It’s Gonna Take a Lotta Love: The Second Disc, Lemon Collect Nicolette Larson’s Warner Bros. Albums on “Look In My Direction”
On the evenings of February 21 and 22, 1998, a host of musicians took the stage of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to pay tribute to one of their own. Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, and Crosby, Stills and Nash were just a few of the artists who paid their respects in song to the late Nicolette Larson. The luminous singer with the honeyed voice had unexpectedly died just a couple of months earlier at the far too young age of 45. In the decades since her untimely passing, Nicolette’s small but rewarding body of work has only grown in stature as “Lotta Love” continues to soundtrack the summer each year on “yacht rock” radio playlists. Yet there’s so much more to Larson than just that chart-topping Neil Young cover. On November 14, Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings imprint teams with Second Disc Records for the first-ever, definitive anthology of Nicolette Larson’s recordings for the Warner Bros. label.
Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings presents all of Nicolette’s original studio and live albums for Warner Bros. on 4 CDs, produced by Ted Templeman (The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen) and singer-songwriter Andrew Gold (“Thank You for Being a Friend,” “Lonely Boy”), plus bonus tracks. The box contains newly remastered editions of Nicolette (1978), Live at the Roxy (1979), In the Nick of Time (1979), Radioland (1981), and All Dressed Up and No Place to Go (1982) which collectively include such guests as Linda Ronstadt; The Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald, Pat Simmons, Tom Johnston, Tiran Porter, John McFee, and Bobby LaKind; Little Feat’s Bill Payne, Paul Barrere, and Fred Tackett; guitar gods Eddie Van Halen and Ronnie Montrose; Van Dyke Parks; Valerie Carter; Klaus Voormann; and many others.
The collection adds numerous bonus tracks including the Jim Burgess 12-inch Disco Mix of “Lotta Love,” the super-rare soundtrack cut “Summer Hearts” from National Lampoon’s Vacation, and Nicolette’s duets with Emmylou Harris (“Hello Stranger”), Christopher Cross (“Say You’ll Be Mine”), Steve Goodman (“The One That Got Away”), and The Doobie Brothers (“Sweet Feelin'”).
A prolific background vocalist, Nicolette rose to fame singing with Neil Young on his classic albums American Stars ‘n Bars and Comes a Time, and it was Young’s “Lotta Love” that skyrocketed her to solo stardom. Her four studio albums and one live set for Warner Bros. effortlessly fused pop, rock, soul, R&B, country, gospel, bluegrass, and jazz on songs by a “Who’s Who” of the era including JD Souther and Glenn Frey (“Last in Love”), Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard (“Mexican Divorce”), Leon Russell (“Say You Will”), Jackson Browne (“I’ll Fly Away Without You”), Bill and Fran Payne (“Give a Little”), Michael McDonald (the duet “Let Me Go, Love”), and Lowell George (“Trouble”). Her albums were also highlighted by sizzling and soulful covers of such classics as Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want to Be with You,” Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It,” Allen Toussaint’s “Tears, Tears, and More Tears” and The Supremes’ “Back in My Arms (Again).” Larson’s Warner Bros. albums vividly capture the Southern California pop-rock sound of the era as sung by one of its premier vocalists.
This deluxe box set has been produced and annotated by TSD’s own Joe Marchese; his 8,000-word essay features archival quotes from Nicolette Larson, Neil Young, Ted Templeman, Andrew Gold, Linda Ronstadt, and Russ Kunkel. The booklet is copiously illustrated with photos and memorabilia images, and each disc is housed within the clamshell case in an individual wallet with detailed discographical annotations. The box has been designed by Paul Bevoir and all tracks have been newly mastered for this release by Ted Carfrae. Note that Nicolette’s recording of Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager’s “Fool Me Again” from the Arthur soundtrack could not be licensed for inclusion in this collection.
Nicolette Larson followed up her Warner Bros. years by relocating to Nashville and embracing country music; she notched further country hits on the MCA label before returning to pop with an album, 1988’s Shadows of Love, released only in Italy. Her final release, the children’s album Sleep, Baby, Sleep: Quiet Songs for Quiet Times, reteamed her with All Dressed Up and No Place to Go producer Andrew Gold in 1994 on the Sony Wonder label. Her discography endures: “Lotta Love,” “Give a Little,” “Let Me Go, Love,” and “Say You’ll Be Mine” are just a few of the songs on this box which remain staples on the modern-day soft rock, yacht rock, and classic rock airwaves. This set puts the extraordinary career of one of pop’s finest vocalists into full context for the very first time. It’s due on November 14 from Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings and Second Disc Records. You’ll find pre-order links and the track listing below. (Cherry Red is currently not shipping to the United States as a result of the tariffs situation; watch this space for further updates.) As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Nicolette Larson, Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings (Lemon/Second Disc QCDLEMBX263, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red)
CD 1: Nicolette (Warner Bros. LP BSK 3243, 1978)
- LOTTA LOVE
- RHUMBA GIRL
- YOU SEND ME
- CAN’T GET AWAY FROM YOU
- MEXICAN DIVORCE
- BABY, DON’T YOU DO IT
- GIVE A LITTLE
- ANGELS REJOICED
- FRENCH WALTZ
- COME EARLY MORNIN’
- LAST IN LOVE
Bonus Tracks
- LOTTA LOVE (JIM BURGESS DISCO MIX) (Warner Bros. 12-inch single PRO-A-781, 1978)
- HELLO, STRANGER – Emmylou Harris with Nicolette Larson (from Luxury Liner, Warner Bros. LP BSK 3115, 1977)
- LOTTA LOVE (THE LOTTA NIC MIX) (from What Is Hip? The Remix Project Vol. 1 ,Warner Bros. CD 48745-2, 2004)
CD 2: Live at the Roxy (Warner Bros. promotional LP WBMS 103, 1979)
- CLEAR LIGHT
- GIVE A LITTLE
- COME EARLY MORNIN’
- FRENCH WALTZ
- MEXICAN DIVORCE
- LAST IN LOVE
- YOU SEND ME
- LOTTA LOVE
- RHUMBA GIRL
- BABY, DON’T YOU DO IT
CD 3: In the Nick of Time (Warner Bros. LP HS 3370, 1979)
- DANCIN’ JONES
- JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME
- LET ME GO, LOVE
- RIO DE JANEIRO BLUE
- BREAKING TOO MANY HEARTS
- BACK IN MY ARMS
- FALLEN
- DADDY
- ISN’T IT ALWAYS LOVE
- TROUBLE
Bonus Tracks
- SWEET FEELIN’ – The Doobie Brothers with Nicolette Larson (Warner Bros. single 8828-B, 1979)
- THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY – Steve Goodman with Nicolette Larson (Asylum single E-46012, 1979)
- SAY YOU’LL BE MINE – Christopher Cross with Nicolette Larson (Warner Bros. single WBS 49705, 1981)
CD 4
Radioland (Warner Bros. LP BSK 3502, 1980)
- RADIOLAND
- OOO-EEE
- HOW CAN WE GO ON
- WHEN YOU COME AROUND
- TEARS, TEARS AND MORE TEARS
- STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
- BEEN GONE TOO LONG
- FOOL FOR LOVE
- LONG DISTANCE LOVE
All Dressed Up and No Place to Go (Warner Bros. LP BSK 3678, 1982)
- I’LL FLY AWAY (WITHOUT YOU)
- I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU
- JUST SAY I LOVE YOU
- NATHAN JONES
- I WANT YOU SO BAD
- TWO TRAINS
- LOVE, SWEET LOVE
- SAY YOU WILL
- TALK TO ME
- STILL YOU LINGER ON
Bonus Track
- SUMMER HEARTS (From the Motion Picture National Lampoon’s Vacation) (from Warner Bros. LP 23909-1, 1983)
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16 thoughts on “It’s Gonna Take a Lotta Love: The Second Disc, Lemon Collect Nicolette Larson’s Warner Bros. Albums on “Look In My Direction””
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Nicolette was so underrated. Lots of quality music on this box set. Her later “country” albums are well worth a listen. Only 45 when she passed. In true “rock chick” style was married to musician Hank DeVito (and divorced) Engaged to Andrew Gold at one time and was also married to ace drummer Russ Kunkel at the time of her death. A huge loss.
Had no idea Nic was married to Russ when she passed…i met Russ last year when he was on the 2024 Cayamo Cruise playing with Lyle Lovett…if i had known, I’d have given him my respects & condolences…always dug Nic…RIP…
Russ was also married to Mama Cass’s sister Leah. As Leah Kunkel she released a couple of albums in the late 70s and a couple more as The Coyote Sisters with Marty Gwinn. Leah died last November aged 76.
Leah was also an attorney; in addition to a singer
Hank Devito wrote “Queen Of Hearts” about his marriage to Nicolette. The “Joker” in the lyrics is (supposedly) a reference to Neil Young (who was also involved with her at one point).
Preordered & great price on Amazon US like $38…always dug Nicolette…i have the single disc Warner Archives best of, which is great but i want to go deeper, so this set will hit the spot…i have the Neil Young Archives 3 box & there is some great unreleased Nic on there…i hope there will be a future set with her post-Warner stuff…and because there are some post-Warner tracks on that best-of, will still hang onto that…keep up the great work…and thank goodness for Amazon US (despite Bezos) cuz i wouldnt be able to get any imports without paying thru the nose re the illegal tariffs…
Did not include “I’d Die For This Dance” from the Twins soundtrack (performed with Jeff Beck)
Unfortunately, that 1988 track was not released on Warner Bros. and is not controlled by Warner, so it was unavailable for inclusion in this collection which spans the years 1977-1983. It would be a great candidate for a collection of Nicolette’s later work.
Perhaps that Arthur track will be available on a followup set as well, mopping up all other odds & ends?? I knew Hank Devito wrote “Queen of Hearts”, had no idea it was about Nic or “the Joker” was Neil…i do wonder if Neil, Dave Edmunds or Juice Newton knew??
Agreed
Absolutely worth it just for the Disco Stereo Mix of “Lotta Love” alone! R.I.P. Jim Burgess!
Nicolette was also a member of the Commander Cody Band for a short time, singing the lead on the classic “Mama Hated Diesels” and a few others. She appeared on one of the Lost Planet Airmen’s final LPs and later toured with Cody when he launched the Commander Cody Band in 1977. She appeared on two Arista albums with the Cody band. Video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrpw4lXiSY
Great video! Thanks, William. Her time with Commander Cody is covered in the liner notes; I really think we could have compiled disc after disc with more of Nicolette’s guest appearances and background vocals! She truly was an extraordinary talent and a vibrant presence onstage and in the studio.
What has happened to this release? It’s already showing “out of stock” on most sites and Amazon has delayed fulfillment.
Amazon is unable to fill orders for this.
I’m so sorry to hear this, Earl. Amazon has been having tremendous difficulty sourcing many imports of late. Cherry Red is once again shipping directly to the U.S. if that’s an option for you, as is Amazon UK. Dusty Groove has just sold out but will be getting more copies in soon. Amoeba Music also had the box in stock over the weekend along with other U.S. indies. Hope this helps at least a little. We want nothing more than for our releases to be enjoyed by as many people as possible, so it’s always frustrating when Amazon lets us down.