With 1980’s Mad Love, Linda Ronstadt began making subtle changes to a musical formula that had been one of the most successful of the '70s. For all her cross-genre appeal, Ronstadt took herself seriously as an artist and creative individual; she was more interested in pushing toward new ideas for a new decade than holding onto triumphs of the past. The album is driven by the wiry, nervous energy of new wave songwriters like Elvis Costello, who contributed “Party Girl,” “Girls Talk," and “Talking in the Dark.” An L.A. power pop group called The Cretones backed Ronstadt on “Mad Love,” “Cost of Love," and “Justine,” emphasizing the veteran singer’s sharp, youthful vivacity. In many ways Ronstadt sounded younger in 1980 than she had in 1975, when she was making weeping ballads for women entering adulthood. She all but invented the adroit, girlish vitality that would make superstars out of The Go-Go’s, and new wave was a natural fit for her. At the same time, Mad Love displays a rare wisdom and maturity that was lost on some of Ronstadt’s junior competitors.