Streetlights (Bonnie Raitt album)

Streetlights is the fourth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1974.

Streetlights
Studio album by
Bonnie Raitt
ReleasedSeptember 1974
RecordedSummer 1974
StudioThe Hit Factory, New York City
GenrePop, R&B
Length37:05
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerJerry Ragovoy
Bonnie Raitt chronology
Takin' My Time
(1973)		 Streetlights
(1974)		 Home Plate
(1975)

Recording and music

Bonnie Raitt was allotted $10,000 by Warner Bros. Records to record Streetlights, which was the least amount of money she had received to record an album.[1] Warner Bros. was unhappy with the lengthy production surrounding her previous album, Takin' My Time, and the company limited her expenses. The two parties eventually agreed on an advance of more money, on the condition Raitt would choose a producer with a history of commercial success.[1] Raitt chose Jerry Ragovoy, who had worked with musicians such as Janis Joplin and Dionne Warwick.[1] Ragovoy felt Raitt's music was bogged down by blues music, and wanted to produce an album with a more slick and polished pop sound.[2] Raitt did not like Ragovoy's decision, but acquiesced, and Streetlights was recorded during the summer of 1974.[2]

Critics have described Streetlights as Raitt's first attempt to record music for a mainstream audience.[3][4] In contrast to the eclectic and laid-back sound of her first three albums, Streetlights features simpler arrangements with more string instrumentation, influenced by pop and R&B music.[2][4] It is Raitt's only album in which she does not play the slide guitar.[2] Session musician Freebo said Raitt was negatively affected by the more professional production of Streetlights. "The environment changed her singing. She was in a professional world with Streetlights, and had to act like one" said Freebo.[2] Nine of the ten tracks on the album are covers of songs by musicians such as Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and John Prine.[5][6] The one original track, "Ain't Nobody Home", was written by Ragovoy.[7]

Release and reception
Retrospective professional reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB[9]
MusicHound Rock2/5[10]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide[11]

Streetlights was released in September 1974, by Warner Bros.[12] Streetlights reached number eighty on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and number 129 on the Cashbox Top 100 Albums chart.[13][14] To support the album, Raitt went on a North American tour with Jackson Browne, from September 13 to November 24.[15] On two stops in Boston and Washington, D.C., Raitt was accompanied by blues musicians Roosevelt Sykes and Sippie Wallace.[16]

Track listing
  1. "That Song About the Midway" (Joni Mitchell) – 4:44
  2. "Rainy Day Man" (James Taylor, Zach Wiesner) – 3:41
  3. "Angel from Montgomery" (John Prine) – 3:59
  4. "I Got Plenty" (Joey Levine, Jim Carroll) – 3:09
  5. "Streetlights" (Bill Payne) – 5:05
  6. "What Is Success" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:32
  7. "Ain't Nobody Home" (Jerry Ragovoy) – 3:04
  8. "Everything That Touches You" (Michael Kamen) – 3:28
  9. "Got You on My Mind" (David Lasley, Allee Willis) – 3:50
  10. "You Got to Be Ready for Love (If You Wanna Be Mine)" (Lou Courtney) – 3:08

Personnel

Credits adapted from Bonnie Raitt's official website.[5]

  • Bonnie Raitt – lead vocals, guitar (1, 2, 3), backing vocals (7)
  • Don Grolnick – keyboards (1, 2)
  • Leon Pendarvis – keyboards (3-6, 9, 10), arrangements (10)
  • Paul Griffin – keyboards (7), acoustic piano (8)
  • Jon Mayer – keyboards (9, 10)
  • David Spinozza – guitar (1, 2, 4, 6)
  • Charlie Brown – guitar (3)
  • Jeff Mironov – guitar (3, 7, 8)
  • Jerry Friedman – guitar (4, 5, 6)
  • John Tropea – guitar (5, 7, 8)
  • John Hall – guitar (9, 10)
  • Bob Mann – guitar (9, 10)
  • Freebo – bass (1, 2)
  • Bob Babbitt – bass (3-8)
  • Richard Davis – bass (9, 10)
  • Steve Gadd – drums
  • Arthur Jenkins – percussion (1-4, 6, 10)
  • Ralph MacDonald – percussion (6, 9)
  • Jerry Ragovoy – arrangements (1-9)
  • Larry Wilcox – horn and string arrangements (1, 2, 5, 8)
  • Dave Matthews – horn arrangements (4, 6, 7), string arrangements (6)
  • Lou Courtney – backing vocals (3, 7)
  • David Lasley – backing vocals (3, 9, 10)
  • Carl Hall – backing vocals (4, 6)
  • Sharon Redd – backing vocals (4, 6, 9, 10)
  • Tasha Thomas – backing vocals (4, 6)
  • Natalie Venable – backing vocals (9, 10)

Production
  • Jerry Ragovoy – producer
  • Blaise Castellano – engineer
  • Harry Maslin – engineer, remixing
  • Bruce Tergesen – engineer
  • Lee Herschberg – remastering
  • Gregg Geller – series producer
  • Jo Motta – project coordinator
  • Ron Stone – management

Charts
Chart (1974) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[13] 80
US Cashbox 100[14] 129

References
  1. Bego 1995, p. 49.
  2. Bego 1995, p. 50.
  3. Lee, Peter (2004). The Blues Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 805. ISBN 978-1-1359-5832-9.
  4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (n.d.). "Bonnie Raitt - Streetlights". AllMusic. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  5. "Liner Notes - Streetlights". Bonnie Raitt Official Website. n.d. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  6. Bego 1995, p. 51.
  7. Bego 1995, p. 52.
  8. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  9. Gordon, Robert (August 23, 1991). "Bonnie Raitt on the record". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  10. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2 ed.). Visible Ink Press. p. 919. ISBN 978-1-5785-9061-2.
  11. Testa, Bart (1983). Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 410. ISBN 978-0-3947-2107-1.
  12. Bego 1995, p. 53.
  13. "Bonnie Raitt Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  14. "Cashbox Top 100 Albums Chart" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. XXXVI no. 28. December 7, 1974. p. 55.
  15. "Bonnie Raitt Has Arrived" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. XXXVI no. 20. September 28, 1974. p. 27.
  16. "Raitt Features Blues Greats" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. XXXVI no. 23. November 2, 1974. p. 31.

Book sources
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