide swath.

Track Listing Disc 1
1. When We Ran
2. Ruler Of My Heart
3. Cry 'Til My Tears Run Dry
4. We Will Rock You
5. Winter Light
6. Anyone Who Had A Heart
7. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
8. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
9. Do What You Gotta Do
10. Heartbeats Accelerating
11. Goodbye My Friend
12. Adios
13. Cry Like A Rainstorm
14. Trouble Again
15. Easy For You To Say
16. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
17. Get Closer
18. Hurt So Bad
19. I Can't Let Go
20. Ooh Baby Baby
21. Just One Look
22. Poor Poor Pitiful Me
 
Disc 2
1. Blue Bayou
2. Try Me Again
3. Heat Wave
4. Heart Like A Wheel
5. It Doesn't Matter Anymore
6. You're No Good
7. When Will I Be Loved
8. Long Long Time
9. Different Drum
10. Little Girl Blue
11. I Get Along Without You Very Well
12. My Funny Valentine
13. When You Wish Upon A Star
14. It Never Entered My Mind
15. Skylark
16. What's New
17. Quiereme Mucho
18. Frenesi
19. Mentira Salome
20. La Mariquita
21. El Crucifijo De Piedra
 
Disc 3
1. High Sierra
2. Lover's Return
3. The Blue Train
4. Feels Like Home
5. Gentle Annie
6. Please Remember Me
7. After The Gold Rush
8. Moonlight In Vermont
9. El Camino
10. All My Life
11. Don't Know Much
12. Back In The U. S. A.
13. El Sol Que Tu Eres
14. Telling Me Lies
15. Somewhere Out There
16. I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine
17. I Never Will Marry
18. Prisoner In Disguise
19. Faithless Love
20. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)
 
Disc 4
1. Gainesville
2. Sandman's Coming
3. My Hero
4. All I Have To Do Is Dream
5. Dreams To Dream
6. The Blacksmith
7. Bandit & A Heart Breaker
8. Keep Me From Blowing Away
9. The Sweetest Gift
10. Freezing
11. Poor Wandering One
12. Sorry Her Lot
13. I Want A Horse
14. All That You Dream
15. Hearts Against The Wind
16. Tumbling Dice
17. Border Town
18. Falling Star
19. Honky Tonk Blues
20. Lightning Bar Blues
21. Why
22. I'd Like To Know
23. Everybody Has Their Own Ideas