garage / cottage classic
5
By 2such2moon
like jackson browne, bonnie raitt's first three albums were all brilliant in unique ways. this, her first, was recorded with friends who clearly share a love for this music, these songs, and each other. bonnie's later recordings were justifiably popular, and this record is never going to have mass appeal. but it's so real, so natural, so beautifully curated, performed, and recorded, that it has a quality a performer can't rehearse or plan for: an organic sense of timelessness. it's like listening to the rain on the roof of a cabin or a cottage, which might be far away from civilization, but can never be far enough away to let you forget the heartache these songs express. it's one single piece of music that takes the listener to familiar, personal, and ultimately redemptive places. 'give it up or let me go' was nearly as good, and probably had a better band and better songs. definitely had better audio quality. but this one is the original. just listen to the 30-second clips. that voice, that crackle on the lousy mastering of the recording (it sounds a little like they made the digital copies from my original vinyl lp), that band, those songs. if you're not hooked by the clip of 'bluebird', then this won't work for you. if you are, you'll find wisdom and a musical thrill here that is rare, and one that, frankly, even bonnie raitt never equalled.