Bonnie Raitt - Sweet Forgiveness

Since Home Plate brought Bonnie Raitt within shooting distance of the Top 40, thereby being the greatest chart success she yet attained, it made sense that she re-teamed with its producer Paul A. Rothchild for its follow-up, Sweet Forgiveness. Rothchild's modus operandi remains slickness, but he has backed away from his fondness for studio musicians, letting Raitt record the majority of the record with her touring band (who only were spotted occasionally throughout Homeplate). All this means is that the near-hit "Runaway" is almost a ringer, largely because it's a poor choice for Raitt's sweetly funky Californian rock that was obviously designed as a bid for a single, therefore it was slicked up more than the rest of the record (which remains slick, but not glossy). Sweet Forgiveness is actually looser than Homeplate, a little less constrained. Then why isn't it quite as successful, artistically? That comes down to a selection of songs that aren't quite as effective as those Raitt usually picks -- and, in that sense, "Runaway" was a good indicator of the album. However, the selection of material isn't bad. If the tunes don't happen to form into a whole, it's still filled with great moments, from Earl Randall's opener "About to Make Me Leave Home" to Karla Bonoff's closer "Home." Sweet Forgiveness may not be one of Raitt's unqualified successes (despite its hit status), it's still a solid record, one that's hard to deny if you're already a Raitt fan. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Bill Payne Synthesizer, Organ, Keyboards, Fender Rhodes, Vocals, Piano Bonnie Raitt Slide Guitar, Guitar, Vocals, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) Carlena Williams Vocals David Grisman Mandolin, Mandocello Dennis Whitted Drums Fred Tackett Guitar, Keyboards, Guitar (Acoustic) Freebo Fretless Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Bass Gregg Geller Series Producer J.D. Souther Vocals Jeff Labes Keyboards Jo Motta Project Coordinator John Haeny Engineer John Van Hamersveld Photography, Art Direction Keith Blake Remastering Lee Herschberg Remastering Lester Chambers Vocals Maxayn Lewis Vocals Michael McDonald Vocals Norton Buffalo Harmonica Paul Rothchild Producer Roger Mayer Engineer Rosemary Butler Vocals Sam Clayton Conga, Conductor Will McFarlane Slide Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Guitar