It’s 1973. Bonnie Raitt is 23 years old, living in Los Angeles, and hanging out with the guys from Little Feat. She’s already a "critics' darling" thanks to her first two records, but the pressure is on. People want to know if she’s the real deal or just a folkie with a bottleneck slide. Honestly, what she did next was pretty gutsy. Instead of playing it safe, she dropped Bonnie Raitt Takin My Time, an album that basically told the industry she wasn't going to be put in a box.
Most people today know Bonnie from the 90s—the "Nick of Time" era where she swept the Grammys and became a household name. But if you want to understand the soul of her musicianship, you have to go back to this third record. It’s messy, eclectic, and weirdly perfect. It's also famous for the behind-the-scenes drama that almost tanked the whole project.
The Producer Drama: Lowell George vs. Reality
Here is a bit of trivia most casual fans miss: Bonnie Raitt Takin My Time was supposed to be produced by Lowell George. If you know Little Feat, you know Lowell was a genius, but he and Bonnie were close—maybe too close.
Bonnie has been pretty open about why it didn't work. She once said it was hard being a strong woman trying to lead a project when the man in the room wants to take over. Plus, the emotional proximity made it impossible to be objective. She actually fired him. Well, "replaced" is the polite industry term. She brought in John Hall (from the band Orleans) to finish the job at Sunset Sound.
Even though John Hall got the final credit, Lowell’s DNA is all over this thing. You can hear it in the slide guitar on "I Feel the Same" and the general funky, laid-back vibe of the sessions.
An "All-Over-The-Place" Masterclass
If you look at the tracklist, it looks like a curated mixtape from a very cool older sibling. There isn't a single original Bonnie Raitt song on here. It’s all covers. But the range? It’s wild.
- The Soul: She opens with "You've Been in Love Too Long," a Martha and the Vandellas cover. It’s got this chunky, electric rhythm thanks to Paul Barrere and Bill Payne.
- The Blues: She pays homage to her mentor, Mississippi Fred McDowell, with "Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues." This is one of the few spots where she really lets her bottleneck guitar work shine.
- The Weirdness: "Wah She Go Do." It’s a calypso song. Seriously. Van Dyke Parks—the guy known for his avant-garde work with Brian Wilson—came in to provide what the liner notes call "inspiration and body English." It’s a total curveball, but it works because Bonnie’s voice handles the rhythmic shifts like a pro.
- The Heartbreak: Her cover of Eric Kaz’s "Cry Like a Rainstorm" is just devastating.
Basically, she was blending New Orleans R&B, jazz, folk, and calypso before "world music" was even a marketing term.
Why the Critics Loved It (And the Public Didn't)
When Bonnie Raitt Takin My Time hit the shelves in October 1973, the critics went nuts. Robert Christgau, the "Dean of American Rock Critics," gave it an A-minus. He loved how she moved these songs into the "women’s music" of the 70s without making them feel like museum pieces.
But the charts? Not so much. It peaked at number 87 on the Billboard 200. For a long time, Bonnie was the artist everyone respected but nobody was buying in bulk. She was living a "perform-pack-unpack-perform" lifestyle, as her biographer Mark Bego put it. She was a road warrior, building a fanbase one smoky club at a time.
The Players Who Made the Magic
One reason this record sounds so "expensive" even though it's rootsy is the session lineup. You had the cream of the crop:
- Freebo: The man on the fretless bass who provided that signature rubbery low end.
- Earl Palmer and Jim Keltner: Two of the greatest drummers to ever pick up sticks.
- Taj Mahal: Playing harmonica and acoustic bass.
- Bill Payne: The Little Feat keyboard wizard.
Having these guys in the room meant Bonnie could focus on her vocals. On over half the album, she doesn't even play guitar. She just stands at the mic and sings. You can hear her voice maturing here—it's richer and more weary than on her earlier stuff.
How to Listen to It Today
If you’re just getting into 70s roots rock, don't start with the hits. Put on Bonnie Raitt Takin My Time and listen for the transitions. Listen to how she handles the Randy Newman track "Guilty" at the very end. It’s slow, boozy, and feels like the end of a very long night.
The album is a testament to what happens when an artist refuses to be "marketable." She wasn't a folk singer, she wasn't a blues shouter, and she wasn't a pop star. She was just Bonnie.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
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- Check the Credits: If you like the sound of this album, go find Lowell George’s Thanks, I'll Eat It Here or Little Feat’s Dixie Chicken. The crossover of musicians is nearly 1:1.
- Focus on the Bass: Listen to Freebo’s work on "I Thought I Was a Child." It’s a masterclass in how to play a fretless bass in a folk-rock context.
- Compare the Covers: Track down the original "Wah She Go Do" by Calypso Rose. It makes you realize just how much Bonnie transformed the material to fit her own L.A. cool vibe.
This record didn't make her a superstar overnight, but it gave her the street cred that sustained her career for the next fifty years. It’s the sound of a woman taking her time to find out exactly who she wanted to be.