Mary Had A Little Amp, The Listener Chose No

The Good: Some decent tracks
The Bad: Some lame tracks, terrible execution of the stated concept
The Basics: Disorganized and esoteric, Mary Had A Little Amp fails to live up to its promise and offers instead a poorly executed musical experience.


I'm out. I began this month with the pledge to alternate my media reviews with non-media items and I'm out. I've no more electronics, no cars, no restaurants, no beauty products, no obscure household items left to review. Until I return from the trip I'm about to take, I'm all non-media'ed out! :( With that in mind, I sat down with a new disc that came across my desk called Mary Had A Little Amp. Every now and then as I explore a musical artist whose body of work I'm looking to review, I come across a weird citation for them. So, for example, when I hunted down the works of Liz Phair some months ago, I found her as the primary artist cited for Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits (reviewed here!). Similarly, as I looked around for the many works of Madonna, I found Mary Had A Little Amp.

The by-line for Mary Had A Little Amp is "Music's Biggest Stars, Childhood's Greatest Songs." Because of the subjective nature of a disc that features Moby, Roseanne Cash, and Graham Nash alongside Madonna, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson and R.E.M., I'll not dispute the first part. This is a pretty impressive collection of musical artists. Where the concept fails is with the second part. For all that it is or is not, Mary Had A Little Amp is hardly "childhood's greatest songs."

I write this because I was once a child and I loved listening to music. When I picked up this disc, the only songs I knew from childhood were "Pure Imagination" (many will remember Gene Wilder singing it in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"), "The Rainbow Connection" (from "The Muppet Movie"), and "When You Wish Upon A Star" (from "Pinnoccio," I believe). Outside that, only three of the tracks were songs I had heard as an adult. Graham Nash's classic "Teach Your Children," R.E.M.'s esoteric "We Walk" (which I had only heard for the first time earlier this year on their Best of the I.R.S. years album - reviewed here!), and "Little Star" a Madonna song from her Ray Of Light c.d. Out of fourteen songs, three were covers of songs I knew from childhood and three I encountered as an adult. This is hardly "childhood's greatest songs."

Indeed, there is a distinctly un-childlike take on several of the songs. Opening with Maroon 5's version of "Pure Imagination," the listener feels more menaced than enlightened. Maroon 5 uses reverb, creepy keyboards, and stark percussion to create a "big room" feel that has an undertone of sinister to the sound of the song. It's wonderfully dark in this presentation, but hardly wonderful for children.

Similarly, I can only believe that the musings on conformity that are struck out by the Blue Man Group and Dave Matthews on "Sing Along" are included because of the singsong rhymes presented in the song. After all, lyrically, it is an innocuous song as Matthews sings "If I pretend to be strong / Will you play along" ("Sing Along") over and over again. The thing is, he sings it with the voice of The Man, crushing individuality with conformity. This has a march quality to it that is draining, foreboding, again menacing.

That's not to say the entire album is not geared toward children. The Dixie Chicks do an upbeat sounding rendition of "The Rainbow Connection" that is wonderfully articulate and fresh. With the use of the pedal steel in the song, it takes on a distinctive flavor that is less stark than when it's been presented other times. And there's nothing wrong with Bonnie Raitt and Was (Not Was) performing "Baby Mine." It's a quiet, sad tribute to love or a child and from an adult perspective it's beautiful, though likely to go over the head of preschooler (this disc was produced to benefit preschool education).

I'll admit I winced hearing the Indigo Girls making animal noises on "Wild, Wild Party In The Loquat Tree" that were reminiscent of the B-52's "Rock Lobster." It's a fine folk tune, but again, not one I'd heard before nor would consider one of childhood's greatest songs.

And some of it is just plain pointless. Madonna's "Little Star" is a rock ballad that did not stand out on Ray Of Light and doesn't blow the roof off this disc either. "We Walk" is a weird R.E.M. tune, but also far too obscure to be considered much by children. And even my favorite track on the album, Moby's "Anchovie" a techno recreation like the many Moby has made in the past, doesn't inspire the listener to turn the disc over to a child.

Ultimately, this is a hit or miss collection of singles that vary greatly in sound and quality. We have the wonderful folk melody "Teach Your Children" which closes the album which has the utterly unmemorable "Gentle Breeze" (performed by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson). You have Madonna's pure pop following on the Dixie Chick's country-slanted classic. The best songs reinterpret classics (like Maroon 5's creepy "Pure Imagination"), the lesser songs seem to simply be songs culled from artists that have singsong lyrics.

Indeed, checking out the liner notes, most of these songs (judging by the copyright dates) are available elsewhere. I'm not knocking the concept of either famous artists presenting childhood songs or a benefit to raise money for preschool education. The problem here is this mix. It's completely inconsistent. It is mixing recognizable songs from childhood (like "When You Wish Upon A Star") with (apparently) whatever work an artist was willing to donate to the cause (like Madonna's "Little Star") with songs that don't really relate to children ("Sing Along").

A good mix that has a theme comes together, this one does not. While it may have various styles on it: from country to techno, pop to folk, rock and roll to classical, the arrangement has to flow, one song to another in a way that makes the album come together. This does not. Cover song abuts quirky original work, folk follows folk follows folk, it's not well assembled.

Because some of these tracks may not be available elsewhere, die hard fans might have to pick this up. As a service, this is what the disc contains:
"Pure Imagination" - Maroon 5
"We Walk" - R.E.M.
"The Rainbow Connection" - Dixie Chicks
"Little Star" - Madonna
"Sing Along" - Blue Man Group featuring Dave Matthews
"Baby Mine" - Bonnie Raitt & Was (Not Was)
"The 3 R's" - Jack Johnson (it's a recycling jingle!)
"Anchovie" - Moby
"Life Line" - Nancy and Ann Wilson with the Brian Wilson Band
"Gentle Breeze" - Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson
"Wild, Wild Party In The Loquat Tree" - Indigo Girls
"How To Be Strong" - Roseanne Cash
"When You Wish Upon A Star" - Joe Henry
"Teach Your Children" - Graham Nash

Unfortunately, this disc does not execute what it promises and even without its stated purpose, it does not hold together as a meaningful musical collection. The best track is "Anchovie," the weakest part song is "Gentle Breeze."

For other compilation albums, please visit my reviews of:
Millennium ‘80’s New Wave Party - Various Artists
An Inconvenient Truth Soundtrack
Where Have All The Flowers Gone?: The Music Of Pete Seeger - Various Artists

3/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Bonnie Draws Right: Luck Of The Draw Is A Surprising Winner!

The Good: Voice, Humor, Lyrics, Guitarwork
The Bad: Shorter than I'd like, A little repetitive
The Basics: Surprisingly strong from start to finish, Luck Of The Draw is a fun and deep album that holds up remarkably well over many listens!


If anyone in the world had told me that there would come a day when I would be reviewing a classic U2 album like The Joshua Tree (reviewed here!) and a Bonnie Raitt album like Luck Of The Draw in the same day and that the Raitt album would come out on top, I would have told that person they were clearly crazy. After all, Luck Of The Draw opens with "Something To Talk About," a song so overplayed on the music video channel during the brief interval in the early 1990s when I had cable television that I would turn the station whenever it came on. Over fifteen years later, I am sitting listening to Luck Of The Draw for the ninth time and realizing that there are songs coming up I am looking forward to. Who would have thought?!

Certainly not me. But the truth is, Luck Of The Draw is a consistent album that mixes Bonnie Raitt as an artist with Raitt as a performer of other people's songs, with Raitt's instrumental abilities showcased throughout. And the album . . . rocks. The tracks are different from one another, lending a stimulating amount of diversity throughout the listening experience. Several of the songs play with irony or outright humor ("Good Man, Good Woman" and "Papa Come Quick (Jody And Chico)" come instantly to mind). The album is well-arranged and easy to listen to, a decent experience all the way around.

With twelve tracks, clocking out at 53:44, Luck Of The Draw is a collection of musical stories, emotive poems and soulful songs that represent the vocal and instrumental abilities of Bonnie Raitt. Raitt wrote three songs on the album and co-wrote an additional track. She is credited with co-producing the album, provides lead vocals on every track and plays an instrument on every track but "Not The Only One" and "I Can't Make You Love Me." Arguably, her voice is the only instrument needed on that latter track outside the piano. Somewhere, there are stripped down versions of that song which must be even more heartwrenching than the album cut! As it stands, Raitt plays three different types of guitar and the electric piano. Despite two-thirds of the album being written by other artists, it is hard to argue that Luck Of The Draw is not Bonnie Raitt's musical vision.

Here's where I usually leap right into evaluating the lyrics, vocals and instrumentals and tonight I am finding I am not eager to do that. Do you ever listen to something that you enjoy on a very visceral and complete level and you might not want to have to deconstruct it? That's where I am right now with Luck Of The Draw; it is a mostly fun album and I like it because it sounds good. The songs are catchy, they all sound different from one another and even the heartbreaking ones are memorable.

But, I suppose it wouldn't be much of a review to write "This is a fun album" and leave it at that.

Bonnie Raitt chose songs well for her voice and her sense of humor as a performer. As a result, a number of the tracks have some irony and she pairs with performers who seem to compliment her abilities. So, for example, John Hiatt wrote "No Business" and provides backing vocals on that song. Raitt makes it her own with her vocals, which sparkle with irony when she sings the biting lines "I kept track of all the love that I gave him / And on paper, well, it looked pretty good / He left a note that said he couldn't stay here / As if I could ... / I guess my love's got no business, no business calling his name . . ." ("No Business"). The song could be presented as a bitter anthem, but instead, it has a musing quality to it that makes it much more ironic. Indeed, one can almost hear Raitt smiling through her vocals.

Of course, she's not smiling on "One Part Be My Lover" or "I Can't Make You Love Me," the latter of which might well be in the Top Five Songs To Kill Yourself By (screw goths and emo! Bonnie Raitt knows how to tear out a heart!). On both tracks, Raitt is accompanied by slow keyboards as opposed to fast guitars, but the two tracks manage to be distinctly different. I remember being disappointed at one point to learn "I Can't Make You Love Me" was not written by Bonnie Raitt, because the lyrics moved me so much. Seeing her perform it live at my very first concert (she showed up for a stop at Lilith Fair I was at) was a transcendental experience. Truth be told, it's hard not to get shivers when she sings "I'll close my eyes, then I won't see / The love you don't feel when you're holdin' me / Morning will come and I'll do what's right / Just give me till then to give up this fight / And I will give up this fight. / Cause I can't make you love me if you don't / You can't make your heart feel something it won't . . ." ("I Can't Make You Love Me"). It's hearing a song like that over and over again when listening to Luck Of The Draw that makes one think of the fortitude some of these singers have. Sure, Raitt holds notes in the song for a beautiful and painful amount of time, but I mean that she has to be a pretty strong person to be able to sing it as often as she, no doubt, is called upon to.

Of course, not all of the songs are such that they might make the listener want to take their own life. No, quite fortunately, there are surprise songs like "Papa Come Quick (Jody And Chico)." The first time I heard this little musical story, it stood out in such a way that after many listens to "The Joshua Tree" in a row before hearing this song, it reminded me why I love music. Raitt surprised me with a funny little song about two kids who get high and pregnant and run off. This leaves the protagonist of the song calling "Papa come quick, Jody's gone to the city / What we gonna do now that Jody's gone . . . / Mama's been crying in the kitchen since mornin / She cried all the way through 'As The World Turns'" before they decide to "Gas up the old Ford, get out the road map / They got a head start about a half a day / Load up the shotgun, put it in the gun rack / Jody's with Chico down in East L.A." ("Papa Come Quick (Jody And Chico)"). This sort of song fits in with folk rock music that I like, but it is rare for me to hear a track like this sung by an artist like Bonnie Raitt. I swear, in her performance of it, one can hear her trying to keep from laughing. It's a fun, funny, little upbeat ditty and it works.

But Raitt also knows how to assemble an album, not simply putting her best works in the front of the album and she showcases her vocal talents very naturally throughout the album. Luck Of The Draw, the single, has equally good vocals as the incredible "I Can't Make You Love Me." And Raitt balances the slow melodies like "All At Once" with the fast, clever tunes like "Good Man, Good Woman."

It is hard to deny that Bonnie Raitt is talented. The four musical instruments she plays on the album are all played masterfully. Indeed, it's with reluctance that the fifteen year-old who still resides somewhere within me sees me write the words: even "Something To Talk About" illustrates a musical ability that is entertaining at its very least. Raitt plays three different guitars on that track and, frankly, she rocks while doing it. It's refreshing to get to an age where I can admit that.

Anyone who likes pop-rock or country music (which is not traditionally me) will find something to like on Luck Of The Draw, one of Raitt's crossover albums that is more firmly in pop-rock territory than Country.

The best track is "I Can't Make You Love Me," the least memorable track is "Tangled And Dark."

For other works by Bonnie Raitt, please check out my reviews of:
Bonnie Raitt
Sweet Forgiveness
Nick Of Time
“Something To Talk About” (single)

8/10

Check out how this album stacks up against others I have reviewed by visiting my Music Review Index Page where the musical works are organized best to worst!

© 2013, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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I Found Raitt, Right In The Nick Of Time.

The Good: Good songs, Decent lyrics
The Bad: One of Two weak links
The Basics: A shockingly good album, even if it's not perfect. Great for anyone who likes a strong female voice/performance.


When I was growing up, I loathed Bonnie Raitt. Before I get pelted with eggs for that, let me explain that I was young, somewhat ridiculous and my main reason was that I could not stand the music video for "Something To Talk About." Hated it. Still do. At the time, my family had its one and only three month trial with cable television and "Something To Talk About" was in high rotation on VH-1, keeping me from watching better videos (though I don't even recall now what those might have been). Recently, though, I've been giving Bonnie Raitt some attention and listening to a couple of her c.d.s. I went back to her beginning and listened to her debut and then jumped to her album Sweet Forgiveness. Why did I go through so much effort when most of my memories were negative?

“Nick Of Time.”

The very first concert I ever went to was Lilith Fair in Canandaigua, New York. I was going because I loved Sarah McLachlan, and I was impressed Natalie Merchant would be there. Mostly, I was going because the prime b-stage act was Heather Nova, easily one of the most amazing musical, vocal and lyrical talents of the past two decades. I was going because I figured I would never be able to get so close to her again (I got to meet here and get her autograph, as it turned out, but that's another story!). I was impressed enough that Bonnie Raitt would be on the main stage because, even though I was not a fan, I could recognize that she had some talent and that she was certainly a draw. At one point in her set - most of which I was busy meeting Heather Nova and glowing over my autograph for - Raitt began to perform her song Nick Of Time. I HEARD it for the first time that day, genuinely heard it and it made me sit down and shut up, I was so impressed.

Now, almost a decade later, I've finally picked up a copy of Nick Of Time and as I listen to it for the twelfth time, I continue to be impressed by that first single in a way that the rest of the album does not grab me. For those who have not heard it, the mildly successful single (bafflingly, "Have A Heart" peaked at 48, while Nick Of Time only peaked at 92 in the U.S.) from arguably Raitt's most successful album (the album hit #1, while her follow-up with "Something To Talk About" peaked at #2, though it might have sold more copies than this album) is a story-song about the mysteries of love and the importance of not giving up on it.

Nick Of Time, the single, tells a series of stories; a friend who wants a baby and feels time running out, a woman seeing her parents getting older and her getting older as well, and the near-miss of a woman who was about to give up on every finding love. The song works through with a simple, honest refrain of "She's scared / Scared to run out of time" until the final, joyful chorus where the narrator declares, "I found love! / Love in the nick of time" (Nick Of Time). It's a song that makes one contemplative, moody and maybe even a little depressed until that final twist. Then, it's a rejoicing.

I could literally keep that single on repeat for two hours without getting tired of it. It has an infectious drum track, it has great vocals and the lyrics are tight. It is the peak of Bonnie Raitt as an artist; she wrote the lyrics, music and performed it while playing her guitar. The track won her two Grammy awards (the album won Album of the Year in 1989, the same year Raitt won "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" and "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" for the single). It's one of those rare occasions where the voters got it absolutely right.

But then there's the rest of the album. There's the honky-tonk sounding "Thing Called Love" which uses such inventive lyrics as "I ain't no porcupine / Take off your kid gloves / Are you ready for this thing called love?" There's the monotonous "Love Letter" which repeats too many of the lines or words over and over again and there's the sad and soulful presentation of "Cry On My Shoulder." I'm sure I'd heard "Love Letter" before, though it appears to never have been released as a single.

"Have A Heart," the single that performed best on the charts I've heard as a reggae song, but here it's just a soft rock track with a bluegrass feel to it. The album closes with Raitt performing the only other track on the album she wrote herself, which is "The Road's My Middle Name." The irony of this is that out of all of the tracks, "The Road's My Middle Name" sounds most like a Country-Western/Southern rock standard. The twangy guitars and jowly vocals on the track make it sound most like a bluegrass standard of long ago. Go figure! Raitt can write and perform flawlessly in the sound and style of days of yore. It's in interesting contrast on an album that is otherwise very modern.

Sadly, that cuts the album some. "Nick Of Time" (the single) may well be a perfect track, but the album is by no means a perfect album. Some of the songs have pathetically predictable rhyme schemes and meanings that are so dumbed down as to be utterly common, like, "I'm not messing with a toy / I don't need no baby boy / I want a real man!" ("Real Man"). "Real Man" stands out as a track that seems to be an epitome of feminine bravado in the face of no real masculine challenge. It's a bold declaration that somehow sounds as limited and pathetic as a guy singing about how he wants a woman with big breasts. My point is the song is all about the most stereotypical aspects of manhood as what the narrator wants and after the depth and attitude of songs like "Nick Of Time" and "Too Soon To Tell," the listener deserves better.

Beyond that, the album is produced in a way that often minimizes the greatness of Bonnie Raitt the guitarist. I'm not denying that Raitt is a fabulous guitarist; she is. On Nick Of Time (the album), she plays guitar, slide guitar and the piano. She's an instrumental master. The problem with the album is too often her guitarwork is sublimated. While it's not a problem to drown Raitt's guitarwork with Raitt's voice, the problem is on many of the tracks, she drowns her guitarwork with the drums. If you've ever heard "Thing Called Love," it's all Bonnie Raitt's brassy voice lashing out the singsong lyrics and the sound of the snares and cymbals. The dominant instrumentation is the percussion and it's quite effective for getting the listener up and dancing. But it does not showcase her guitarwork as well as it ought.

That ought not to be enough to scare the listener away. This is a surprisingly strong pop-rock album and the vocals and lyrics are wonderful, though the best songs are the two written by Raitt. And when one can hear the guitarwork, it does go a long way to illustrating why there is much to love about Bonnie Raitt and this is the album to fall in love with her over.

The best track is "Nick Of Time" (by lightyears!), the weakest is "Real Man."

For other works by Bonnie Raitt, please check out my reviews of:
Bonnie Raitt
Sweet Forgiveness
“Something To Talk About” (single)

8/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the albums and singles I have reviewed!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Indistinct Raitt: Sweet Forgiveness Is Not Enough To Forgive Bonnie!

The Good: Good voice, Decent guitarwork, One or two lyrical moments
The Bad: Largely indistinct, Mostly bland lyrics, Nothing impressive or unique, Performing, SHORT!
The Basics: Despite the elements of greatness that define Bonnie Raitt as a master guitarist being present, Sweet Forgiveness is a fairly generic assembly of pop-rock songs.


Every now and then, I encounter an album that I label as "indistinct." Largely they are disc that I sit and listen to on repeat over and over again for five or more rotations and afterward, I couldn't tell anyone what it was I just listened to. Songs on indistinct albums blend together with none standing out, none capturing the listener, none impressing the listener as something different, unique or even emblematic of the talent of the musical artist in question. I recall that sense with the Loreena McKennitt album To Drive the Cold Winter Away (reviewed here!), as well as the Seal album Hu manbe ing (reviewed here!). I've recently begun listening to Bonnie Raitt to expand my musical knowledge a bit more and I think what made her debut so difficult for me to review (though that review is here!), was that it truly was indistinct Bonnie Raitt. As a budding artist, Raitt had nothing on her debut that set her apart from virtually any other country/folk/bluegrass artist just starting out. At the very least, she was trying and she had two tracks that were her own. Sadly, by the time her album Sweet Forgiveness comes along, she is relegated to the role of mere performer and the result is an album that is less distinct, more generic, and not truly more satisfying than the album that preceded it six years prior.

Sweet Forgiveness is a ten track album clocking in at a sad thirty-eight minutes, making the compelling argument to combine it with another early work for its c.d. release (this is a poor use of the medium, simply transferring records!). Bonnie Raitt wrote none of the lyrics nor music for any of the ten songs and I suspect that is what contributes to the generic sound and feel of this disc. Raitt takes nothing near a production credit on the album, which leaves the listener with the sense that Raitt is simply performing, rather than creating.

Because this album is being rated higher by me than her debut, I figure it's germane to say why right up front (because my critiques of the album may be truncated as I get bored with writing about how the songs sound mostly like one another). First off, on Sweet Forgiveness, Bonnie Raitt illustrates her ability to sing. She has a lovely voice and on songs like "Two Lives," her pipes are clearly and beautifully displayed. There is something wonderfully heartwrenching about hearing her sing "But he never had a broken heart" ("Two Lives") about a songwriter and her presentation of accompanying background vocalists with wailing demonstrations of pure voice (a tradition continued today by the likes of Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera) on that same song is actually musical (I cannot say the same of so many who have done it recently). She sings cleanly and clearly on her storytelling song "Lousie" enunciating each line perfectly while keeping a beautiful melody going. On this album, it's clear Bonnie Raitt can sing.

Even better, here we have the hints of promised greatness of Raitt as guitarist. Opening the album with some fancy fingerwork on "About To Make Me Leave Home" (an otherwise generic bluegrass-y rock track), Raitt plays the guitar like the master she is considered. Raitt plays multiple guitars, with the stark acoustic on "Louise" to the brash playing on "Gamblin' Man" (which has the country-rock feel to it that defined much of the late '70s/early 80's pop-rock movement, at least from the South), Raitt gets her fingers around it all such that even an amateur or a critic may easily acknowledge that she's a wonderful guitarist. She even hits the electric guitar - and well - on "My Opening Farewell."

The problem is, outside the skill taken to alternate sounds with various guitars, Bonnie Raitt runs into a simple problem on Sweet Forgiveness; in order to illustrate talent with an instrument, one needs to have music that will challenge the player some. The guitarwork (in this case) must be complicated enough to impress or sophisticated enough such that those who do not play guitar can recognize with the ear alone that the music being played is requiring fancy fingerwork and be impressed as a result. Sadly, outside "Gamblin' Man," the songs are not so complex. "Louise" is picked at with such simplicity that the listener feels like it could be anyone playing, even someone just learning the guitar. Sweet Forgiveness - the track - finds Raitt completely sublimating the guitars for her voice, allowing them only to come to prominence when she is not singing. And the guitarwork is fairly generic and simple.

Indeed, outside the rockin' nature of "Gamblin' Man" and the simplicity of "Louise," most of the tracks blend together musically. Sweet Forgiveness has a somewhat gospel sound to it, only because the instrumentals are drown by the singing. But even the vocal presentation is on par in terms of sound and force as, say "Runaway" and "Home." And as far as the instrumentals go, this is a remarkably subdued album as far as complexity goes. Raitt finds a Southern Country-Rock sound and firmly implants herself in that rut for eight of the ten tracks. The result is that much of the album blends together into itself when played repetitively. "Three Time Loser," "Takin' My Time," and "Home" all flow into one another in such a way that leaves the listener unsure exactly what they've heard.

This may be, in part, because none of the lyrics really leap out. I like storytelling songs, yet I cannot tell anyone what "My Opening Farewell" is about, even after listening to this album over six times - in a row. The only line in the entire track that I remember is "there's a train leaving every day" ("My Opening Farewell") and I think the only reason that line stands out is because Raitt sings it clearly, above the murky guitars and pianos; it's part of as crescendo.

I understand that there are fans of Bonnie Raitt out there who might want to defend this album - indeed, fans often leap to defense of their artists in a way that is admirable - but objectively, this album is a musical one-trick pony that relegates an artist who CAN write music and lyrics to simply performing the visions of others. That's sad and so is this disc.

I'll say the best track is "Gamblin' Man," simply because it was the most distinct. The rest of the album is likely to be forgotten by me the moment I pop in the next disc for listening and review.

For other female artist of the month artists, please check out my reviews of:
The Collection - Alanis Morissette
Liz Phair - Liz Phair
Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions -Linda Rondstadt

3.5/10

Check out how this album stacks up against every other album and single I have reviewed by visiting my Music Review Index Page where works are put in order from best to worst!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Bonnie Raitt Presents An Unremarkable Debut (My Next Artist Of The Month!)

The Good: Moments of voice and guitarwork
The Bad: Lyrically uninspired, Nothing special on the music front, Vocally limited, SHORT!
The Basics: There must be better Bonnie Raitt albums out there; this one could have come from anyone who is trying out country/bluegrass music.


Bonnie Raitt was one of the featured performers at the very first concert I went to an an adult. She was one of the main stage performers at Lilith Fair when I went and her performance was one of the highlights of the evening for me. When she sang "Nick of Time" I was blown away; it was the first time I had actually HEARD that song and I was so impressed. My point to open this review is that I have nothing against Bonnie Raitt (save that back in the 90s, her cover of "Something To Talk About" - reviewed here! - was so overplayed on VH-1 that I came to loathe it). So, when I was looking for a new artist to explore, Bonnie Raitt came to mind and I picked up her debut, Bonnie Raitt.

Bonnie Raitt is an eleven-track album that clocks in at a paltry thirty-seven minutes, forty-four seconds on c.d. This is to be expected as it is remastered from the original 1971 record, which held far less content than the compact disc does. Still, it's disappointing and one might make the argument that most shorter albums should be combined when making the move to c.d. to save space and increase value of the medium. Regardless, Bonnie Raitt makes a lackluster, standard bluegrass/country debut on Bonnie Raitt.

First off, this is not really Bonnie Raitt's musical vision; only two of the songs were written by her and two more were arranged by her. While she plays three different guitars and sings on all the tracks, she did not produce any of the songs. As a result, the album is a series of country/bluegrass standards and covers that is anything but original. Instead, this album falls into the trap of simply embodying the genre and not creating anything distinct and/or new.

What I mean by that is that every track sounds virtually the same; there is a guitar (or several) which starts out the song, Bonnie Raitt comes in to sing a story-song while the drums gently keep time behind her. Out of the first four tracks, three follow this format and Raitt's original composition "Thank You" merely swaps the guitar for a piano. This becomes a rather tired sound over the course of even two listens (I'm up to six as I write this).

Raitt sings, backed by harmonicas also on many tracks, like "Finest Lovin' Man" and often, I found when she was singing in front of a harmonica, the harmonica often upstaged her. On Bonnie Raitt, Raitt is still finding her voice. As a result, it is often sublimated to the instrumentation. On "Any Day Woman," her background vocals even drown her out!

Bonnie Raitt is essentially some of the most generic bluegrass and country music one might expect to hear. Virtually every parody of classic country sounds like something on this album. With lyrics like "Well I ain't goin' down that big, long lonesome road / Pretty baby, don't you hear me talking / No I ain't goin' down that big road by myself" ("Big Road"), Raitt employs many of the conceits of the genre, like ordering her musicians to "play it right" on the same song. My point here is that there is nothing new or original on this album; it's typical and banal. If you can envision a down-home setting with square dancing, you've got the sound and feel of Bonnie Raitt.

The troubling thing is that none of the tracks insinuate the greatness that even I will acknowledge Bonnie Raitt possesses. Instead, this disc simply presents a young performer who is trapped within her range, her genre and the few chords she plays on her guitar. None of the tracks stand out, as a result, and it's hard to find anything worth even talking about this album for.

The best track might well be "Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead," which might come closest to defying all those conventions, the low point is the dull "I Ain't Blue."

For other female artist of the month artists, please check out my reviews of:
Celebrated - Ella Fitzgerald
"Jackie’s Strength" (single) - Tori Amos
50 Greatest Hits - Reba McEntire

4/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Great Song, Poor Use Of The Medium, "Something To Talk About" By Bonnie Raitt.

The Good: Good song, Good vocals, Decent guitarwork.
The Bad: Nothing new, Poor use of the medium
The Basics: With a noticeable lack of b-sides or additional content, the greatness of the song "Something To Talk About" is lost on the worthless c.d. single.


As someone recently pointed out on one of my c.d. singles reviews, the medium is very much a dying - if not already dead - medium. Digital downloads have pretty much made it pointless to produce a physical c.d. with only one or two tracks on it. As I have long argued, the worst c.d. singles are the ones where there is only one track per c.d. and it is identical to the album cut of the song. Digital downloads have certainly killed that style of c.d. single. Now, such singles exist only as collector's items for the die-hard fans or those obsessive music lovers who have a c.d. jukebox and need one-track singles to make it work properly. For those fans or jukebox aficionados, there are singles like the one-track version of "Something To Talk About."

"Something To Talk About" was a big hit for Bonnie Raitt at a time when I had VH1 as a teenager and I was peeved that the video played in such high rotation that they didn't play videos I wanted to see. Go figure. I've since aged, my tastes have matured and I've come to enjoy the song when I hear it. However, given the opportunity to pick up the c.d. single, I still passed. Why? The one-track single has the same cut as "Something To Talk About" as it appears on the full album Luck Of The Draw. And that's an album worth picking up. In fact, it can usually be found so inexpensively that one is likely to pay as much for the full album as they are for just the single.

With only one song occupying 3:47, "Something To Talk About" is only marginally the work of Bonnie Raitt. Raitt did not write the song, for which she won a Grammy, but she does provide the lead vocals and guitars on the track. She co-produced the song, so it is hard to argue that this is anything but the song she intended to release.

Instrumentally, this is a straightforward rock and roll song with a classic rock feel. Raitt and her bandmates play guitars, bass and drums and the song has a steel guitar sense of twang to it. The percussion is strong when the guitars cut out and allow Raitt to perform vocally, but when the guitars are going, this is an up-tempo, bemused song which is danceable and carries a recognizable melody.

Vocally, this is one of Raitt's best songs and she infuses the song with her sense of smirking irony and that comes through in every refrain she performs of it. Raitt performs both in the soprano and lower registers, which makes "Something To Talk About" a real treat to the ears. The full range and expressiveness of Raitt's vocal talents is utilized and it separates Raitt from virtually everyone else on the radio. She has passion and an ability to sing with irony and the musical storysong unfolds wonderfully as she presents it. Every line she sings is performed with perfect clarity.

For those who have not heard "Something To Talk About," it is a tongue-in-cheek rock song where Bonnie Raitt sings about rumors in a community that put two friends as being romantically involved. As the song progresses, the musical protagonist comes to realize that maybe others are seeing something and that they can make a go of it. With a transition that is uncommon in pop music - "I feel so foolish, I never noticed / You'd act so nervous, could you be falling for me? / It took a rumor to make me wonder / Now I'm convinced I'm goin under / Thinking 'bout you every day / Dreaming 'bout you every night / I hope that you feel the same way / Now that we know it, let's really show it, Darlin'" - Raitt weaves a musical storysong that is charming and uncommon.

But there's no reason to buy just the song when the album is so good. This c.d. single is a waste of money and fans deserve more.

For other reviews of singles, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
"Otherside" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Crazy" - Seal
"Gimme More" - Britney Spears

4/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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