Green Light (Bonnie Raitt album)
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Green Light is the eighth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music).
"What I wanted this time out was a combination of the music I've been listening to recently," Raitt said in 1982, "Billy Burnette, the Blasters, Rockpile, and the rock-a-billy New Wave scene. I knew I had to get away from the slick sound I had with the Peter Asher record...I was a little stung by the lack of response to The Glow. And I was disappointed by not being able to make a record that sounded the way I wanted it to sound. Moving to Shangri-la, I wanted to get back to the roots and to the funkiness I had on earlier records, even though I'm not crazy about how they sound. They sound like I was having a lot more fun than I really was. Green Light is the first album I actually had fun doing."
Green Light earned Raitt her strongest reviews in years, with critic Robert Christgau writing that "on The Glow the present-day female interpreter refused to die, and now she does even better by the suspect notion of good ol' you-know-what. The strength of [Green Light] runs too deep to rise up and grab you all at once, so you might begin with 'Me and the Boys,' arch as usual from NRBQ but formally advanced pull-out-the-stops (with all postfeminist peculiarities accounted for) when Bonnie and the boys get down on it."
According to Raitt, the album's hard-rock approach came as a surprise to some of her peers. "Well, a lot of my friends thought I had moved to the beach and turned into Gidget. But it's not like I suddenly became an airhead. I needed to lighten up a bit, that's all. I was laughing all the time, having a lot of fun, hanging out at this funky old studio that had hippie blankets hanging from the ceiling. Now I'm getting some feedback from people who feel the same way that I do about rock and roll. Then there are other, more conservative friends whom I've known for years who still wish I was sitting in a chair playing acoustic guitar."
Track listing
- "Keep This Heart in Mind" (Holsapple, Marrone) – 3:20
- "River of Tears" (Kaz) – 4:54
- "Can't Get Enough" (Raitt, Richmond) – 2:51
- "Willya Wontcha" (Schell) – 3:22
- "Let's Keep It Between Us" (Dylan) – 4:43
- "Me and the Boys" (Adams) – 3:38
- "I Can't Help Myself" (Fataar, Ohara, Raitt, Schell) – 3:06
- "Baby Come Back" (Grant) – 2:48
- "Talk to Me" (Williams) – 3:22
- "Green Lights" (Adams, Spampinato) – 3:14
Personnel
- Bonnie Raitt - guitar, vocals, background vocals, slide guitar
- Jackson Browne - vocals, background vocals
- Ray Chara - bass
- Ricky Fataar - percussion, drums, vocals, background vocals
- Rob Fraboni - percussion
- Vince Gill - vocals, background vocals
- Mac James - guitar
- Richard Manuel - vocals, harmony vocals
- Ian McLagan - guitar, keyboard
- Ray O'Hara - bass
- Steve Raitt - vocals, background vocals
- Melanie Rosales - vocals, background vocals
- Johnny Lee Schell - organ, guitar, percussion, autoharp, keyboard, vocals, background vocals
- William D. "Smitty" Smith - organ, keyboard
- Rick Vito - guitar
- David Woodford - saxophone
Production
- Producer: Rob Fraboni
- Engineers: Terry Becker, Tim Kramer
- Mastering: Mike Reese
- Remastering supervisor: Ed Cherney
- Remastering: Keith Blake, Gregg Geller
- Project coordinator: Jo Motta
- Assistant: Thom Yuill
- Art direction: Tim Ritchie
- Design: Mac James
- Photography: John Livzey
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
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| 1982 | Pop Albums | 38 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Keep This Heart In Mind" | Mainstream Rock | 39 |