Bonnie Raitt - Silver Lining

With her road band laying the groundwork and with production responsibilities reverted primarily to her own hands, Raitt delivers varied and vivid performances throughout Silver Lining. Jon Cleary, an addition to the lineup, plays the pivotal role; his piano drives the steaming New Orleans groove on "Fool's Game," the posturing street funk of "Monkey Business," and the dusty blues tread on the acoustic-textured "No Gettin' Over You." The material, culled from American and African songwriters, along with a few Raitt originals, lends itself more to vocal interpretation than to straight-ahead blowing. Raitt's singing has never been more finely tuned, especially on the introspective title cut and on the final track, "Wounded Heart," a breathtaking duet recorded in one take with keyboardist Benmont Tench; after nailing it, Raitt reportedly fled the studio, moved to tears; any second attempt proved both undoable and unnecessary. On these performances Raitt exceeds her own standards for interpreting a lyric without compromise to her full-throated timbre. To balance these reflective moments, there are plenty of hotter ones; these also focus on the vocal, but with some exceptional guitar accompaniment as well, including Steve Cropper's licks on the low-key, Memphis-flavored "Time of Our Lives" and the greasy rhythms that push the band throughout "Gnawin' on It." Incendiary slide guitar work heats up parts of that track and several others, with another slide legend, Roy Rogers, joining in on the lascivious "Gnawin' on It." Still, Silver Lining is ultimately a showcase for exceptional singing and riveting backup work. It is also a likely milestone in Raitt's ongoing transition from blues guitar whiz to an artist of wider focus. The fires of her youth still blaze, though now they illuminate a more complex weave of techniques and a much greater depth of emotion. ~ Robert L. Doerschuk, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adam Samuels Assistant Engineer Alex Acuña Conga, Talking Drum Andrew Scheps Drum Loop Andy Abad Guitar Ann Cutting Photography Arnold McCuller Vocals (Background) Benmont Tench Piano Bernard Fowler Vocals (Background) Bob Ludwig Mastering Bonnie Raitt Vocals, Horn Arrangements, Producer, Organ Arrangement, Vocals (Background), Slide Guitar Claire Lewis Assistant Craig Conrad Overdubs Fred White Vocals (Background) Freebo Tuba Gary Gold Drum Loop George Marinelli Guitar (Electric), Vocals (Background), Mandolin, Vocal Harmony, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar Habib Koité Gut String Guitar Henry Diltz Photography Jacqui Blake Pro-Tools, Assistant James "Hutch" Hutchinson Bass (Acoustic), Bass John Cregar Drums John Paterno Overdubs, Engineer Jon Cleary Wurlitzer, Moog Synthesizer, Vocals, Keyboards, Piano, Duet, Organ (Hammond), Clavinet, Vocals (Background) Kate Lindsay Stylist Kélétigui Diabaté Balafon Lucienne Zammit Make-Up Mike Dean Keyboards, Guitar Mitchell Froom Wurlitzer, Piano, Clavinet, Producer, Organ, Marxophone, Reed Organ, Moog Synthesizer, Synthesizer Norman Moore Art Direction, Design Pat Johnson Photography Paul Middleton Mixing Pete Thomas Percussion Ricky Fataar Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background) Roy Rogers Slide Guitar Steve Berlin Sax (Baritone) Steve Nider Keyboards Steve Raitt Vocals (Background) Tchad Blake Mixing, Producer, Photography, Engineer Tom Corwin Pre-Production Assistant, Pre-Production Tommy Sims Guitar (Electric), Vocals (Background)