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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.  Tomorrow, November 14, the first-ever, definitive anthology of Nicolette Larson’s recordings for the Warner Bros. label arrives from Second Disc Records and Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings.

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 tomorrow from Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings and Second Disc Records.  You’ll find pre-order links and the track listing below.  Look in her direction.  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)

1. LOTTA LOVE
2. RHUMBA GIRL
3. YOU SEND ME
4. CAN’T GET AWAY FROM YOU
5. MEXICAN DIVORCE
6. BABY, DON’T YOU DO IT
7. GIVE A LITTLE
8. ANGELS REJOICED
9. FRENCH WALTZ
10. COME EARLY MORNIN’
11. LAST IN LOVE

Bonus Tracks

12. LOTTA LOVE (JIM BURGESS DISCO MIX) (Warner Bros. 12-inch single PRO-A-781, 1978)
13. HELLO, STRANGER – Emmylou Harris with Nicolette Larson (from Luxury Liner, Warner Bros. LP BSK 3115, 1977)
14. 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)

1. CLEAR LIGHT
2. GIVE A LITTLE
3. COME EARLY MORNIN’
4. FRENCH WALTZ
5. MEXICAN DIVORCE
6. LAST IN LOVE
7. YOU SEND ME
8. LOTTA LOVE
9. RHUMBA GIRL
10. BABY, DON’T YOU DO IT

CD 3: In the Nick of Time (Warner Bros. LP HS 3370, 1979)

1. DANCIN’ JONES
2. JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME
3. LET ME GO, LOVE
4. RIO DE JANEIRO BLUE
5. BREAKING TOO MANY HEARTS
6. BACK IN MY ARMS
7. FALLEN
8. DADDY
9. ISN’T IT ALWAYS LOVE
10. TROUBLE

Bonus Tracks

11. SWEET FEELIN’ – The Doobie Brothers with Nicolette Larson (Warner Bros. single 8828-B, 1979)
12. THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY – Steve Goodman with Nicolette Larson (Asylum single E-46012, 1979)
13. 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)

1. RADIOLAND
2. OOO-EEE
3. HOW CAN WE GO ON
4. WHEN YOU COME AROUND
5. TEARS, TEARS AND MORE TEARS
6. STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
7. BEEN GONE TOO LONG
8. FOOL FOR LOVE
9. LONG DISTANCE LOVE

All Dressed Up and No Place to Go (Warner Bros. LP BSK 3678, 1982)

10. I’LL FLY AWAY (WITHOUT YOU)
11. I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU
12. JUST SAY I LOVE YOU
13. NATHAN JONES
14. I WANT YOU SO BAD
15. TWO TRAINS
16. LOVE, SWEET LOVE
17. SAY YOU WILL
18. TALK TO ME
19. STILL YOU LINGER ON

Bonus Track

20. SUMMER HEARTS (From the Motion Picture National Lampoon’s Vacation) (from Warner Bros. LP 23909-1, 1983)​