Background: Bonnie Raitt was going through a tough time in life when the album came out, she was sort of wavering between recording contracts and had some substance issues and a skiing accident in the years leading up to this album. This is generally revered as her best album, produced by Don Was, who produced B-52s Good Stuff, and some of the later not so good stuff for the Rolling Stones and other artists more or less past their prime, the album blends elements of country, blues, new wave and something of a more traditional pop sensibility into something uniquely late 80s and extremely listenable. Lyrically the album is very traditional and waivers between country/r&b/new wave sensibility along with the music, which reflects the varied songwriting credits on the album. On the lead title single "Nick of time" we get the sound of 1989. This song sounds a lot like some early 00's country music in lyrical pace. Harmonies and synthesizers make such a positive vibe. This is one of only two tracks on the record written by Raitt herself. "Thing called love" seems much closer to country rock than the synthesizer 80s bass smooth groove we hear on nick of time. It's a pretty catchy bop if not terribly innovative. Written by John Hiatt, a prolific artist more in the country/blues new wave vein, this track was one of the bigger hits on the record. "Love Letter" brings us back to more of that 80s bass and synth feeling, feels like something out of the 90s world of romcom. This seems more in line with the "Nick of Time" production. "Cry on My Shoulder" seems to be a bit of new wave + pop + traditional song. Raitt's tracks here always combine country/blues guitar and synth/drum tracking that feels more at home in new wave pop. Vocal harmonies with the masculine underpinning voice help propel this to an almost broadway-esque tone. We also have backing vocals from Crosby and Nash Real Man feels like something Dolly Parton could have written, written by frequent Clapton collaborator Jerry Lynn Williams, we get some great honky-tonk on this track and strong vocals from Bonnie. On Nobody's girl we go to the quieter softer side of the hard rocking Bonnie Raitt as she absolutely shreds the guitar part here, I was not familiar with her guitar game, so first went looking to see if this guitarist was someone else I had heard of, but her guitar here is some specimen fingersyle blues songwriting. "Have a heart" we're suddenly in some sort of carribbean beat and percussion with something reminiscent of call me angel in the morning. Bonnie Raitt continues to tear down weak men with her raspy strong voice. She delivers some more Southern slide guitar shredding on this track even along the synth + strings + steel drums sound of the more tropical equatorial south. "Too Soon to Tell" we're on a traditional pop song, plus the signature bonnie raitt slides and blues guitar. We've got some strong belting on this track and delicate pulling back. Bonnie Raitt's dynamics on this track are fabulous and the song itself holds up strong. This song was interestingly written by college football hall of famer Mike Reid along with Rory Michael Bourke who have some strong country credits under their belt. "I will not be denied" we have a blues motown feeling from the beginning. "Hutch" Hutchinson's bass shines through this one, as we layer on the honky tonk piano, some horns from Heart Attack Horns, and the guitar work from Johnny Schell. Was' backing vocalists come in with sandpaper bass to smooth out the "deadly" sound of the pre-chorus. Blues, motown, gospel and musical theater influences all come out here as this song builds up to let us know that Bonnie absolutely will not be denied. "I ain't gonna let you break my heart again", we start from a traditional piano + blues song, with the strong reverberating vocal tone that we've heard throughout the record. The intricate piano from Herbie Hancock drives this song to a level of jazz songwriting that we haven't heard to this point on the album. After this soft detour away from the honky tonk bar to the jazz concert hall, we're back on the road, "The road's my middle name". The only way we can possibly close out this album is with Bonnie's roots, some killer guitars a harmonica and a blues standard composition. Ending where we began with a Raitt composition, we know where we can find Raitt, touring and performing and bringing the honky tonk bar and her blues soul to mid-large concert venues across the country in the late 80's early 90s. Overview: Coming to this album with no knowledge of Raitt's work or her history, this album was an exceptionally relatable listen. I'm a big fan personally of 70s southern rock and new wave pop so oddly enough this album was a very good hodge podge for me personally. We can feel her stand at the precipice of the 70's, 80's and 90's all at once as she brings the new wave, southern rock, and even more traditional sounds of blues, standards and jazz into a relatable package.
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