#495: Bonnie Raitt – Give It Up

# 495

Bonnie Raitt/Give It Up

Release Date 1972
Previously Owned: No
First time listen? Yes

Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt’s for no man

Impressions: Having always heard Bonnie Raitt in the context of admirable but moderately boring blues/rock on WXRT, I was not really psyched for this one. But this record sort of hung in there as an admirable, nicely-performed California soft-rock/bluesy/folk/soul brew that went down pretty easily. The songs are short and had enough surprises to keep me interested (mostly in the form of fun New Orleans-flavored horns on tracks like “Give It Up or Let Me Go.”) Weird hearing this one coming right off Boz Scaggs, they seem to engage in the same genre blending at roughly the same time period, but I liked this one more: seemed funkier, snappier and Raitt’s voice won me over better than Scaggs’ did. Plus, Raitt’s a versatile guitarist who helps serve the song rather than her own jamming.

Should this album be on the list? Anything this low could easily fall off, so maybe, but it was a lot more entertaining that I thought it would be. I’m not angry that it’s on the list.
Starred Songs: “Give It Up or Let Me Go”
Sneaky Track: “Stayed Too Long at the Fair”
Will you listen to this again? I might…I don’t think I’d run out and buy it, but I might give it a spin on the Spotify a few years from now.

Rating: ★★★