• Incredible sound for Bonnie’s 1989 Masterpiece, with both sides of this original copy earning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades – just shy of our Shootout Winner
• There was a time when these Capitol pressings were sitting in the bins all over town, but those days are gone, my friend
• Some of the sweetest, richest, most analog sound we’ve heard from any record Don Was produced – “Have A Heart” is a Demo Disc quality track
• 4 1/2 stars: “Producer Don Was used Raitt’s classic early-70s records as a blueprint, choosing to update the sound with a smooth, professional production and a batch of excellent contemporary songs. In this context, Raitt flourishes; she never rocks too hard, but there is grit to her singing and playing, even when the surfaces are clean and inviting. A great comeback album that made for a great story.”
• Yes, the sound is heavily processed, with the kind of gloss that we’ve come to expect from Don Was, but these qualities take nothing away from the consistently high quality of the songwriting and production
• If you like the vintage smooth sound of this album, there are plenty of Hot Stamper pressings currently available that offer it

The sound here is powerfully big and bold, with meaty, deep bass (such a big part of the rockers here, “Thing Called Love” being a prime example).

When you hear it like this — something probably pretty close to what he heard during the control room playback for the final mix — it actually makes sense. It works. It’s not exactly “natural,” but natural is not what they were going for, now is it?

We play albums like this very loud. I’ve seen Bonnie Raitt live a number of times, and although I can’t begin to get her to play as loud in my listening room as she did on stage, I can try. To do less is to do her music a profound disservice.

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