Some gifted artists seem driven to experiment, to try on different musical guises in a perpetual quest for one that fulfills them. Others find the groove that they\u2019re most comfortable in and keep finding ways to do what they do even better, to hone their craft until it\u2019s so sharp it could slip between molecules.<\/p>\n
The most remarkable thing about Bonnie Raitt\u2019s new album Dig In Deep<\/i> is that it\u2019s both pretty much exactly what listeners have come to expect from her, and absolutely terrific. This is the sound of a gifted artist doing what she does best, supported by a crack band\u2014her longtime touring unit of James \u201cHutch\u201d Hutchinson (bass), Ricky Fataar (drums), George Marinelli (guitar), and Mike Finnigan (keys)\u2014that\u2019s so casually confident you\u2019ll never hear them sweat, whether they\u2019re tip-toeing through the opening notes of a ballad or thundering toward the climax of a muscular blues-rocker. <\/p>\n
As always, Dig In Deep<\/i> features a tasty mix of Raitt originals and carefully chosen covers. Among the originals, opener \u201cUnintended Consequence Of Love\u201d is a natural standout, featuring Raitt\u2019s woozy, silvery slide notes riding a bed of snappy, bluesy Hammond, with a strong funk undertone. \u201cI\u2019m calling on you baby, now or never \/ Let\u2019s dig in deep and get out of this rut\u201d sings Raitt to the lover she\u2019s trying to rekindle the flame with.<\/p>\n
Next up is the album\u2019s biggest stretch, as she reaches into the core of INXS\u2019 \u201cNeed You Tonight\u201d and pulls out its heart, transforming a saucy stadium rocker into a sultry, steamy blues, a siren\u2019s wail of pure desire. (The band might not be sweating after this one, but you will be.) A few songs later, she gives a less transformative but equally captivating reading of Los Lobos\u2019 playful, sexy \u201cShakin\u2019 Shakin\u2019 Shakes\u201d (\u201cLord, it makes me tremble\u2026\u201d).<\/p>\n
The middle section of the album rolls on in a lower gear, through somber mid-tempo contemplation \u201cI Knew,\u201d clever, eloquent ballad \u201cAlone With Something To Say,\u201d and smoky New Orleans blues-rocker \u201cWhat You\u2019re Doing To Me.\u201d After the aforementioned \u201cShakin\u2019,\u201d Raitt essays another fine ballad in \u201cUndone,\u201d a sad, slow breakup song full of regret that she sings the hell out of, with real tenderness in her voice, before capping it off with a stately slide solo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf You Need Somebody\u201d and \u201cGypsy In Me\u201d are another fine pair, the former a steady-on mid-tempo blues-rocker with stinging, jangly licks, the latter featuring a smoky late-night-at-the-club vibe and the inimitable Arnold McCuller on background vocals. \u201cThe Comin\u2019 Round Is Goin\u2019 Through\u201d finds Raitt penning a sassy takedown of trickle-down economics, a protest song you can dance to, closing out with an extended, rangy jam all the way to the fade. <\/p>\n
Dig In Deep<\/i> finishes up with a pair of thoughtful ballads\u2014the very pretty \u201cYou\u2019ve Changed My Mind,\u201d a leftover from previous album Slipstream<\/i>\u2019s sessions with Joe Henry, and the pretty solo-piano number \u201cThe Ones We Couldn\u2019t Be.\u201d Her fiery slide playing might be what she\u2019s known best for, but nobody sings a gentle ballad full of regret better than Raitt: \u201cI\u2019m so sorry for the ones we couldn\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n
From thumping blues-rockers to teary laments, this is exactly the kind of music Raitt loves to make, and she makes it exceptionally well. Having set the standard in her genre, she holds herself to it and delivers another winning album full of heart, soul, and just the right amount of grit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":32839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5824],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-44612","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-bonnie-raitt","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44612"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}