Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind by Linda Ronstadt, released on Elektra Records in 1989, value £50/60

WHAT do Ella Fitzgerald and Linda Ronstadt have in common apart from being excellent singers? writes MICHAEL BROOKS. With just the sound generated from their vocal chords, they have both been known to shatter a wine glass. If you tap a wine glass, it will go ping. If you can sing a note that matches the resonant frequency of the glass, it will shatter. But I digress.

In the course of her career, Linda Ronstadt has sung country, folk rock, rhythm and blues, standards, rock 'n' roll, light opera, Latin and white soul music. She had her first chart hit A Different Drum with her band The Stone Poneys, a song written by Mike Nesmith before he joined The Monkees. She became the best selling female artist of the seventies and one of the first to fill concert arenas. Most of her early hits were cover versions of well known standards such as, Blue Bayou, You're No Good, When Will I Be Loved, Heat Wave and That'll Be The Day. In the eighties she teamed up with record producer Peter Asher, one half of the duo Peter and Gordon (A World Without Love) and made a succession of albums that established her as one of the greatest female singers; to date, her record sales exceed 100 million and she has 27 Grammy award nominations, winning 11 of them.

Cry Like A Rainstorm revealed a well crafted approach to mainstream recording, featuring the two hit duets Don't Know Much and All My Life with Aaron Neville, also featuring the Jimmy Webb song Still Within the Sound of My Voice, which will stop you in your tracks; Adios, the final song, has Brian Wilson harmonising with her. This is one of her biggest selling albums (three million sales). The vinyl release is currently out of print making it extremely collectable; each and every song whether it is about love or heartbreak, makes you feel the emotions as if the songs were sung just for you.

In 2013, Linda revealed she had Parkinson's disease leaving her unable to sing due to loss of muscular control. She has now retired from the public eye and lives quietly with her family in San Francisco, California. This is simply an album of wonderful songs to listen to and cherish for always.

Just make sure there are no empty wine glasses close at hand.