Bonnie Raitt - Dig In Deep

Bonnie Raitt
Dig In Deep
2016
Spotify

Bonnie Raitt has always been known as the redheaded blues rocker, taking covers and making them entirely her own. She has a style that is unmistakable and has been that way for years. At 66 you wouldn't expect anything new or exciting from the rocker, but you would be wrong. Dig In Deep sees Bonnie take over the writing duties on four of the tracks, something that she has not done in awhile, while the rest are her putting her own spin on previously recorded songs. "Need You Tonight" an INXS cover is particularly well done taking a song that has a great riff and molding it into a rock classic. Each song builds on the next to create an album full of songs of love, loss and regret just exactly what you would expect. In music it is always nice to find a new surprise, but when something is so classically good, like Bonnie Raitt, it really doesn't matter if the sound is on the cutting edge. A flowery way to say that sometimes good is just good. What is really incredible is Raitt's voice has not lost a single step. It is just as bluesy and raspy as it ever has been despite over 40 years of plying her trade. The slide guitar also takes center stage for much of the album giving it an Americana feel that fits perfectly with Raitt's style.

The songs that Raitt did write or co-wrote: "Unintended Consequence of Love", "What You're Doin' to Me", "If You Need Somebody", "The Comin' Round is Going Through" and "The Ones We Couldn't Be" actually are the ones that have the most emotional depth. It is the songs like the Los Lobos cover "Shakin' Shakin' Shakes" that come across more like filler than anything else. Her take is nice on those tracks but it really doesn't effect you the way some of the more personal tracks do. Another issue is the track length. Most of the songs are over four minutes, a lot of which is just jam band kind of stuff and it makes some of the tracks feel very lethargic. This is the kind of music you want to hit and move on, not hang around for a long period of time. The album ends with two ballads, the second "The One's We Couldn't Be" an original is the most stripped down featuring just Raitt and a piano. For an album that shows the strength of having a solid band behind you it is a interesting choice but it really works and shows just how great her range really is. Dig In Deep is not the return to the original singer-songwriter style that people thought it might be, but it still is something really special and more than worth your time.

7.1 out of 10