Bonnie Raitt - Silver Lining

The latest in a series of highly polished albums of good-natured boogie, blues, and singer-songwriter fare, Bonnie Raitt's Silver Lining won't disappoint the initiated. Recorded with her highly seasoned road band and coproduced (again) by the ubiquitous Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, this is a high-quality product. The question, as always, is whether the material raises it to the level of extraordinary. Raitt picks songs shrewdly. Here, the unearthed gems are David Gray's title song and the closing ballad, "Wounded Heart," by Jude Johnson. Less successful and more, well, familiar are the songs cowritten with her bandmates. Instrumental highlights include Bonnie's slide duel with Roy Rogers on "Gnawin' It" and Andy Abad's highlife guitar chops on Oliver Mtukudzi's "Hear Me Lord." Jon Cleary's barrelhouse keys throughout owe a debt to Billy Payne of Little Feat. One may occasionally wish the producers had been allowed more rein to pepper the arrangements with their trademark quirky instrumentation, but the record rewards repeated listens. --Rob Stewart Amazon.com

Eclectic Bonnie tones down the electric

Silver Lining further demonstrates Bonnie Raitt's desire to branch out into as many genres of music in one album as humanly possible. The results are usually quite positive, although a couple of her choices have gone outside the realms I can appreciate. You certainly can't fault her ambition. It seems she can use her past successes as a vehicle to now finally play exactly what she wants. This is not a criticism, as the strain can be heard in albums such as Nine Lives when she did not have full artistic control.

I still tend to prefer Bonnie when she plays it a bit more straitforward, rather than veering off track. More familiar trademark Raitt here includes the shimmering title track (written by David Gray), and "Valley of Pain," where her ever expressive slide guitar is back at the forefront. Elsewhere, there is everything from the low down n' muddy (with horns) "Gnawin' On It," to the funky "Monkey Business," and the vaguely raggae "Hear Me Lord," around to the sparce piano driven closer "Wounded Heart."

Bonnie has no doubt earned all her stripes, and deserves to enjoy her sunset years with such artistic variance. Though I'm sure there are more than a few of us that miss the good times of "Thing Called Love" and "Something to Talk About." At the end of the day, any slightly better than average BR album is equal to a great one by most everyone else... so it's all relative. March 6, 2006

Not her best effort

Silver lining in my mind is a very mediocre CD.
It does have I Cant Help you Now.
No Getting Over You is another very good song and the best on the album in my mind.
It is a very strong blues song. I like Bonnie best when she is playing the blues.
Wounded Heart ends the CD with a song played on piano.
This is not her best Cd, but not her worst either. November 28, 2005

No Gettin' Over You . . .

. . . kicks it! I can't believe nobody's mentioned 'No Gettin' Over You.' This tune is all Bonnie - slide licks that swing and twang and sling, trying to recover from a bad relationship, but just not quite making it (but trying hard). This tune gives me goosebumps every time I hear it - no joking.
P.S. Delaney who? August 23, 2003

at least as good as anything she's ever done

Bonnie Raitt: any praise is unnecessary. I'm just thankful she's out there giving us mature, rocking music like this. She is one of a kind. The poignancy and vulnerability of the last track, "Wounded Heart" may move you to tears. She sings every song as if it were her favorite. She is the compleat musician. June 25, 2003

Definitely Worth Having

I was not a Bonnie Raitt fan when I bought this album on the recommendation of a friend. Now I am. This woman is incredible. She sings like no one else I've ever known. Her enthusiasm and skill match that of any singer I've ever heard. I will gladly pay megabucks to go see this woman in concert the next time she comes to Dallas.

Do yourself a favor: buy this album. May 26, 2003

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