Few artists have enjoyed a second act as commercially successful and artistically rich as Bonnie Raitt. What made it even sweeter for the blues-rock legend was that she made it to that comeback from such despairing career depths.
The album Nick Of Time, released in 1989, couldn’t have been better titled. Raitt’s renaissance arrived at the moment that many had given up on her chances of ever making it happen again.
An Early 80s Ebb
Bonnie Raitt’s respect among her musician peers and rock critics outpaced her chart results for most of her career. Raitt foregrounded her deep love of the blues on her records. Still, she was most often categorized as a rock artist.
That insistence on heeding blues traditions occasionally made it tough for her to break through to mainstream pop audiences. By the early 80s, music had drastically drifted toward modern sounds. Raitt struggled to find any footing at all in that era.
As the decade progressed, her career hit a low ebb. A breakup left her despondent. Her dependence on drugs and drink became a problem. And record company machinations made it difficult for her to even release the music she was recording. To her credit, Raitt realized that she’d have to pull herself out of this downturn via her own fortitude and willpower.
Was Is the Right Guy for the Job
Bonnie Raitt prioritized her health. She did that by shaking free of the substance use that had hampered her. Suddenly, she found that a clear mind coincided with the rebirth of her artistic impulses. In 1988, she spent time in Mendocino, California, as a way of taking stock of all the changes she’d made in her life.
That’s when inspiration struck. In her hotel room, Raitt began putting together a homemade demo of a song called “Nick Of Time”. The song reflected not only on her own journey but also on those from a similar age group, an age group often overlooked by the pop music of the time.
Around that time, Raitt recorded a one-off song for a Disney tribute album with the group Was (Not Was). She played the demo for “Nick Of Time” for Don Was of the group. When Was gushed about the song, Raitt asked him if he’d produce her next album. At the time, Was didn’t have a ton of experience producing others. But he accepted the gig. Thus began a professional relationship that dramatically altered the trajectory of Raitt’s career.
‘Time’ Capsule
Bonnie Raitt and Don Was hit upon a winning formula by combining some of the bluesy authenticity of her 70s work with adult contemporary-friendly studio flourishes. They also chose the song list exceedingly well. Originals from Raitt (“Nick Of Time” and “The Road’s My Middle Name”) bookended the LP, displaying the extremes (earnest introspection and feisty resilience) that defined her new artistic persona.
Elsewhere, Raitt knocked songs from John Hiatt (“A Thing Called Love”) and Bonnie Hayes (“Have A Heart”) out of the park with her lived-in interpretations. Her expressive slide guitar adorned three songs. She even showed her torch-song ability behind Herbie Hancock’s piano on “I Ain’t Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again”. That was an instructive example, as Raitt would go back to that well a few years later with the classic weeper “I Can’t Make You Love Me”.
Nick Of Time won the hearts of critics and wowed fans, many of whom, even though they were around the same age, were hearing Bonnie Raitt for the first time thanks to her increased exposure on the radio. A Grammy win for Album of the Year added icing on the cake. But that honor is dwarfed in importance by the fact that the record rejuvenated Bonnie Raitt’s career with, as the title suggests, perfect timing.
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
The post Remember When Bonnie Raitt Rose From the Depths With a Grammy-Winning, Career-Rejuvenating Album in 1989? appeared first on American Songwriter.
Author: Jim Beviglia