Silk Purse is a second studio album by Linda Ronstadt. It was released by Capitol Records on April 13, 1970. Silk Purse contained a total of ten tracks that experimented with country music. It included covers of songs by Hank Williams and Mel Tillis. Featured on the album were two singles. Among them was the song “Long Long Time,” which became Ronstadt’s first charting single in the US and Canada.
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| The cover art for the album Silk Purse by Linda Ronstadt. |
Three months after the album’s release, Rolling Stone’s Alec Dubro reviewed Silk Purse in the magazine’s June 25 issue. “Some of the material is raw imitation and some is more original, but none is very far from the soul of the singer,” Dubro wrote. “It is Linda Ronstadt’s voice that makes this record; she endows the songs with a feeling that she has shown since the first Stone Poneys’ album, and she has developed her Country style considerably since her last album.” Lester Bangs also reviewed the album in Penthouse, writing: “Linda Ronstadt’s vocal style is like her physical presence: brimming with passion and vulnerability, tremulous, yet possessed of a core of absolute strength.”
The cover photoshoot for Linda Ronstadt’s Silk Purse (1970) was taken at a pigsty in Tennessee, reinforcing the album’s raw, country-influenced vibe. She is dressed in a simple and casual outfit—a stark contrast to more glamorous or polished imagery of the time. This choice aligned with the album’s authentic and straightforward musical style.
The setting and Linda’s relaxed pose emphasize themes of simplicity and a return to roots, aligning with the country and folk influences in the album. The pigs in the background serve as a playful but effective juxtaposition, highlighting the title Silk Purse (from the proverb “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”), which suggests making something beautiful or valuable out of humble beginnings.
