Bonnie Raitt enjoyed critical success and blues/folk credentials with her self-titled debut,
Give It Up, and
Takin' My Time. By 1975,
Raitt's style began to be defined by producer
Paul Rothchild.
Home Plate and
Sweet Forgiveness were uncomfortable overtures to commercial propositions where
Raitt's persona and sense of fun got lost. Produced by
Peter Asher,
The Glow was released in 1979 and includes great players like
Danny Kortchmar,
Bill Payne, and
Waddy Wachtel. During this time, sales might have been a consideration as well as
Raitt's tough image. If anything,
Asher accentuated
Raitt's rough edges and provided his customary production polish. Like many
Asher productions of the period,
The Glow gets its strength from its covers.
Raitt takes on "I Thank You," "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," and "Bye Bye Baby," and struts through them all with ease. "The Boy Can't Help It" doesn't fare as well.
Robert Palmer's "You're Gonna Get What's Coming" makes for a great fit. Surprisingly, her take on
Jackson Browne's "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" doesn't dig as deep as the great original.
The Glow isn't a perfect album, but it's a great example of the music she was doing during a make-or-break time in her career. ~ Jason Elias