Nine Lives (Bonnie Raitt album)

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Nine Lives
Nine Lives cover
Studio album by Bonnie Raitt
Released 1986
Recorded 1983,1986
Genre Rock
Length 41:33
Label Warner Bros. Records
Producer Rob Fraboni, Russ Kunkel, Bill Payne, Steve Tyrell, George Massenburg
Professional reviews
Bonnie Raitt chronology
Green Light
(1982)		 Nine Lives
(1986)		 Nick of Time
(1989)

Nine Lives is the ninth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). It was Raitt's most difficult release, due to the poor sales, negative reviews, and general circumstances surrounding its release.

"In 1983 there was a corporate sweep at Warner's, coming from upstairs, and they needed to trim the fat," Raitt recalled in 1990. "I just had completed an album called Tongue & Groove, which was produced by Rob Fraboni, who had also done Green Light. And I don't think they maliciously said, 'Let's let her finish her album and get the tour all lined up and print the covers and hire the people to do the video and then drop her.' You know, ha, ha, ha. But that's what they did. it was literally the day after I had finished mastering it. I had already finished the album once, and [Warner's claimed] the Jerry Williams tune would be more commercial if it didn't have quite as reggae a beat. Or something like that. So I went in and redid it. I thought if I cooperated a little more, maybe they'd promote the album more. But instead they dropped me and pulled the rug out from under my tour. I thought the way they did it was real crummy. They sent a letter. I think I suffered from not having a relationship with the A&R department there, because I had an independent production deal..."

Raitt could've purchased the master tapes and released the album elsewhere, but Warner's asking price was considered too extravagant. "They told me I can take the tapes and shop them around," said Raitt, "but they wanted about $500,000 for them, and nobody wanted to pay that much..."

The material for Tongue & Groove was shelved until two years later when "Warner's suddenly said they were going to put the record out," Raitt recalled. "I said it wasn't really fair. I think at this point they felt kind of bad. I mean, I was out there touring on my savings to keep my name up, and my ablility to draw was less and less. So they agreed to let me go in and recut half of it." The result was Nine Lives which was finally released in 1986.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "No Way to Treat a Lady" (Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance) – 3:51
  2. "Runnin' Back to Me" (Karla Bonoff, Ingber) – 4:14
  3. "Who But a Fool (Thief into Paradise)" (O'Byrne, Show, Snow) – 4:26
  4. "Crime of Passion" (Ironstone, Unobsky) – 4:20
  5. "All Day, All Night" (Hutchinson, JOnes, Neville) – 4:03
  6. "Stand Up to the Night" (Jennings, Kerr, Redford) – 4:43
  7. "Excited" (Williams) – 3:12
  8. "Freezin' (For a Little Human Love)" (Smotherman) – 4:58
  9. "True Love Is Hard to Find" (Hibbert) – 4:34
  10. "Angel" (Eric Kaz) – 4:00

[edit] Personnel

  • Bonnie Raitt - guitar, vocals, background vocals, slide guitar
  • Greg Adams - trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Rosemary Butler - vocals, background vocals
  • Max Carl - vocals, background vocals
  • Emilio Castillo - tenor saxophone
  • Lenny Castro - percussion
  • Blondie Chaplin - vocals, background vocals
  • Ray Chara - bass
  • Max Earl - background vocals
  • Nathan East - bass
  • Richard Elliot - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
  • Charles Ferrin - guitar
  • Rob Fraboni - percussion
  • Ira Ingber - guitar
  • Eric Kaz - piano, background vocals
  • David Kitay - guitar, keyboard
  • Richard Kosinski - keyboard
  • Russ Kunkel - drums
  • Stephen "Doc" Kupka - baritone saxophone
  • Michael Landau - guitar
  • Ian McLagan - guitar, keyboard
  • Christine McVie - vocals, background vocals
  • Guy Moon - keyboard
  • Ivan Neville - vocals, background vocals
  • Ray O'Hara - bass
  • Dean Parks - guitar
  • Bill Payne - piano, keyboard, vocals
  • J.A.C Redford - keyboard
  • John "J.R." Robinson - drums
  • Stephen Ross - vocals, background vocals
  • Johnny Lee Schell - guitar, keyboard, vocals, background vocals
  • Todd Sharp - vocals, background vocals
  • Leland Sklar - bass
  • Earl "Chinna" Smith - guitar, vocals
  • Earl J. Smith, Jr. - background vocals
  • Neil Stubenhaus - bass
  • Lee Thornburg - trombone, trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Tower of Power - horns
  • Carlos Vega - drums
  • Ian Wallace - drums
  • Sippie Wallace - background vocals
  • David Woodford - saxophone

[edit] Production

  • Producers: Rob Fraboni, Russ Kunkel, George Massenburg, Bill Payne, Steve Tyrell
  • Engineers: Terry Becker, Rob Fraboni, David Kitay, George Massenburg, John X. Volaitis
  • Assistant engineers: Sharon Rice, Billy Youdelman
  • Mixing: George Massenburg, David Tickle
  • Mastering: Doug Sax
  • Remastering: Teresa Caffin
  • Series producer: Gregg Geller
  • Project coordinator: Jo Motta
  • Production coordination: Ivy Skoff
  • Drum programming: David Kitay
  • Horn arrangements: Greg Adams
  • Art direction: Laura LiPuma
  • Design: Laura LiPuma
  • Cover illustration: Lindsey Loch
  • Photography: Jim Shea

[edit] Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1986 The Billboard 200 138

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1986 "No Way to Treat a Lady" Mainstream Rock Tracks 15
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