| Streetlights | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1974 | |||
| Recorded | Mid-1974 | |||
| Studio | The Hit Factory, New York City | |||
| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
| Length | 37:05 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Jerry Ragovoy | |||
| Bonnie Raitt chronology | ||||
| ||||
Streetlights is the fourth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1974.
Bonnie Raitt was allotted $10,000 by Warner Bros. Records to record Streetlights, which was the least amount of money she had received to record an album. [1] Warner Bros. was unhappy with the lengthy production surrounding her previous album, Takin' My Time , and the company limited her expenses. The two parties eventually agreed on an advance of more money, on the condition Raitt would choose a producer with a history of commercial success. [1] Raitt chose Jerry Ragovoy, who had worked with musicians such as Janis Joplin and Dionne Warwick. [1] Ragovoy felt Raitt's music was bogged down by blues music, and wanted to produce an album with a more slick and polished pop sound. [2] Raitt did not like Ragovoy's decision, but acquiesced, and Streetlights was recorded during mid-1974. [2]
Critics have described Streetlights as Raitt's first attempt to record music for a mainstream audience. [3] [4] In contrast to the eclectic and laid-back sound of her first three albums, Streetlights features simpler arrangements with more string instrumentation, influenced by pop and R&B music. [2] [4] It is Raitt's only album in which she does not play the slide guitar. [2] Session musician Freebo said Raitt was negatively affected by the more professional production of Streetlights. "The environment changed her singing. She was in a professional world with Streetlights, and had to act like one" said Freebo. [2] Nine of the ten tracks on the album are covers of songs by musicians such as Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and John Prine. [5] [6] The one original track, "Ain't Nobody Home", was written by Ragovoy. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [9] |
| MusicHound Rock | 2/5 [10] |
| The New Rolling Stone Record Guide | [11] |
Streetlights was released in September 1974, by Warner Bros. [12] Streetlights reached number eighty on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and number 129 on the Cashbox Top 100 Albums chart. [13] [14] To support the album, Raitt went on a North American tour with Jackson Browne, from September 13 to November 24. [15] On two stops in Boston and Washington, D.C., Raitt was accompanied by blues musicians Roosevelt Sykes and Sippie Wallace. [16]
Side one
Side two
Credits adapted from Bonnie Raitt's official website. [5]
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 [13] | 80 |
| US Cashbox 100 [14] | 129 |
