Takin' My Time

Untitled

Takin' My Time is the third album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music). Widely considered one of her strongest works, critic Robert Christgau praised the album for "conveying songs from Calypso Rose and Martha Reeves Vandella into the women's music of the '70s."

In an interview taken in 1982, Raitt would reveal that "Takin' My Time is one of my favourite records to listen to, although I started out with Lowell George producing it, and he and I got too close to be able to have any objectivity about it. That's the problem when you're a woman and you get involved with the people you work with - and I just don't just mean romantically. It becomes too emotional. It's hard to have a strong woman telling the man her ideas when, in fact, the man wants to take over the situation. So that album had a lot of heartache in it. At the time it was a difficult one to make, but now I like it."

Track listing

1. "You've Been in Love Too Long" (Hunter, Paul, Stevenson) – 3:43
2. "I Gave My Love a Candle" (Zoss) – 4:20
3. "Let Me In" (Baker, Howell, Minor) – 3:38
4. "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy" (Allison) – 3:29
5. "Cry Like a Rainstorm" (Kaz) – 3:55
6. "Wah She Go Do" (Lewis) – 3:12
7. "I Feel the Same" (Smither) – 4:40
8. "I Thought I Was a Child" (Browne) – 3:49
9. "Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues" (McDowell) – 3:36
10. "Guilty" (Newman) – 2:58

Personnel

• Bonnie Raitt - acoustic guitar, guitar, electric guitar, vocals, background vocals, handclapping, bottleneck guitar
• Paul Barrére - guitar, electric guitar
• George Bohannon - trombone
• Sam Clayton - conductor, conga
• Carol Farhat - handclapping
• Glenn Ferris - horn
• Freebo - bass, tuba, vocals, background vocals, fretless bass
• Lowell George - guitar, slide guitar
• John Hall - guitar, electric guitar, background vocals, handclapping, mellotron
• Bob Hardaway - horn
• Robert Hardaway - sax
• Milt Holland - percussion, tabla, tambourine, timbales, claves, shaker
• Carl Huston - handclapping
• Kirby Johnson - conductor
• Jim Keltner - drums
• Marty Krystall - sax
• Taj Mahal - bass, guitar, harmonica, vocals, background vocals, acoustic bass
• Earl Palmer - drums
• Van Dyke Parks - piano, keyboard, vocals, background vocals
• Bill Payne - organ, piano, keyboard, electric piano, vocals, background vocals
• Joel Peskin - sax
• Nat Seligman - handclapping
• Tony Terran - trumpet
• Oscar Brashear - trumpet
• Bud Brisbois - trumpet
• Ernie Watts - soprano saxophone

Production

• Producer: John Hall
• Engineer: John Haney
• Mixing: Richard Heenan
• Mastering: Arnie Acosta
• Mastering: Doug Sax
• Remastering supervisor: Ed Cherney
• Remastering: Lee Herschberg
• Project coordinator: Jo Motta
• Horn arrangements: George Bohannon, Kirby Johnson
• Art direction: Tom Gamache, Sandy Kroopf
• Design: Tom Gamache, Sandy Kroopf
• Photography: Michael Dobo, Sandy Kroopf
• Cover photo: Michael Dobo
• Back cover: Sandy Kroopf

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1973	Pop Albums	87