Search - Bonnie Raitt :: The Best of Bonnie Raitt on Capitol 1989-2003

Bonnie's most successful recordings

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 05/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"During the seventies and eighties, Bonnie recorded many fine albums for Warner, building up a significant fan base without really hitting the big time. Eventually, Warner lost interest and Bonnie's contract was not renewed. She switched to Capitol in 1989 and recorded the album Nick of time, which won plenty of awards and sold better than any of her Warner albums.



This compilation covers Bonnie's music on Capitol from 1989 to 2003. Overall, the music is slicker than Bonnie's Warner recordings - not so much as to put off long-standing fans but enough to attract a lot of new fans. Thus, there is more pop and rock but less blues in these recordings, while there is little or no folk that was so significant in some of Bonnie's seventies albums. However, there are other influences, most notably the final track (Hear me Lord), a Zimbabwean song that retains some of its African flavor.



The album opens with three tracks from Nick of time, which are followed by three from Luck of the draw, three from Longing in their hearts, three from the live album Road tested, two from Fundamental and four from Silver lining. Among the highlights are Thing called love, Something to talk about, I can't make you love me, Rock steady (with Bryan Adams) and the aforementioned Hear me Lord.



This is a truly magnificent collection of Bonnie's music. I still favor her Warner recordings, for which there is also a compilation (Bonnie Raitt Collection). Buy both if you can afford to."