In 1983, Bonnie Raitt was dropped from Warner Bros. Records after the poor commercial performance of her albums The Glow (1979) and Green Light (1982). This decision came just one day after she had finished recording her next album, titled Tongue in Groove.[5] Two years later, Raitt's affair with producer Rob Fraboni came to an end, and she was forced to dissolve her backing band as she could no longer afford to pay them.[6] In addition to these personal problems, Warner Bros. exercised an option in Raitt's former contract to distribute Tongue in Groove in 1986, now re-titled Nine Lives. This meant that Raitt was now both legally obligated to promote a record she had no control over and split the profits with a label that had already abandoned her.[7] Raitt began to suffer from depression, which soon spiraled into excessive eating, drinking, and partying.[7] When asked about this period in her life, Raitt said: "I wasn't kicking and screaming into dementia, but I did have a complete emotional, physical, and spiritual breakdown."[8]
While touring for Nine Lives, Raitt's luck unexpectedly changed. Pop star Prince (who had also been signed to Warner Bros.) was a fan of Raitt and attended her performance at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. After learning that she had no contract, he asked her to join his label Paisley Park Records.[9] Raitt agreed and traveled to Minneapolis. Before she recorded any material however, she suffered a skiing accident and was hospitalized for two months.[10] The injury gave her time to reflect on recent life choices. "It seemed that some changes needed to be made. I looked at myself and just felt I wasn't being the best version of me as I could. I wasn't going to blame anyone other than myself." Raitt attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, which she credits with giving her a new outlook on life.[11]
Despite her newfound sobriety, Raitt was still in financial trouble. She left Paisley Park Records after Prince failed to come through with the new album she wanted. With no money for backing musicians, Raitt resorted to playing acoustic versions of her songs at concerts.[12] It was during this period that she met musician Don Was of the band Was (Not Was). They collaborated on the song "Baby Mine" for the 1988 album Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, which featured contemporary interpretations of songs from Disney films.[13] Raitt enjoyed working with Was, and chose him to produce her next album.[10] Financing the new record proved more difficult, as many labels felt Raitt no longer had commercial viability. Co-manager Danny Goldberg said at least fourteen executives passed on Raitt before Tim Devine of Capitol Records took an interest. In 1988, Raitt signed a recording contract with Capitol for $150,000.[14]
Composition
Nick of Time features a smooth and understated rock sound.[14]Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote: "[Raitt] never rocks too hard, but there is grit to her singing and playing, even when the surfaces are clean and inviting."[15] There are many genres explored in Nick of Time, including blues rock, country, R&B, and pop.[14] When Was was announced as the producer, some listeners wondered if he would instill a funk rock sound into the album, given his reputation with Was (Not Was).[16] Instead, the album was built around the laid-back blues rock sound Raitt had developed earlier in her career. According to Raitt: "There's less production, less slickness. Basically, it's a return to my roots."[17]
Before Raitt signed with Capitol Records, she and Was had recorded some early demos at Was' home studio. These early demos focused on music that was stripped down, similar to how Raitt had arranged her songs for the past few years. Was wanted to showcase her musical talents by choosing songs that worked without a backing band.[14] These demos were then properly recorded over the course of a week at Ocean Way Recording in Los Angeles on preparation for the album's release. Because they had already worked on the songs, recording sessions were fairly quick. About two tracks were recorded a day.[14] Engineer Ed Cherney noted how most of the music was recorded live in studio as opposed to recording each instrument individually. This was because Raitt was comfortable jamming with other musicians.[18]
Many of the songs deal with personal issues Raitt was struggling with at the time.[19] For example, Raitt was almost forty years old when Nick of Time was released, and the album's title track is about coming to terms with middle age.[14] According to biographer Mark Bego, Raitt sought to make an album for the baby boomer generation. "Unlike her past releases, there were no 'you've done me wrong' songs or tearful laments about love lost. The songs were much more personal" said Bego.[17]Nick of Time features two original songs and nine cover songs.[20]
Release
Nick of Time was released on March 21, 1989.[20] Devine was unable to convince Capitol Records' marketing team to promote Raitt, and instead had to ask the president of the company to put full-page ads in music magazines.[14] Despite the limited promotion, Nick of Time sold very well for the first few months, and quickly became the best selling album of Raitt's career.[21] It debuted at number 105 on the Billboard 200, and slowly climbed the chart until peaking at number 1 on April 6, 1990.[22][23] The seventeen and a half year stretch between Raitt's first album to chart on the Billboard 200–Give It Up in 1972–and Nick of Time broke the record for the longest period of time it took an artist to have a number 1 album.[24] By 2019, Nick of Time had sold over five million copies, and helped revitalize Raitt's career.[14] When asked why Nick of Time sold as well as it did, publicist Joan Myers said: "Bonnie's personality and sincerity just won people's hearts, in addition to her music. There was nothing ever pretentious about her."[14]
Bego identifies the music video for "Thing Called Love" as an important factor to the commercial success of Nick of Time.[25] With the rise of MTV and VH1 in the 1980s, the decision to film a video helped expose Raitt to a younger generation of listeners.[25] In the video, Raitt performs in a bar and flirts with a patron played by Dennis Quaid.[25] "Thing Called Love" was one of three singles from Nick of Time; the other two were "Love Letter" and "Have a Heart," the latter of which reached number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100.[14]
↑ Grein, Paul (April 7, 1990). "It Took All This 'Time' For Raitt To Hit Top; Nothing Compares 2 O'Connor; Plant Climbs". Billboard. Vol.102, no.14. p.6. ISSN0006-2510.
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