Luck of the Draw (album)
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Luck of the Draw is the eleventh album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1991 (see 1991 in music). After being nominated for Grammy awards in four different categories for the album Nick of Time, Raitt went for a creative retreat in Northern California to begin work on Luck of the Draw. "I did it on purpose to see if I could come up with anything," Raitt said in 1991. "In case I won, I wanted to make sure that I had done some writing and didn't feel that Nick of Time was a fluke. I didn't want to win just 'cause I quit drinking and spent twenty years not making any money, you know? There wasn't enough. So I basically forced myself to go to songwriting boot camp. There were three of four days when it didn't happen — but because I didn't have alcohol or unhappiness or anything to get in the way, it started to open up and I started three of the four songs of mine that are on this album. And then it didn't matter if I won or not, because I had proved to myself that it was okay."
The album surpassed Nick of Time's commercial success, selling 7 million copies and spawning a number of hit singles. Critics were also unanimous in their praise, with some hailing Luck of the Draw as her finest album.
"One reason it took Raitt two decades to achieve the El Lay iconicity she deserves is her resistance to both folk gentility and studio antisepsis," wrote Robert Christgau, who gave Luck of the Draw an 'A' rating. "So praise Don Was for humanizing the control-freak production values she could never get on top of in the '70s. Another is her moral seriousness. So praise songwriters like John Hiatt, Bonnie Hayes, and maybe even Paul Brady for combining heft with hookcraft, and Shirley Eikhard..for 'Something to Talk About,' the slyest distillation of this rowdy Quaker's sexy ways since 'Love Me Like a Man.' But after that tell Raitt that no commercial reservation should ever torpedo a 'Tangled and Dark,' about a deep, long wrangle with love itself, or an 'All at Once,' about losing the teenage daughter she's never literally had."
Track listing
- "Something to Talk About" (Eikhard) – 3:47
- "Good Man, Good Woman" (Womack, Womack) – 3:33
- "I Can't Make You Love Me" (Reid, Shamblin) – 5:33
- "Tangled and Dark" (Raitt) – 4:52
- "Come to Me" (Raitt) – 4:20
- "No Business" (Hiatt) – 4:24
- "One Part Be My Lover" (O'Keefe, Raitt) – 5:06
- "Not the Only One" (Brady) – 5:03
- "Papa Come Quick (Jody and Chico)" (Hirsch, Taylor, Vera) – 2:43
- "Slow Ride" (Hayes, McNally, Pessis) – 3:59
- "Luck of the Draw" (Brady) – 5:17
- "All at Once" (Raitt) – 5:03
Personnel
- Bonnie Raitt – acoustic guitar, guitar, electric guitar, electric piano, vocals, background vocals, slide guitar
- Sweet Pea Atkinson – background vocals
- Curt Bisquera – drums
- Sir Harry Bowens – background vocals
- Paul Brady – background vocals
- Tony Braunagel – percussion, drums, timbales
- Turner Stephen Bruton – acoustic guitar, guitar, background vocals
- Carole Castillo – viola
- Emilio Castillo – tenor saxophone
- Glen Clark – background vocals
- Steve Conn – accordion
- Larry Corbett – cello
- John and Phil Cunningham – whistle
- Paulinho Da Costa – conga
- Deborah Dobkin – percussion
- Ernest Ehrhardt – cello
- Ricky Fataar – percussion, drums
- Robben Ford – electric guitar
- Rick Gerding – viola
- Mark Goldenberg – acoustic guitar
- Martin Goldenberg – guitar
- Pamela Goldsmith – viola
- Steve Grove – tenor saxophone
- John Hiatt – guitar, vocals
- Bruce Hornsby – piano, keyboard
- James "Hutch" Hutchinson – bass
- Randy Jacobs – electric guitar
- Dennis Karmazyn – cello
- Kris Kristofferson – background vocals
- Stephen "Doc" Kupka – baritone saxophone
- David Lasley – background vocals
- Delbert McClinton – harmonica, vocals
- Arnold McCuller – background vocals
- Ian McLagan – Hammond organ
- Larry John McNally – background vocals
- Ivan Neville – keyboard
- Novi – viola
- Jeff Porcaro – drums
- Michael Ruff – keyboard
- Johnny Lee Schell – electric guitar, vocals
- Aaron Shaw – bagpipes
- Benmont Tench – piano, Hammond organ
- Richard Thompson – guitar
- Lee Thornburg – trumpet
- Scott Thurston – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard
- Daniel Timms – background vocals
- Tower of Power – horns
- Billy Vera – electric guitar
Production
- Producers: Bonnie Raitt, Don Was
- Engineer: Ed Cherney
- Assistant engineers: Ray Blair, Dan Bosworth
- Mixing: Ed Cherney
- Mastering: Doug Sax
- Arrangers: Greg Adams, David Campbell
- Art direction: Tommy Steele
- Design: Jeffery Fey
- Logo: Margo Chase
- Lettering: Margo Chase
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Billboard 200 | 2 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Adult Contemporary | 6 |
| 1991 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Adult Contemporary | 9 |
| 1991 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 18 |
| 1991 | "Slow Ride" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 28 |
| 1991 | "Something to Talk About" | Adult Contemporary | 5 |
| 1991 | "Something to Talk About" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 12 |
| 1991 | "Something to Talk About" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| 1992 | "Come to Me" | Adult Contemporary | 10 |
| 1992 | "Not the Only One" | Adult Contemporary | 2 |
| 1992 | "Not the Only One" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 34 |
| 1993 | "All at Once" | Adult Contemporary | 17 |
Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Good Man, Good Woman" | Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal |
| 1991 | Luck of the Draw | Best Female Rock Vocal Performance |
| 1991 | "Something to Talk About" | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |