Review by LarryG
2½ stars out of 4
Bonnie sings in the opening track about wanting to go back to the fundamental
things. It's a good idea. Her records since her commercial breakthrough,
Nick of Time, have gotten a little too slick. She picked the righ
producer, Mitchell Froom. Froom has had great success roughing up
records with a gritty, percussive sound, most notably of Los Lobos' Kiko.
Raitt's love of the blues and Froom's rough edge fit together brilliantly
on Raitt's version of Willie Dixon's Spit Of Love. John Hiatt's Thing
Called Love was largely responsible for Raitt's comeback. Here, Raitt
does an even better improvement of Hiatt's Lovers Will, a haunting
tale of the damage lovers do, which has the brilliant simplicity
of Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me. At other times, like the glib Blue
For No Reason, Raitt's taste for the mainstream and lesser song selection
makes the record less interesting. But generally, the tension between
the sensibilities of two musical talents makes for compelling listening.
Here's what others reviewers have to say:
"Give Raitt points: Even she knew she was in a rut. On her first
new album in five years, she's recruited avant-mainstream producers
Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, and together they've concocted music
that's sparer and tauter than the smooth grooves of her last few
discs..." Rating: B Entertainment Weekly 4/10/98, p.66
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