Slipstream provides ample proof of just how much fans have missed
Bonnie Raitt since 2005's
Souls Alike. The album was recorded over a period of a year at Ocean Way in Hollywood and at
Joe Henry's Garfield House. The four tracks cut at
Henry's studio in 2010 and 2011 include two of his own songs, and two covers of
Bob Dylan tunes ("Million Miles" and "Standing in the Doorway") from the latter's
Time Out of Mind.
Raitt's voice has never sounded better. She's expanded her lower range with an expressiveness that is soulful, rich, and rings emotionally true -- though she's sacrificed none of her higher register. Her voice can command and reveal a devastating tenderness. Guest
Bill Frisell appears on three tunes here. He's on both
Dylan tunes and his lyrical, lovely touch is also heard on her definitive reading of the
Henry/
Loudon Wainwright III tune "You Can't Fail Me Now." On "Million Miles," the interplay between
Frisell's signature tone and
Raitt's nasty electric slide work is symbiotic. On the latter,
Raitt's voice sounds like it's inside the human heart at its most open and willfully defenseless vulnerability. It reminds us of what made her readings of "Love Has No Pride" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" so important.
Henry's stable of players --
Patrick Warren,
Jay Bellerose, and
Greg Leisz -- are all in tow; they provide the slow, warm spaciousness that's now de rigueur in his work with other artists (he reserves his adventurousness for his own records).
Raitt says she'll release the complete Garfield House sessions in the future. She produced the rest, offering solid proof of what her live band -- guitarist
George Marinelli, drummer
Ricky Fataar, keyboardist
Mike Finnigan, and bassist
James Hutchinson -- is capable of in the studio. The energy is kinetic, immediate, and deep in the rhythmic cut. Her reading of
Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down the Line," with its reggae backbeat, rocksteady bassline, funky clavinet, and the interplay between
Raitt and
Marinelli, adds dimension and texture to the original -- which is just what covers are supposed to do. "Down to You," written by
Marinelli,
Raitt, and
Randall Bramblett, has the feel of
Little Feat's "Easy to Slip" but is more urgent and punchy. On another ballad,
Al Anderson and
Bonnie Bishop's "Not Cause I Wanted To," Raitt expresses her accountability in a relationship's failure with total openness and courage. "Ain't Gonna Let You Go," by
Anderson and
Bonnie Bramlett, is a lusty, crunchy, uptempo blues driven by
Finnigan's B-3 and Wurlitzer, and
Raitt's wrangling slide and take-no-prisoners vocal. Though very different from one another,
Slipstream's two production styles complement one another well. That said,
Raitt's road band is so seasoned and instinctive, it would be interesting to hear her record them live in the studio as she did players on her earliest records -- but that's a wish, not a criticism. There are a few lesser moments, but they don't distract;
Slipstream reveals
Raitt at another creative peak. ~ Thom Jurek