Give It Up (Bonnie Raitt album)

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This article is about the album by Bonnie Raitt. For the single of the same name by KC & The Sunshine Band, see Give It Up (KC song).

Give It Up is the second album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1972 (see 1972 in music). Produced by jazz producer Michael Cuscuna, it's often hailed as Raitt's best album.

"Give It Up [comes] closest to perfecting her approach," wrote critic Dave Marsh for early editions of The Rolling Stone Album Guide. "She [mingles] her blues resources with a variety of contemporary and folk-oriented songs, coming up with classics in 'Been Too Long at the Fair' and Eric Kaz's 'Love Has No Pride.' Her version of the latter remains definitive..." Robert Christgau echoed these sentiments in his Consumer Guide column and gave the album an 'A' rating. Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau also praised the album, writing that "the best thing about Bonnie Raitt is her singing, and the best thing about Give It Up is that she sings great from beginning to end; in doing so, she successfully handles a far greater range of styles and material than on her first album and has produced a more interesting and satisfying record in the process."

Track listing

1. "Give It Up or Let Me Go" (Raitt) – 4:30
2. "Nothing Seems to Matter" (Raitt) – 4:05
3. "I Know" (George) – 3:47
4. "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" (Clarke) – 3:00
5. "Love Me Like a Man" (Smither) – 3:12
6. "Too Long at the Fair" (Zoss) – 2:58
7. "Under the Falling Sky" (Browne) – 3:45
8. "You Got to Know How" (Viertel, Wallace) – 3:36
9. "You Told Me Baby" (Raitt) – 4:12
10. "Love Has No Pride" (Kaz, Titus) – 3:47

Personnel

• Bonnie Raitt - acoustic guitar, guitar, piano, electric guitar, steel guitar, vocals, background vocals, 12 string guitar, bottleneck guitar
• Paul Butterfield - harmonica
• Kal David - guitar, electric guitar
• Terry Eaton - tenor saxophone
• Peter Eckland - cornet
• Freebo - bass, tuba, vocals, background vocals, 12 string guitar, fretless bass
• Amos Garrett - guitar, trombone
• Marty Grebb - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
• John Kingsley Hall - electric guitar, steel guitar, background vocals
• John Hall - guitar, electric guitar, background vocals
• Dave Holland - bass
• Mark Jordan - piano, keyboards, electric piano, vibraphone
• Eric Kaz - piano, background vocals, vibraphone
• Wells Kelly - conductor, conga, drums, background vocals, bells, cowbell
• Jackie Lomax - vocals, background vocals
• Tim Moore - vocals, background vocals
• Chris Parker - drums
• John Payne - clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, wind
• Merl Saunders - piano
• Gene Stashuk - cello
• Lou Terriciano - piano
• T.J. Tindall - guitar, electric guitar
• Jack Viertel - guitar, rhythm guitar, steel guitar
• Dennis Whitted - drums

Production

• Producer: Michael Cuscuna
• Engineer: Kendall Pacios
• Remixing: Nick Jameson
• Remastering: Lee Herschberg
• Horn arrangements: Eric Kaz
• Art direction: Ed Thrasher
• Photography: Michael Dobo
• Liner Notes: Michael Cuscuna

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1972	Pop Albums	138