Since 1975's Homeplate, Bonnie Raitt has veered closer to the mainstream than she has to the organic, sexy funk of her early-'70s records. This bothered many listeners, who chose to concentrate on the surface instead of the substance, but Raitt retained many of the same special qualities she demonstrated on those records into the '80s -- namely, her excellent taste in material, fondness for blurring folk, blues, country, and rock, and her wonderfully subtle, always engaging, interpretations. Green Lights may suffer a bit from a production that clearly pegs it as a 1982 release, but strip away its production and it's yet another satisfying collection of roots-rockers and bluesy ballads from the always reliable Raitt. Producer Rob Fraboni's recording may be a little bit too mainstream, lacking the new wave spark of, say, Dave Edmunds' similar-sounding recordings of this era, but Raitt nevertheless rises above the limitations of the recording and delivers a tight, enjoyable collection of amiable mainstream rockers with just a hint of roots. This isn't nearly as sexy as even Sweet Forgiveness, and it doesn't have much grit, but it has spirit and is fun, and it's a nice, smooth ride for those that like the direction Raitt's going. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Mike Reese (Mastering), Thom Yuill (Assistant), Ricky Fataar (Vocals (Background)), Steve Raitt (Vocals), Rob Fraboni (Percussion), Tim Kramer (Engineer), Richard Manuel (Vocal Harmony), Vince Gill (Vocals), Johnny Lee Schell (Keyboards), William D. "Smitty" Smith (Organ), Bonnie Raitt (Vocals), Tim Ritchie (Art Direction), Ed Cherney (Remastering Supervisor), Johnny Lee Schell (Vocals), Ricky Fataar (Percussion), Melanie Rosales (Vocals (Background)), Rick Vito (Guitar), Johnny Lee Schell (Guitar), Ray Chara (Bass), Mac James (Design), Ian McLagan (Keyboards), William D. "Smitty" Smith (Keyboards), Ray O'Hara (Bass), Johnny Lee Schell (Percussion), Jackson Browne (Vocals (Background)), Rob Fraboni (Producer), Gregg Geller (Remastering), Bonnie Raitt (Guitar), Bonnie Raitt (Slide Guitar), Johnny Lee Schell (Vocals (Background)), David Woodford (Saxophone), Melanie Rosales (Vocals), Jo Motta (Project Coordinator), Steve Raitt (Vocals (Background)), Richard Manuel (Vocals), Ian McLagan (Guitar), Terry Becker (Engineer), Vince Gill (Vocals (Background)), Mac James (Guitar), Johnny Lee Schell (Organ), Johnny Lee Schell (Autoharp), Jackson Browne (Vocals), Ricky Fataar (Drums), Richard Manuel (Harmony), Ricky Fataar (Vocals), John Livzey (Photography), Keith Blake (Remastering), Bonnie Raitt (Vocals (Background)), Kathy Kane (Management)
"What I wanted this time out was a combination of the music I've been listening to recently," Raitt said in 1982, "Billy Burnette, the Blasters, Rockpile, and the rock-a-billy New Wave scene. I knew I had to get away from the slick sound I had with the Peter Asher record...I was a little stung by the lack of response to The Glow. And I was disappointed by not being able to make a record that sounded the way I wanted it to sound. Moving to Shangri-la, I wanted to get back to the roots and to the funkiness I had on earlier records, even though I'm not crazy about how they sound. They sound like I was having a lot more fun than I really was. Green Light is the first album I actually had fun doing."
Green Light earned Raitt her strongest reviews in years, with critic Robert Christgau writing that "on The Glow the present-day female interpreter refused to die, and now she does even better by the suspect notion of good ol' you-know-what. The strength of [Green Light] runs too deep to rise up and grab you all at once, so you might begin with 'Me and the Boys,' arch as usual from NRBQ but formally advanced pull-out-the-stops (with all postfeminist peculiarities accounted for) when Bonnie and the boys get down on it."
According to Raitt, the album's hard-rock approach came as a surprise to some of her peers. "Well, a lot of my friends thought I had moved to the beach and turned into Gidget. But it's not like I suddenly became an airhead. I needed to lighten up a bit, that's all. I was laughing all the time, having a lot of fun, hanging out at this funky old studio that had hippie blankets hanging from the ceiling. Now I'm getting some feedback from people who feel the same way that I do about rock and roll. Then there are other, more conservative friends whom I've known for years who still wish I was sitting in a chair playing acoustic guitar."
