Quite the guitar player, there’s no mistaking the bluesy, funky sound Bonnie Raitt and her band have created over the course of 16 albums. More importantly, when we listen to Raitt, we can tell that she knows and understands black music-a critical element missing in female blues and country artists today.
But on the flipside, Raitt becomes tough to listen to.
Though well-crafted songs and amazing musicianship are combined for the trademark Raitt song (see “Something to Talk About”), her records are hard to listen to in their entirety. Hoever, occassionally a salvageable gem of a track does appear.
On Silver Lining, the title track (a David Gray song) is the keeper and is for sure one of the most ambitious works that Raitt has ever undertaken.
Otherwise, stuff like “Valley Of Pain” and “Time Of Our Lives,” is aplenty here, employing run-of-the-mill, hit-making songwriters and their less-than-stellar works. Call it the “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” syndrome.
For the 16th time, we feel like we’re missing something.
But if this does turn out to be your bag, you could certainly do a lot worse.
Grade: C+
