Bonnie Raitt - Just Like That...

by Zena Grieg

published: 21 / 6 / 2022

Label: Redwing Records
Format: CD

Powerful and reflective combination of original compositions and covers on first album in six years from California-based singer Bonnie Raitt

Review

Back with her first album in six years, the California-based singer Bonnie Raitt has brought out a self-produced collection in which she set out to “try styles and topics I never really touched on before.” Backed by a solid, competent band which includes former Beach Boys drummer Ricky Fataar, ‘Just Like That’, Raitt’s 18th album, is a mix of original compositions and covers, rooted in blues-based pop and rock. Themes range from love and loss to resilience, living in the shadow of COVID 19: “I don’t think we’ll get back how we used to…/Keep livin’ for the ones (Ones who didn’t make it)” (‘Livin’ For The Ones’). Songs to listen out for in this ten-track collection include: the opener ‘Made Up Mind’ about liberating oneself from a relationship gone sour; the emotive, funk-jazz ‘Waitin’ For You To Blow’ with its soaring organ solo, a song about the shadow of addiction, a powerful reminiscence of her own successful battle with this in the 80s; the innovative ‘Here Comes Love’ with its New Orleans funk; the title track about how a heart transplant unexpectedly connects a bereaved mother and the recipient, a song fusing loss and renewal; and the closer ‘Down The Hall’, inspired by a news story about an inmate who sought redemption through becoming a prison hospice worker. A powerful album, reflective, soulful, ‘Just Like That’ showcases Raitt’s rich, vibrant vocals and her storytelling ability.

Track Listing:-

1 Made Up Mind
2 Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart
3 Livin' For The Ones
4 Just Like That
5 When We Say Goodnight
6 Waitin' For You To Blow
7 Blame It On Me
8 Love So Strong
9 Here Comes Love
10 Down The Hall