Karla Bonoff

If Karla Bonoff's debut album sounded like the sort of record that Linda Ronstadt or James Taylor were making at the same time, that shouldn't have been a surprise: the rhythm section of Leland Sklar and Russell Kunkel was the same, the tasteful chicken-scratching of guitarist Waddy Wachtel was present, and so was a cheering section including Ronstadt, Don Henley, Eagle associate J.D. Souther, and other charter members of the SoCal country/folk/rock club of the '70s. Also, Ronstadt had cut three of the songs on her last album and Bonnie Raitt had done one. All of this meant that, despite Bonoff's competent singing, which actually better accentuated the lyrics of her songs than Ronstadt's, it was hard for her to get out from under the shadow of the members of her peer group who had preceded her. Nevertheless, the album's ten songs paint an effective picture of the ups and downs of love, circa the mid-'70s. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide