One of the greatest pop voices and song interpreters of her generation spoke with me on a Sunday afternoon in September from her home in Tucson, on a short break from a tour to promote her new album, Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions. The CD is a collaboration with longtime friend Emmylou Harris and many of the musicians with whom Ronstadt and Harris have worked with over the years: Glyn Johns (producer), Waddy Wachtel, and others.

There's a significant difference from previou...