We talked about Robert Palmer and Little Feat not too long ago, which made me dig out my copy of Palmer's "Pressure Drop". It turned out to be in a far too pathetic condition to bring it up here. But the issue of Little Feat members playing on other people's albums reminded me of this wonderful Bonnie Raitt album.
I cite wikipedia here: "In an interview given in 1982, Raitt would reveal that "Takin' My Time is one of my favorite records to listen to, although I started out with Lowell George producing it, and he and I got too close to be able to have any objectivity about it. That's the problem when you're a woman and you get involved with the people you work with - and I just don't just mean romantically. It becomes too emotional. It's hard to have a strong woman telling the man her ideas when, in fact, the man wants to take over the situation. So that album had a lot of heartache in it. At the time it was a difficult one to make, but now I like it."
Although Lowell was involved in the production, he only plays on two songs, "I Feel The Same" and "Guilty". Bill Payne, Little Feat's piano player, is heard on all songs, though. Feat members Sam Clayton and Paul Barrèrre help out, too.
Other musicians of note are guests Taj Mahal and Van Dyke Parks. Mahal is featured on the old-timey "Let Me In" with it's New Orleans brass arrangement and adds soulful harp to two more songs. Parks brings his love for calypso to the session with a tune from singer Calypso Rose called "Wah She Go Do".
Bonnie plays very little guitar but concentrates on singing on these sessions and the diverse material allows her to show her broad vocal abilities, from soulful to tender to exuberant. But it's a pity there's only one feature for her great slide work, a medley of two of her friend and influence Mississippi Fred McDowell's tunes.
Sylistically the repertoire handles similar territory as her previous albums in balancing blues and singer-songwriter elements.
Classic blues is represented by the aforementioned Fred McDowell medley. More recent blues tunes are tackled with Chris Smither's "I Feel the Same" and Mose Allison's brilliant "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy".
Jackson Browne, Randy Newman, Eric Kaz are worthy representatives of the singer-songwriter profession. It seems that Kaz' "Cry Like a Rainstorm" was even a small hit for Bonnie. Thanks to such choice writers, the lyrics on this album are sure worth a closer listen.
Not to forget the funky opener, the Smokey Robinson-penned "You've Been in Love Too Long", which was initially a hit for Martha Reeves & The Vandellas.
Bonnie's following albums have often been criticised for their slick production and MOR sound. "Taking my Time" is somewhere inbetween the rawer and more easygoing approach of her first two platters and the slicker sound of later albums. It may be her most successful attempt at balancing the eclectic influences found in her music and as such may very well be the perfect Bonnie Raitt album.
Bonnie Raitt: Takin' My Time
Warner Bros. BS 2729, 1973
1 You've Been in Love Too Long (Ivy Hunter, Clarence Paul, William Stevenson) 3:43
2 I Gave My Love a Candle (Joel Zoss) 4:20
3 Let Me In (Yvonne Baker, Alphonso Howell, Minor) 3:38
4 Everybody's Cryin' Mercy (Mose Allison) 3:29
5 Cry Like a Rainstorm (Eric Kaz) 3:55
6 Wah She Go Do (Lewis) 3:12
7 I Feel the Same (Chris Smither) 4:40
8 I Thought I Was a Child (Jackson Browne) 3:49
9 Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues (Mississippi Fred McDowell) 3:36
10 Guilty (Randy Newman) 2:58
The basic personnel is:
Bonnie Raitt: vocal, guitar; John Hall: guitar; Bill Payne: piano, organ; Freebo: bass; Earl Palmer: drums.
with guests:
Taj Mahal: harp on 4 and 5, bass on 3
Van Dyke Parks: piano on 6
Lowell George: slide guitar on 7 and 10
Paul Barrere: guitar on 1 and 10
Milt Holland: percussion on 1 and 7
Sam Clayton: congas on 8
Jim Keltner: drums on 1, 6 and 9
4 comments:
http://freetexthost.com/e0cap3gktf
Thank you for this Bonnie Raitt album LPR. I have always thought that Bonnie is a musician of uncommon taste and talent and an excellent songwriter. I see that AMG gave this album 4 stars and considers it "her last consistent album" until about 10 years later. I found it to be a bit inconsistent myself and liked about 1/2 of the songs on it. I think the fact the she didn't write any of the songs and played very little guitar must have something to do with it as well. Also it has always struck me as an affectation when a modern artist throws in an "old timey" song and "Let Me In" is no exception to this rule. Lastly, I don't care for Lowell George's production on this album very much and I think the contention between Raitt and George that Bonnie spoke about comes through in the end product. Takin' My Time has its moments but there are too few of them to truly make this album memorable IMO.
P.S. Sorry for the negative feedback. I do appreciate the chance to hear this.
Always curious to hear your opinion Kris, be it positive or negative.
I really enjoy the more thoughful songs here, "Cryin' Mercy", "Guilty" etc. Can't deny that there's a few flops, too.
Yes, I liked those as well as "I Gave My Love A Candle" and the Jackson Browne tune was great. I think this album may have worked much better if it were a collection of ballads such as those mentioned.
Post a Comment