This album is an overlooked gem in the catalog of
Bonnie Raitt. On
Takin' My Time, she wears her influences proudly in an eclectic musical mix containing blues, jazz, folk, New Orleans R&B, and calypso. Although she did not write her own material for this album, she demonstrates an excellent ear for songs and chooses material from some of the best songwriters of the day. She is a great interpreter, and her renditions of
Jackson Browne's "I Thought I Was a Child" and
Randy Newman's "Guilty" from this album are the definitive versions of these songs. The highlights of this album are the romantic ballads "I Gave My Love a Candle" and "Cry Like a Rainstorm," where
Raitt adds an emotional depth to the performance unusual for such a young woman. (Perhaps that's a result of her spending time with elder statesmen of the blues community such as
Mississippi Fred McDowell and
Sippie Wallace.) Although the faster-paced songs like the calypso "Wah She Go Do" seem a little out of place, the playful tune is welcome among an album filled with the heartache of the slower tunes. Despite being a relative newcomer,
Raitt had already earned the respect of her mentors and her peers, as evidenced by the musical contributions of
Taj Mahal, and
Little Feat members
Lowell George and
Bill Payne on the album. This is the last consistent album she would make until her comeback in the mid-'80s. ~ Vik Iyengar