Putumayo Presents - Feels Like Home - Linda Ronstadt's musical odyssey

Thoroughly enjoying the soundtrack to Linda Ronstadt’s musical odyssey titled Feels Like Home – Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands which is the companion piece to the book of the same name which was recently released (on Putumayo Records & Heyday Books, respectively). The record includes influential songs from her childhood and career, as well as several of her own interpretations of classic Mexican songs. Participating artists include legends like Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, Taj Mahal and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos.

The featured songs on the collection are an excellent companion and illustrate the influences that helped mold Ronstadt into the artist she became. Lalo Guerrero, known as the “father of Chicano Music” would often visit Linda’s father, Gilbert, early in Linda’s life, teaching her and her siblings' traditional Mexican songs. Here, in collaboration with Cooder, Guerrero sings “Barrio Viejo,” a poignant song he wrote about the loss of old neighborhoods and ways of life.

For Ronstadt, her home has always been a place of creativity and she is joined by her late brother, Michael along with her other brother Pete, to sing the lovelorn “El Sueño.” Roots music revivalists Los Cenzontles follow with the Mexican folk song, “Palomas Que Andan Volando” (Pigeons That Are Flying). The ever-musical Ronstadt family continues to shine with “Canadian Moon,” a previously unreleased version by Ronstadt family members known as P.D. Ronstadt & the Co.

The underlying story Ronstadt expresses in her book and this collection is illustrated in several of the featured songs. The Sonoran region was long home to Indigenous people, Mexicans and other inhabitants of the region who lived and worked in close proximity to each other. Several songs demonstrate the importance of cultural openness and acceptance rather than living in fear of our neighbors to the South. “Across the Border” is both a love song and a voyage of escape by Linda with Emmylou Harris. Their rendition of this Springsteen composition features another legend, Neil Young, on harmonica. Jackson Browne’s “The Dreamer” featuring Los Cenzontles, tells a sobering story of a family divided by the border and unjust immigration laws. Los Cenzontles return with “Naninan Upirin,” sung in the indigenous language P’urhépecha and showcasing the distinct folk music tradition of this ancient people and their culture. The sweetly melancholic Appalachian folk song “I Never Will Marry,” performed by Ronstadt with Dolly Parton, fits in well with the broken-hearted Mexican ballads that accompany it. After a sweeping tour of the music of Mexico and the borderlands which inspired her, “Piel Canela” sees Linda and her band interpreting another Latin musical style that was ever-present in her childhood home: Cuban mambo. The collection concludes with a final offering from Los Cenzontles, joined by David Hidalgo and folk and blues icon Taj Mahal, who perform “Voy Caminando” about a young migrant’s journey towards his dream.

A wonderful collection showcasing some of Ronstadt’s best recordings that may not be on your radar – Well worth diving in to these unknown waters to experience these tunes!

For a taste, check these out: