Nick Of Time

This is a fake album. I refuse to believe this existed yesterday. The project known as "1001 Albums Generator" is a rogue AI that has altered the fabric of existence to add this album into our timeline. There is nobody by the name of "Bonnie Raitt", it's the Berenstoin Bears and Mandela is actually still alive. Two out of five. "Love Letter" was cool.

Wow…Three one-star albums in a row. I’ve completed my first one-star hat trick. I don’t know what to say…it’s all so much… [wipes the tiniest tear from the corner of his eye] I couldn’t have done it without you, Bonnie Raitt: The late 80’s production sheen and synthetics are laid on so thick on this record, that you’ve left me with no choice but to achieve this impressive feat. I’d also like to thank U2 and their truly terrible 2000 record, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” for yesterday’s one star experience. To Anthrax: I probably should have given Among the Living two stars because I like you guys on a personal level…I really, really like you (just not your music), but without that first one star record to get the ball rolling, we wouldn’t be here today. Finally, I’d like to thank the Academy, my agent, my business manager - whazzzup Pete - along with my lovely wife and non-existent kids. I couldn’t have done it without all of your support. Good luck to you all, one day it could be you up here talking about the terrible records you’ve been subjected to. This place…*this* is where we find hope, where wings take dream. God bless you all and long live the Michelin Man.

I don’t Raitt it

I liked the radio playlist that Spotify created after this

Does the word "groundbreaking" have an antonym?

Yay, a woman finally! I haven't listened to this one in a long, long time and it was wonderful to listen to it again. I love her voice, love her music. (Also, her hair. My god that HAIR!) Favorite tracks: Thing Called Love, Cry On My Shoulder, Nobody's Girl, I Will Not Be Denied, and I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again.

Really a brilliant lyricist in this genre. Traditional without being cliched. There's a blend of strength and vulnerability in the sensibility of the writing. The music doesn't stand out so much as the writing but it's all rock solid.

Genre: Pop Rock 2/5 In what was supposedly a return to form, as well as a triumphant return to pop stardom, Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time is certainly an album of music that makes noise. Assumedly picked for this book because of its chart-topping success and long list of accolades and nominations, Nick of Time does absolutely nothing new for the genre and almost absolutely nothing for me. Its overall blandess is too hard to ignore, but it has a charm to it that's also hard to ignore, and hard to fault the album for. From its title track and intro straight through to the end, we're gifted with just over 40 minutes of a lot of the same sounds, themes, and instrumentation. Well-produced and arranged, though, filling the mix with all of the bland textures they could possibly find, culminating in a very by-the-book, easy-to-listen-to rock album. Bonnie Raitt's vocals are just fine too, neither adding or detracting from the overall experience, but all together this album just doesn't do very much at all. Totally inoffensive, and very sweet and innocent, but non-essential.

I really didn't need to revisit this. where i grew up this was everywhere. this was every car pool ride to school. every soccer practice, whatever. i guess it's fine by normal person standards but fuck this album tbh

Nope. Besides the first song all I got was images of pickup trucks and leopard print and a whole lot of meh.

Wise man once described this as aiming for mediocrity and falling way short. Bland, corny nonsense that was too painful to sit the whole way through.

This has to be the kind of album "you had to be there" to appreciate. There's nothing here that makes it set itself apart from anything that ever was and has been since. Do we, in the year of our lord 2024, really need to hear this before we die? Probably not. Key tracks: Nick of Time

About halfway through Have A Heart I said to myself, out loud ‘This is really fucking boring.’ I think the printers screwed up the title of the last song, surely it’s called Middle Of The Road’s My Name? This is non revolutionary music of the highest order, because it’s not revolutionary in it’s music, which is backwards looking and safe, in it’s lyrics, which are simple and unremarkable, and in it’s topics, which are love and heartbreak all wrapped in a neat, socially conservative, little package. The small c conservatism of this album really pissed me off, it’s all about reaching middle age and thinking that you need to find a ‘real man’ to settle down with, having a baby just in the ‘nick of time.’ Even the potentially pro independent woman title of Nobody’s Girl is ruined by a song that’s actually about a man and how the titular character wouldn’t be ‘nobody’s girl’ wouldn’t get ‘upset over the least little thing,’ wouldn’t be ‘fragile like a string of pearls’ if she were to just let herself be loved by this random guy. But we never hear anything from the other woman’s perspective at all, it’s all just the narrator’s interpretation, the projection of their own feelings. I kinda wanted to like this. I saw how low the rating was, the underdog rooting part of my brain lit up, and really, I’m a sucker for vulnerable women singing about their vulnerabilities. But Nick Of Time is much less musically interesting than a lot of those sorts of artists that I love, and is presented with this political stand point that I do not understand at all. It’s presented with a veneer of Pop-Rock sensibility, but this is a Country album, and a Country album of the self-righteous, reactionary kind that ruins the genre for so many people. ‘A friend of mine, she cries at night.’ After listening to this album, I completely understand why

All the charm of the demo button on a 1980s casio keyboard. Lyrics were also kinda shit but she did have magnificent pipes.

The kimono, divorced housewife energy of this album is unmatched.

So eighties you can smell the hairspray. Trapped somewhere between country and Bonnie Tylers hair. Not sure how it made it out of the sports bars, karaoke lounges and the pool houses of the mid west. Though having lived through this era I’m pretty sure it didn’t cross the Atlantic. Elevator music at worst, pedestrian at best. However, mostly harmless.

Let's stop shitting on Bonnie Raitt and start respecting the fact that she had the guts to combine country with crappy 80s synthpop, and to do it all 20 years past her prime, too. Truly praiseworthy. I salute your terrible decision-making, Bonnie 🫡

Nah.

Favourite track:

Radio friendly, low end pop. Don’t see how something as beige as this makes it on to a list that needs to be heard before I die

Ok, 1001 is a lot of albums...it's necessary to have some things like it, I understand. Wikipedia says it's really important, and I'll never get why.

Elevator music. The sort that's only bearable if you're going to the second floor. Very corny lyrics as well. *This* won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year? Seriously? Seems to only show one thing: the late eighties were a very bad time for *good* pop music. Bland songwriting all around (with nine covers out of eleven tracks, you could at least choose songs that are better than this), cheesy or hackneyed instrumentation, professional but soulless performances... There's nothing to save this utter debacle, not even Bonnie Raitt's more than competent singing. Oh, the fake reggae shenanigans of "Have A Heart" are somewhat refreshing at some point, at least compared to the blandness that's before and after it (and probably helped a lot in the album's commercial success thanks to the song's promotion on MTV). But that's the only positive thing I can say about *any* of those lame songs. About the larger context about this record, the whole story about Raitt going through a rough patch, both personally and professionally, before finding unexpected success with this album, doesn't change anything about my assessment up there. I'm happy for Raitt, she looks like a nice person, and probably deserved to be cut some slack as an competent artist who had already worked long in the business. But that sort of "storytelling" has nothing to do with the music itself. When you read that raving retrospective review Pitchfork gave about the album, it's just appalling. 80% of it is about that story, not the music itself. This is *not* how you should assess the quality or flaws of a record. Context is important, but never to that point. Between 2012 and 2020, this album went from number 230 to 492 in Rolling Stones' list of 500 greatest albums of all time. You can bet your cowboy boots it will be out of that list in subsequent versions of it, probably the next one if its editors have a shred of good sense left in their minds. And I hope it goes out of Dimery's list soon as well. You just *can't* have so many glaring omisions in the 1001 albums book to make room for such a bad record instead. Number of albums left to review: 749 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 124 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 62 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 66 (including this one)

Very little I found enjoyable in this album. From country sounds to generic synth, just seemed to represent the worst of the 80s. Not sure why this is so acclaimed.

Nick of Time is perfectly pleasant, very Magic 105.4. But what follows is a godawful mess of the most hideously produced country it's been my misfortune to hear. The kind of stuff that puts you off country for life. The cod reggae of Have a Heart is a nice break from this. Then back to more of the same. It's not good.

A bit bland for my tastes, despite me usually liking well played AOR. I checked out a few of her earlier albums and it just sounds like this album sanded off all Raitt's rough edges. Too smoooooth.

Is it pop or is it blues? A little country and gospel maybe? A touch of MTV? Yep. All that and a bag of chips. Raitt's 1989 album Nick of Time is a stylistic mélange that exemplifies where the blues were in the 80s. At the same time, it plays well today as an example of Raitt's exquisite songwriting and selection. The mid-to late 80s showed a revival in roots music and blues especially. This was the era of Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robert Cray, and, of course, Bonnie Raitt. Some, like Vaughn, were pure blues. Raitt, Cray, and others fused traditional blues with 80s pop, creating a new form of pop blues. Nick of Time is one of the best examples of that sound - classic blues guitar mixed with synths and slick production. Without Nick of Time, you don't have Tedeschi Trucks. Without Raitt, Cray, and a few others, blues may have just died out and become a legacy style like ragtime or swing.

Grata sorpresa, no conocía ni a la artista ni sus canciones. En el primer tema casi me siento en una sala de espera médica, pero de ahí en adelante no hace más que mejorar. Y además en diversos ritmos, todos muy bien interpretados. Hermoso descubrimiento

10/5…just saw her last week. Been in love with her and her music since ‘74. She plays a mean slide guitar and is ranked 86th in top 100 guitarists. She is only female to have her own Stratocaster “ The Bonnie Raitt” Stratocaster. Fantastic musician and this album is one of her very best..depends on who what what you like musically, but she is #2 on my list.

I expected this to be a polarizing album between the soulful balladeers who like sweet lyrics and gentle chords vs the hard screaming junkies who want loud instrument noise with screaming singers of 3 word lyrics for 7 minutes. Album sounds (and is) very dated 80s, but Raitt's smooth tones fit well with the mellow moods. 1001 albums ranking is a joke, but this album is a easy listen and one of the original fusion albums of rock and blues with blues taking the lead. Throw in a little country tones s well and you get 5/5 rating.

Most amazing album, my mom played it for us growing up. Danced to have a heart with my mom at my wedding <3

One of the best ever. Great songs, fantastic singer/songwriter.

Never heard this before, but if I had it would have been on a tape in my mum’s car

I love when the records I own on physical media pop up. I'm happy to listen to them, especially if I haven't in a while. Bonnie Raitt is pretty much an instant fives stars from me because I'm just a fan. Sometimes that's enough.

Great album -- I'd be happy to listen to this anytime.

Loved it!!

One of my favorite albums

So good

I had this when it came out and loved it. Five Stars all the way. She won a cart full of grammy's.

Heroine

80s country-rock is a bit cringe, but Bonnie Rait gets five stars just for being so cool.

fantastic album, great rock and roll.

Also awesome!

lovely

Excellent album, great singing, great instrumentals. Great all around.

Love the album, great singing, lyrics and music , haven’t listened in about 30 years but loved returning to it

You know that friend you haven’t seen in years but when you finally do, you both pick up the conversation exactly where you left off? This album is that friend. This album is like an expertly prepared meal of all your favorite dishes...familiar but delicious...nobody knew at the time, but this wouldn’t even be the best album of Bonnie’s second act. Indispensable.

A friend of mine she cries at night

Maybe the best sounding album of its kind/era…Bonnie’s voice could ground anything

I've never really been a Bonnie Raitt fan, but this is a great album.

Oh an album I owned and enjoyed when it came out! I haven’t listened to the album in a very long time. Loving the big hits, but this album also has a lot of depth beyond the hits. Really a great album. Listened to it a couple of times and love it from beginning to end.

Great album. All songs are worth listening to with a few stand out hits. Amazing voice. Worth having this on vinyl.

The raw sexism in some of these replies is really something to read. Lotsa little boys in these comments bothered by a woman singing about...being a woman. Raitt's voice, of course, is just gorgeous. And she's a hell of a slide player without being overly showy. Unfortunately, the album's production is typical overly compressed late 80's (at least they don't have a ton of gated drums). It's mellow and lovely. Just roll with it. And pull your heads out of your asses, boys.

Enjoyed this more than i'd like to admit

Un disco estupendo, que le sirvió a Bonnie Raitt para recoger el merecido éxito que llevaba años persiguiendo. En realidad fue desbordante, millones de copias, los Grammy más imporantes batiendo a Travelling Wilburys entre otras lindezas y la aclamación de la crítica. Cuidado que lo que hizo en 2023 no es menor: "Just Like That" ganó el Grammy de canción del año ante Beyoncé o Harry Styles. es decir no estamos ante ninguna One Hit Wonder ni ante una adeveniza. I´m in the mood con Lee Hooker (otro que vivió una inmaculada resurrección en los 90), es un clásico no incluido en este disco sino en The Healer (el de Hooker además de otros que se sumaron a esa redención como Santana) de ese mismo 89. Thing called love es una delicia (John Hiatt) de la que a buen seguro aprendió Shania Twain entre otras muchas. Nick of time es una gozada, imposible que haya alguien a quien no le guste. Cry o my shoulder cuenta en los coros con nada más y nada menos que Dvid Crosby y Graham Nash aunque lo que destaca es la Slide de Raitt. Sheril Crow tomó buena nota de todo ello (Love letter... suena a lo que sonará Tuesday Night Music Club apenas cuatro años después) Real man tiene ese piano a lo Warren Zevon que con la voz de Raitt suena a gloria. Nobody´s girl es una canción que muy pocas pueden interpretar como lo hace ella. Have a heart, tercer single del disco, es la única que ha perdido algo de brillo por la producción ochentera de Don Was, que estuvo magnífico en este álbum. I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again es una delicada balada con el piano de Herbie Hanckock. La voz de Raitt brilla con una luz majestuosa que emociona por su naturalidad y belleza. Cierra con un blues, clásico y muy bie llevado: The Road's My Middle Name. Este disco se publicó en el momento exacto para tener el triunfo, de forma tan merecida como inesperada algo que le pasó sin ir más lejos a Natalie Cole o a Norah Jones años después. Pero Bonnie estuvo antes y lo hizo extremadamente bien. En mi opinión mucho mejor que Garth Brooks... Otros discos de un excelente 89: Stone Roses de Stone Roses, Playing with Fire de Spacemen 3,New York de Lou Reed, Doolitle de Pixies, On Fire de Galaxie 500, Disintegration de The Cure, Paul´s Boutique de los Beastie Boys, Technique de New Order, Freedom de Neil Young, Let Love Rule de Lenny Kravitz, The Seeds of Love de Tears for Fears, Automatic de Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rockets de Love and Rockets, Dum-Dum de las Vaselines, Spike de Elvis Costello, Rhythm Nation de Janet Jackson, Mind Bomb de The The, Mothers Milk de los Red Hot Chili Peppers, Full Moon Fever de Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Ojalá Que Llueva Café de Juan Luis Guerra, Shahen-Shah Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, The Raw and the Cooked de los Fine Young Cannibals, Primal Scream de Primal Scream, The Whitey Album de Ciccone Youth, Lōc-ed After Dark de Tone Lōc, 3 Feet High and Rising de De La Soul, 101 de Depeche Mode, Like a Prayer de Madonna, Nick of Time de Bonnie Raitt, No More Mr. Nice Guy de Gang Starr, Raw Like Sushi de Neneh Cherry, The Real Thing de Faith No More, Liquidizer de Jesus Jones, Heart Shaped World de Chris Isaak, Bleach de Nirvana, Velveteen de Transvision Vamp, Pump de Aerosmith, The Healer de John Lee Hooker, Crossroads de Tracy Chapman, Hats de The Blue Nile, All Hail the Queen de Queen Latifah, Done by the Forces of Nature de los Jungle Brothers, Back on the Block de Quincy jones, Me and a Monkey on the Moon de Felt, Ninety de 808 State, Hallelujah EP de los Happy Mondays o Pump Up the Jam de Technotronic, If I Should Fall From Grace With God de The Pogues, Soul II Soul- Club Classics Vol. One. Y como placeres culpables: Cuts Both Ways de Gloria Stefan, Foreign Affair de Tina Turner, ...But Seriously de Phil Collins y Neither Fish Nor Flesh de Terence Trent D'Arby

I love her

So many points for Nick of Time. The rest is lovely.

pretty melodies and amazing ballads. what a voice

That's fine.

Simple, bluesy, fun.

She's got some kinda comforting soul to her. Like country blues but tweaked, can't quite describe it.

This reminded me that I should listen to Bonnie more. Such feel good music.

Bonnie has a few good songs, but not a whole album of good songs

Ended up enjoying this just fine. Not really something I would listen to otherwise. But I liked it.

She seems like a very nice lady

wow she looks a lot like dominique dipierro from mr robot, did she time travel?

Really enjoyed that. Beginning to think I’m just a Country boy at heart…

Can’t let gang know I fw this, wonderful 80’s soft pop w/ just a hint of twang, super cool.

Ah, Bonnie Raitt. She had that magic power, possessed by few, to sing words that sound truer sung than spoken. There's something about her lyrics that are so simple, plain, and just ring out in her voice. I don't really know how it works, how you get that ability. But she's got it. And that makes her lines cut to the core more than most. She's also straddling this line on most of the songs– they're definitely commercial, but not overly. A production style of a certain time– plenty of Prince influence here, which I was surprised by– but never too much. Never so much to distract from her performance and her delivery, her gift. I love it and I love her. 4/5

Very good album. Hadn't heard much from her before, but she has a nice voice and a bluesy rock feel. I had expected more of a country sound but was pleasantly surprised.

I couldn’t tell you how this album stacks up to other Bonnie Raitt albums, but that’s only because there is nothing about her that should have connected with me when I was eight years old and she was releasing albums. I’ve always thought there was something fairly Nancy Meyers-esque about her music. But I like Nancy Meyers, even if I’m not the target audience. Same goes with Bonnie Raitt. Great blues/country-ish music. Great album.

Nice

This was a huge album for my mom when I was growing up, and listening to it now it's clearly easy listening meets country.

Nice

Held back a bit by the 80s production

So talented! It's so eclectic! Soulful and country and jazz and awesome guitar playing!!! Telling stories. Love her.

Good ole time country rnr!

Great blues/rock album. An amazingly expressive voice.

This was a pleasant throwback to my middle school years when Bonnie Raitt was EVERYWHERE. This was a good listen. More nostalgic than I was expecting it to be. I knew the radio hits but this was enjoyable and fun, but also quiet and gentle in just the right way. Great album.

Just a really enjoyable AOR/Blues album. Another one that just sounded in the background and kinda bland, but I liked everything i heard.

Bonnie Raitt has always been synonymous with I Can't Make You Love Me in my mind. And then I listened to this album and realized that Miss Bonnie can rock it! This is really good '80s pop rock that kinda bleeds into '90s vibes too. After this record I found out that she also did Something to Talk About - one of those songs you forget about but as soon as you hear it again, you instantly remember how much you enjoy it. Nick of Time gave off that feeling a lot too. Within seconds of a song starting you instantly fall in love with it. Standouts are Nick of Time, Love Letter, and I Will Not Be Denied.

My mom loved this album and I didn't realize how many good memories it would bring up. I can't rate it objectively.

Wow her voice is incredible. I am also just completely blown away by her guitar playing. It's a lot of slide stuff, and I think a lot of open tuning to make that easier, but holy smokes she just knows how to make everything feel so gritty and dirty and bluesy. There are a couple of really big tracks here -> Thing Called Love, Love Letter, and the inimitable Have A Heart (which holds so much nostalgia for me personally). To me this is the epitome of 80s Dad Rock blues/country/rock-n-roll fusion with pop structure and production - and it is /SO/ fantastic. With that said her next record Luck Of The Draw would maybe have been a better pick for this list. If it weren't for all the cheesy 80's synth-keys this would be a 5-star rating no problem. There are some really great songs hiding behind some sounds that are a tiny bit offensive to modern listeners with high fidelity streaming and fancy headphones (as opposed to an FM broadcast or Cassette in Grampy's LTD which is what it was produced for...). I think a modern remix of this album would do it some good.

Who doesn’t love a great comeback story? Being broke and newly sober will bring you some clarity, that’s for sure. Just listen to the title track: “When did the choices get so hard With so much more at stake? Life gets mighty precious When there's less of it to waste Mm, mm Scared you'll run out of time” Yeah, Bonnie got her shit together and made a great record … So many great songs that haven’t aged one bit.

Hoppla, ich dachte: Bonnie Raitt, kenne ich nicht. Aber dann stimmte " Nick of time" an .... und ich kenne es und es ist schön zu hören.

not exactly to my taste but solid album. I owned this in the early 90s during a period where I owned only a boom box and a few cassettes and this was one of them so I listened to it a lot more than I would have otherwise.

Nick Of Time – 4 Thing Called Love – 4 Love Letter – 4 Cry On My Shoulder – 3.5 Real Man – 4.5 Nobodies Girl – 4.5 Have A Heart – 4 Too Soon To Tell – 4 I Will Not Be Denied – 3 I Aint Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again – 4 The Roads My Middle Name – 4 Average - 3.95 I quite enjoyed this 👍

Thing Called Love. Me ha parecido un poco largo, y eso que no era largo. Aún así, le doy un 4.

It has that certain late 80's charm, thanks to the production backing up her great vocals.

Other than being bald, the one characteristic I shared with the late David Crosby is that we both find Bonnie Raitt to be our favorite singer, period. This isn't my personal favorite album of hers, but any work by Bonnie beats the crap out of anything else this record club has turned up thus far. Thank you!

“Thing Called Love” is a poppy hit, “Nobody’s Girl” is a great song

Enjoyable, 7/10

Easy listening Like lyrics "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"

Pretty class actually

Out of the gate with some cheesy 80's keys and a restrained bassline. Certain cheese factor on display here, but it is very calm and beautiful in its own right. Oddly I could imagine this opening up into a fat jam during a live show. Once again, seeing some strong jam potential on Thing Called Love. Country twang with some serious dub influences during the instrumental interlude. This is a surprise jam. Man, Nobody's Girl is a really pretty song. So simple, but the vocals are really nice against the stripped down acoustic pairing. Back to that dub influence on Have A Heart. Album ends on a pretty classic Country Blues romp with The Road's My Middle Name. This was another pleasant surprise. Not something I would have picked out for myself, but I can see why it is here. Bonnie Raitt puts together a well-produced and varied album with strong vocals across all 11 tracks. She leans into some of the influences du jour (cheesy synths on Nick Of Time, dub a la Police on Have a Heart and Thing Called Love) and does them well. This was solid straight through and I would absolutely listen again. 4 / 5

Soft 4. Really liked this album. Bonnie is extremely talented, beautiful voice. Makes it easy listening.

Wasn’t sure at first, but was fully on board by the end of it. I need these rhythms in my soul

Day31 - i was just a teen when this album came out it was my first intro to bonnie raitt. i remember liking a couple songs then but now i can appreciate this album and see why it was so loved and awarded and if you’ve never heard her version of angel from montgomery you should now.

I loved her voice! First female artist in an album omg

Better than I expected, "the road's my middle name" is great

Fun bluesy album