Published on Sep 8, 1997
Damn VH-1. Damn VH-1 to hell. The station became a beacon for
adult contemporary music and as a result, Bonnie Raitt became an
almost ideal spokeswoman for the station. Raitt gave one of the
biggest comebacks in rock music in the early ’90s, sweeping the
Grammys with her album
Nick Of Time. It was one of the true bright spots for the
Grammys – an artist who deserves the award actually getting it.
Unfortunately, for Raitt, that status gave way to increased
record sales. As a result, she became mismarketed for the purpose
of selling even more albums. Which brings us to her 1991 follow-up
album,
Luck Of The Draw. To the casual listener, it’s a safe ride
that has the word “adult” written all over it.
New listeners to Bonnie Raitt would be stunned to hear she was
kicking it way back in the early 70s. Those blues tinged songs on
Luck Of The Draw are actually coming from an artist that
fully embodied the blues back in her daring whiskey downing and
coke snorting days. As Raitt cleaned up herself, she had to clean
up the sound of her early albums. Indeed, after all the overdue
acclaim Raitt received for
Nick Of Time, you almost feel that she had to make another
album that would have a “Grammy” feel to it. An album that had
Grammy award written all over it.
The conflict between the old and new Raitt is what makes
Luck Of The Draw such an interesting listen. The first two
songs, “Something To Talk About” and “Good Man, Good Woman,” are
the more radio friendly Raitt talking. Around this time, she was
falling in love with Michael O’Keefe. Her joy gives both of these
songs a shine, even though she didn’t write either song. Add
producer Don Was to put some gloss on the songs and you’ve got a
hit already.
Even the more somber, “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” has immense
commercial appeal. “You can’t make you heart feel something it
won’t” basically shows the depth of this pensive ballad, which is
about as deep as a kiddie pool. Though Raitt’s voice carries the
song to a level few other female artists could reach, it seems the
commercial side of Raitt would be here to stay, fully buring the
old, reckless blues junkie behind…but wait.
Luck Of The Draw has one of the best “middle of an album”
songs in my collection. Raitt pulls out her deadly slide guitar
skills on “Tangled And Dark”. Talking like a seasoned vetern, Raitt
sings, “No use in running/it’s always the same/you can count on the
panic/it’s the faces that change,”..bam. Add a decent horn section
and
Luck Of The Draw begins to steer into the blues. Her
wearied, yet strong outlook is all over “Come To Me,” a song about
the fear of diving into a relationship that may sweep you off your
feet or leave you in the gutter picking up the pieces. It’s no
coincidence that her strongest songs on
Luck Of The Draw are the ones she wrote herself.
The bar stomping beat of “No Business” reaffirms my belief that
Raitt is one of the most soulful singers out there today. Raitt
could do a satisfactory guitar duo with Stevie Ray Vaughan and sing
with John Lee Hooker and not look lightweight. Think of that before
giving Meredith Brooks or even Jewel the pop queen title crown.
Ballads mostly dominate the second half of
Luck Of The Draw. While “One Part Be My Lover” and “All At
Once” are revealing accounts of isolation, producer Don Was sinks
“One Part” from overproduction. The title track finds Raitt once
again trying to create a Grammy winning sound, rather than creating
something truely her own.
Her blues side ultimately wins out in
Luck Of The Draw with “Papa Come Quick” and “Slow Ride”. The
funky bass line of “Slow Ride” and the shuffling beat of “Papa” are
relitively untouched by Was. The album was dedicated to Stevie Ray
Vaughan, and after listening to it again, it’s an album that I
think would have received Stevie Ray’s approval.
For an artist who has endured so many years of obscurity, its
forgiveable that
Luck Of The Draw tosses out a couple of bones for the masses
to chew on. While
Luck Of The Draw sold millions, Raitt’s true voice was still
very much on the album, it just was a bit harder to look for. For a
true blues fan though, the best compliment to Bonnie Raitt would be
to go down to the record store and pick up one of her earlier
works. For the timid, her greatest hits will do just fine.