Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time (1989)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

I like most everything about this sensual, bluesy, slick pop-rock collection. Bonnie writes and selects music that's perfect for her voice, gets a great supporting cast of musicians, works closely with producer Don Was, and let's not forget her underrated bottleneck slide guitar playing.

The album and its title track won 3 Grammy Awards (Album Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance), sold 5x platinum, and in its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Nick Of Time at #492.

Billboard published a decent oral history piece last year for the album's 30th anniversary: 30 Years of 'Nick of Time': How Bonnie Raitt's 'Underdog Record' Swept the Grammys & Saved Her Career

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "this is a Bonnie-fide blues-based Raitt outing"
• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "another beautiful near miss"
• Stereo Review: "loose, primal funkiness of blues-oriented rock-and-roll"
• Robert Christgau (B): "Bonnie being Bonnie, it sounds perfectly OK"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #1
• Billboard Pop CD: #1
• Rolling Stone: #1

Tracks: Even though the album is definitely front-loaded, I like the whole thing and have no problem listening to tracks 1-11 in order. Thing Called Love and Love Letter are the cream here; other top tracks include the title track, Cry On My Shoulder, Real Man, Have A Heart, I Will Not Be Denied, and The Road's My Middle Name. What was the last track on side one of my cassette, Nobody's Girl, is a perfectly fine cut, but to my 23 year old ears in 1989, its quiet simplicity didn't fit in with the rest of the album, so I'd often flip the cassette over and rewind to start side 2. I like to point out that Love Letter and Have A Heart were written by Bonnie Hayes because I'm wild about that Bonnie, too.

Exclusive CD longbox photo courtesy of
Dirk Digglinator of the Hambonian Archives.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was a casual Raitt fan at best until I saw the video for Thing Called Love and I was all in. Me and thousands of others.

I spent the most of the summer of 1989 living in my parents' spare bedroom looking for my first teaching gig and waiting for my mid-August wedding. No, it wasn't a particularly good idea to think about starting a marriage without any income, but somehow we made it through. This album reminds me of that summer, particularly, working with my church's youth group - and by working, I just mean hanging out with them at minor league baseball games and whatnot, being a sounding board for their hopes and angst.

For years I foolishly made do with a greatest hits compilation instead of buying this CD. I'm glad to have rectified that situation as this is a fantastic summer steamy porch/open road album.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Best of (2003)
Green Light (1982)

Bonnie Raitt - Best of (2003)

GREATEST HITS WEEK (JUNE 29 - JULY 5, 2015)

Love Bonnie Raitt and had many of her albums in the '80s into the early '90s, mainly on cassette (ed. note: wha??). Why I haven't replaced all those with CDs is a mystery and a damn shame. Be right back - I gotta search for a box set.

Raitt's voice and guitar playing are immediately identifiable. Can't pigeonhole her particular brand of folk-blues-rock-pop, so I won't even try. Raitt released her first album in 1971, but this compilation covers only her "renaissance" period that started in 1989 where she was helped by producer Don Was and a cast of all-star musicians. Add all that to some top-notch songwriting and you've got something fantastic. Tracks 3 & 4 were written by Bonnie Hayes, yes, that Bonnie Hayes. No wonder they're so good. From Allmusic:

...full of a poetic, sensual ferocity that oozes tenderness and commitment. And throughout it all is her trademark bottleneck slide, coaxing love notes or razored snarls out of her Stratocaster.

Excellent liner notes with personal remarks from Raitt on every track. Chronological order. I've marked my favorites below with a ✔.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #47

Tracks:  18 tracks, 17 minutes.

Title	Year	Pop	AC
Thing Called Love	1989			✔
Nick of Time	1989	92	10	✔
Love Letter	1989		35	✔
Have A Heart	1989	49	3	✔
Something to Talk About	1990	5	5	✔
I Can't Make You Love Me	1990	18	6	✔
Not the Only One	1990	34	2	✔
Love Sneakin' Up On You	1994	19	2	✔
You	1994	92	15	✔
Dimming Of The Day	1994			✔
Love Me Like A Man (Live)	1995			✔
Spit Of Love	1998			✔
One Belief Away	1998		15	✔
Lover's Will	1998		23	✔
I Can't Help You Now	2002		15	✔
Gnawin' On It	2002			✔
Silver Lining	2002		21	✔
Hear Me Lord	2002			✔

Missing Top 40 hit: You Got It (#33, 1995).

Issue 577, May 3, 1990

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Green Light (1982)

Bonnie Raitt - Green Light (1982)

A great bluesy rock album that sadly didn't quite fit in with the emerging synthpop genre that was charting in the summer of 1982 (Human League, Soft Cell, etc.). Roots rock had a small but solid following so the fan base was there, but for some reason this collection of good, well-performed tunes didn't even sell enough copies for Raitt to keep her recording contract. It's baffling. I can just imagine the marketing conversations at Warner Bros:

I mean, the singer/guitarist is in her 30s! Where are the synths? Where's the quirky fashion? How are going to promote that? It's easier not to promote it, let's take that road.

But I digress. Back to Raitt. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't discover this album when it was released, but that I'm thinking that had more to do with exposure than personal preference. This stuff would have fit in nicely next to my Paul Carrack/NickLowe/Dave Edmunds records of the time. Raitt can sing and play with the best of them and she finally found success once she signed with Capitol Records. She's talented and I'm glad she finally got her due. I would love to see her live. This album was released in January 1982, but IMHO it sounds best when it's played on your car stereo on a hot summer night.

Press of the time:

• Musician: "No doubt I'll play this album a million more times"
• Rolling Stone (★★★): "rock & roll cuts really kick"
• Robert Christgau (A-): "rocks one more than once"
• Stereo Review: "she still doesn't realize how good she is."
• Billboard: "this sounds like her long overdue vault to the top."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #38
• Billboard Rock: #18
• CashBox: #34
• Rolling Stone: #16

Tracks: Top tracks are Keep This Heart In Mind, River Of Tears, Willya Wontcha, Talk To Me, the title track, and her infectious covers of NRBQ's Me And The Boys & The Equals' Baby Come Back. The only filler I can find is Can't Get Enough.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  In 1982, my family didn't subscribe to HBO (hell, we didn't even have cable), but I had some friends that did. I remember a Bonnie Raitt video appearing on HBO's Video Jukebox one day and I'm sure that was the first I'd heard of her. I have no idea what song it was, but it seems that she was driving around in car, much like on the album cover. I'm guessing it was for Keep This Heart In Mind, which was the only charting song from the album (Mainstream Rock #39).