Blues babe reaches crossroad

Robert Johnson’s classic, Crossroads Blues, which has been covered umpteen times by every bluesman (and woman) worth his Mississippi licks, is about a man who sells his soul to the devil, which you do, in the south, — at a crossroads — in exchange for the gift of astounding musical ability. I doubt Bonnie Raitt has sold her soul, though her musical ability is certainly well above the norm, but her sixteenth album, Silver Lining, does find her at a sort of crossroads. Yes, the album does have a blues base, but it’s very eclectic and far more commercial and less raw-boned than some of her best work. I’m thinking, especially, of Give It Up (1972) and The Glow (1979), albums that stayed just not on the turntable (then), but in the mind. The problem with Silver Lining is that it is a bit too safe, perhaps a bit too eclectic. Nonetheless, it will still give her fans something to talk about. Although there are too many medicocre tracks here, Raitt has never been in better voice. And the band, her own, slightly augmented, touring band, is in fine form. Especially notable is the impact of New Orleans keyboardist Jon Cleary. You can hear him on the opening track, the somewhat maudlin Fool’s Game (sounds like Delaney and Bonnie) and on the highly funkified, Dr. Johnish Monkey Business, as well as tinkling a gentle background piano on the ballad, No Getting Over You. And the great Steve Cropper contributes his distinct Memphis chops to Time of Our Lives. But the spottiness of the album is a bit distressing, considering that one of Raitt’s strengths has always been to find great songs we’d never heard of. Not that there aren’t a few wonderful cuts here. Raitt’s love of African music is jumpily evident in Hear Me, Lord, written by ’s Oliver Mtukudzi, a world-beat icon; and especially in Back Around, a truly affirming tune in the midst of a certain amount of syrup, a winningly eclectic mix of Raitt’s beloved Delta blues and the African sounds of musician Habib Koité. Rockers will appreciate the incendiary workout, Gnawin’ on It, a raucous, get-up-and-boogie tune that celebrates, of all things, the power of enduring love. So, not a waste. But it does seem as if Bonnie Raitt, daughter of a Broadway star, three decades in the business of the blues, slide guitarist extraordinaire, is truly at a crossroads, looking for a new direction. Taking the African fork in the road may be the beginning of a solution.
 

Photo Credit: bonnieraitt.com