Decades Rock Live: Bonnie Raitt and Friends [DVD/CD]

• Artist: Bonnie Raitt
• Rating:
• Release Date: August 15, 2006
• Type: Video, Live
• Genre: Rock

Review

Would that this package were the other way around, but Bonnie Raitt and Friends is a DVD/CD project. The DVD contains an entire set recorded at the Trump Taj Mahal from 2005. Raitt, guitar goddess that she is and overall phenomenal spiritual presence on-stage, is joined by friends Alison Krauss, Ben Harper, Keb' Mo', and Norah Jones for two songs each, while all the while ripping through her own spirited and inspiring repertoire. The CD contains half the guest performances and most of Raitt's own show. For those who are not big music DVD fans, the entirety of the concert would have been wonderful on CD -- that's a hint, Capitol! What's really exciting about the show -- either way you catch it -- is that the edges in Raitt's voice that have been there from the beginning of her long and celebrated career, which are so often rounded off on her studio records, are present here, adding to her entirely soulful manner of phrasing and singing (being a song stylist is something she is rarely given credit for). Tracks like "Crooked Crown," "God Was in the Water," "Hear Me Lord," and "Trinkets" are deeply moving. Of her guest performances, "I Don't Want Anything to Change" with Norah Jones is stellar, as is "Unnecessary Mercenary" with funky-as-hell keyboardist Jon Cleary and "Two Lights in the Nighttime" with Ben Harper (all three appear on both discs). But Raitt shines best on her own; she needs no one and never has. There's plenty here to like, and some of it even to celebrate, but fans will have to pick their own moments. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Unnecessarily Mercenary [DVD]	Jon Cleary	Bonnie Raitt, Jon Cleary
I Will Not Be Broken [DVD]	Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Tommy Sims	Bonnie Raitt
God Was in the Water [DVD]	Randall Bramblett, Davis Causey	Bonnie Raitt
Gnawin' on It [DVD]	Bonnie Raitt, Roy Rogers	Bonnie Raitt
You [DVD]	Tonio K., Bob Thiele, John Shanks	Alison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt
Papa Come Quick [DVD]	Chip Taylor, Billy Vera	Alison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt
No Gettin' Over You [DVD]	Bonnie Raitt	Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo'
Love Letter [DVD]		Bonnie Raitt
Crooked Crown [DVD]	David Batteau, Maia Sharp	Bonnie Raitt
Trinkets [DVD]	Emory Joseph	Bonnie Raitt
Two Lights in the Nighttime [DVD]	Lee Clayton, Pat McLaughlin	Bonnie Raitt
Well, Well, Well [DVD]	Bob Dylan	Bonnie Raitt
Something to Talk About [DVD]	Shirley Eikhard	Bonnie Raitt
Hear Me Lord [DVD]	Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi	Bonnie Raitt
I Don't Want Anything to Change [DVD]	Maia Sharp, Liz Rose	Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones
Tennessee Waltz [DVD]	Redd Stewart	Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones
Love Sneakin' Up on You [DVD]	Little Jimmy Scott, Tom Snow	Alison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo', Norah Jones

CD 2

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Introduction		Bonnie Raitt	(0:48)
Unnecessarily Mercenary	Jon Cleary	Bonnie Raitt, Jon Cleary	(4:03)
I Will Not Be Broken	Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Tommy Sims	Bonnie Raitt	(3:41)
God Was in the Water	Randall Bramblett, Davis Causey	Bonnie Raitt	(5:50)
Gnawin' on It	Bonnie Raitt, Roy Rogers	Bonnie Raitt	(4:30)
You	Tonio K., Bob Thiele, John Shanks	Alison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt	(5:39)
Love Letter	Bonnie Hayes	Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo'	(4:48)
Two Lights in the Nighttime	Lee Clayton, Pat McLaughlin	Bonnie Raitt	(4:53)
Well, Well, Well	Bob Dylan	Bonnie Raitt	(3:55)
Something to Talk About	Shirley Eikhard	Bonnie Raitt	(4:11)
I Don't Want Anything to Change	Maia Sharp, Liz Rose	Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones	(5:00)
Love Sneakin' Up on You	Little Jimmy Scott, Tom Snow	Alison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo', Norah Jones	(4:56)

Credits

Alison Krauss (Fiddle), Alison Krauss (Vocals), Alison Krauss (Guest Appearance), Bonnie Raitt (Guitar (Acoustic)), Bonnie Raitt (Vocals), Bonnie Raitt (Slide Guitar), Bonnie Raitt (Executive Producer), Jon Cleary (Percussion), Jon Cleary (Keyboards), Jon Cleary (Vocals), Ricky Fataar (Drums), Ricky Fataar (Vocals), Ben Harper (Vocals), Ben Harper (Slide Guitar), Ben Harper (Guest Appearance), James "Hutch" Hutchinson (Bass), James "Hutch" Hutchinson (Vocals), George Marinelli (Guitar), George Marinelli (Vocals), Paul Middleton (Engineer), Paul Middleton (Crew), Derick Williams (Production Coordination), Derick Williams (Crew), Norman Moore (Art Direction), Norman Moore (Design), Barry Ehrmann (Supervising Producer), Ross Lahey (Crew), Ross Lahey (Instrument Technician), Kate Lindsay (Stylist), Mark Scaggs (Crew), Mark Scaggs (Instrument Technician), Eric Sherman (Executive Producer), Norah Jones (Vocals), Norah Jones (Wurlitzer), Norah Jones (Guest Appearance), Doug Gherna (Crew), Doug Gherna (Monitor Engineer), Rick Camino (Associate Producer), Kathy Kane (Project Producer), Kathy Kane (Management), Peter A. Barker (Mixing), Ky Cabot (Crew), Carmen DelToro (Editing Assistant), Annie Heller Gutwillig (Associate Producer), Annie Heller Gutwillig (Management), Robert Huck (Crew), Robert Huck (Instrument Technician), Hannah Mayberry (Editing Assistant), Angella Mendillo (Make-Up), Chloe Monahan (Management), Sioux Nesi (Photography), Wendi Rogers (Make-Up), Rolland Ryan (Crew), Rolland Ryan (Instrument Technician), Marc Schrobilgen (Video Editor), Barry Summers (Executive Producer), Jeff King (Mastering)