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Bonnie Raitt: Slipstream

Redwing

We’re used to performers of a certain age shedding the overtly sexy part of pop and veering into relatively cooled-off territory. After all, we live in an era when one-time rock and rollers like Rod Stewart and Paul McCartney interpret the standards of their parents’ eras. And yet, at the age of 62, Bonnie Raitt still brings the heat—in an adult fashion—as she proves on Slipstream, her 19th album in four decades. On “Ain’t Gonna Let You Go,” Raitt’s saltysweet singing snakes through the shuffling groove, full of gleeful grit, and her enflamed slide guitar licks—her tone instantly recognizable—tease the track out to the six-minute mark. That last part isn’t the norm for her albums, but she makes room for spirited soloing on this set. She’s also playing more blues—as opposed to the R&B flavors of 2005’s Souls Alike —like “Million Miles,” a slow-burner from Bob Dylan’s latter-day catalog. Listen to his original version, then to her Joe Henry-produced one, and you feel the difference: There’s bodily warmth to her performance. It’s there, too, emotional readings of Dylan’s “Standing in the Doorway” and Henry’s unguarded pop ballad “You Can’t Fail Me Now.” Few artists Raitt’s age are still this comfortable in their skin.