This album is an overlooked gem in the catalog of Bonnie Raitt.
On Takin' My Time, she wears her influences proudly in an eclectic musical mix containing blues, jazz, folk, New Orleans R&B, and calypso.
Although she did not write her own material for this album, she demonstrates an excellent ear for songs and chooses material from some of the best songwriters of the day.
She is a great interpreter, and her renditions of Jackson Browne's "I Thought I Was a Child" and Randy Newman's "Guilty" from this album are the definitive versions of these songs.
The highlights of this album are the romantic ballads "I Gave My Love a Candle" and "Cry Like a Rainstorm," where Raitt adds an emotional depth to the performance unusual for such a young woman.
(Perhaps that's a result of her spending time with elder statesmen of the blues community such as Mississippi Fred McDowell and Sippie Wallace.) Although the faster-paced songs like the calypso "Wah She Go Do" seem a little out of place, the playful tune is welcome among an album filled with the heartache of the slower tunes.
Despite being a relative newcomer, Raitt had already earned the respect of her mentors and her peers, as evidenced by the musical contributions of Taj Mahal, and Little Feat members Lowell George and Bill Payne on the album.
This is the last consistent album she would make until her comeback in the mid-'80s.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | You've Been in Love Too LongIvy Jo Hunter, Clarence Paul, William "Mickey" Stevenson | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | I Gave My Love a CandleJoel Zoss | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Let Me InYvonne Baker, Alphonso Howell | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | Cry Like a RainstormEric Kaz | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 5 | Wah She Go Do | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | I Feel the SameChris Smither | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 7 | I Thought I Was a ChildJackson Browne | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | GuiltyRandy Newman | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 9 | Everybody's Crying Mercy | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Kokomo Blues,Write Me A Few Of Your Lines | Bonnie Raitt | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 37 mins | 86 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 207 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arnie Acosta | Mastering |
| 2 | Mose Allison | Composer |
| 3 | Yvonne Baker | Composer |
| 4 | Paul Barrére | Guitar, Guitar (Electric) |
| 5 | George Bohannon | Horn Arrangements, Trombone |
| 6 | Oscar Brashear | Flugelhorn, Horn |
| 7 | Bud Brisbois | Horn |
| 8 | Jackson Browne | Composer |
| 9 | Ed Cherney | Remastering Supervisor |
| 10 | Sam Clayton | Conductor, Congas |
| 11 | Mickey Dobó | Cover Photo, Photography |
| 12 | Carol Farhat | Handclapping |
| 13 | Glenn Ferris | Horn |
| 14 | Freebo | Bass, Fretless Bass, Tuba, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Tom Gamache | Art Direction, Design |
| 16 | Lowell George | Guitar, Slide Guitar |
| 17 | John Haeny | Engineer |
| 18 | John Hall | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Handclapping, Mellotron, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Bob Hardaway | Horn |
| 20 | Richard Heenan | Mixing |
| 21 | Lee Herschberg | Remastering |
| 22 | Milt Holland | Claves, Percussion, Shaker, Tabla, Tambourine, Timbales |
| 23 | Alphonso Howell | Composer |
| 24 | Ivy Jo Hunter | Composer |
| 25 | Carl Huston | Handclapping |
| 26 | Kirby Johnson | Conductor, Horn Arrangements |
| 27 | Eric Kaz | Composer |
| 28 | Jim Keltner | Drums |
| 29 | Sandy Kroopf | Art Direction, Back Cover, Design, Photography |
| 30 | Marty Krystall | Horn |
| 31 | Taj Mahal | Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Guest Artist, Guitar, Harmonica, Harp, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 32 | Mississippi Fred McDowell | Composer |
| 33 | Jo Motta | Project Coordinator |
| 34 | Randy Newman | Composer |
| 35 | Earl Palmer | Drums |
| 36 | Van Dyke Parks | Guest Artist, Inspiration, Keyboards, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 37 | Clarence Paul | Composer |
| 38 | Bill Payne | Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric), Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 39 | Joel Peskin | Horn |
| 40 | Bonnie Raitt | Bottleneck Guitar, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Handclapping, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 41 | Doug Sax | Mastering |
| 42 | Nat Seligman | Handclapping |
| 43 | Chris Smither | Composer |
| 44 | William "Mickey" Stevenson | Composer |
| 45 | Anthony Terran | Horn |
| 46 | Tony Terran | Horn |
| 47 | Ernie Watts | Sax (Soprano), Saxophone |
| 48 | Joel Zoss | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |