Linda Ronstadt & Ann Savoy - Adieu False Heart

Adieu False Heart brings together Linda Ronstadt and Cajun singer Ann Savoy for a warm, porch-lit album of harmony singing, here on vinyl.

Released in 2006, it grew out of a friendship and an earlier collaboration on Savoy's tribute to Cajun music, and it became Ronstadt's final studio album before her retirement. Producer Steve Buckingham recorded it partly in Louisiana at Dirk Powell's studio in Breaux Bridge, and the setting seeps into every note.

The two voices are beautifully matched, Ronstadt's soprano floating over Savoy's earthy alto. The title track, an old-time ballad, sets the mood, while Marie Mouri leans fully into Cajun French. Their take on Walk Away Renée turns the Left Banke's baroque pop into something hushed and aching, and Richard Thompson's King of Bohemia gets a gentle, storytelling reading.

The pickers are top-tier: Sam Bush on mandolin, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Bryan Sutton and Buddy Miller on guitar, and Powell himself on banjo, bass and accordion. The album earned two Grammy nominations, including Best Traditional Folk Album.

Intimate and unhurried, it is a lovely late chapter in one of America's great singing careers, and a record that sounds made for a quiet evening and a good pair of speakers.