For an artist who gets name checked so many times as a
source of inspiration, the work of Bonnie Raitt hasn’t crossed my path in the
past as often as it should have. However following the release of last year’s
Grammy winning album SLIPSTREAM and the UK leg of a worldwide tour to promote
it, great strides have been made to rectify the situation. Although a strong counter
attraction existed in the presence of Neil Young at the nearby LG Arena, there
was barely a spare seat to be seen in the Symphony Hall as Bonnie and her band
set about answering the question in her own words ‘whether she still has it’.
Nearly two hours later, the multiple standing ovations after the main and
encore set firmly gave a positive response, which probably was never really in
doubt.
The influence and widespread appeal of Bonnie’s talent lies
in the way she effortlessly glides across the genres of American roots music
without settling into any formulaic groove. The term Americana sits very neatly
within the realm of Bonnie Raitt although within few minutes into the
performance she referenced the term as a ‘little discourteous’ to the origins
of much of her music – the African continent and the British Isles. However
towards the end she lauded the movement of the same name which has done so much
in recent years to keep great roots music alive.
Of course Americana was the category which saw SLIPSTREAM
earn Bonnie her tenth Grammy and this excellent album was well represented in
the batch of songs played during the evening. The carefully selected tracks
from it conveyed the sheer quality of the record, from the opening number ‘Used to Rule the World’ through to Dylan’s
‘Million Miles’. The personal
highlight of those chosen was the Louden Wainwright/Joe Henry composed ‘You Can’t Fail Me Now’, although this
one was run close by ‘Marriage Made in
Hollywood’ which had featured input from Paul Brady in its writing.
The whole evening was awash with Bonnie referring to artists
she had worked with, covered or just held in great esteem including James
Taylor, John Hiatt, Elvis Presley and a special reserved mention for Mick and
Keith. She admitted to not being a prolific songwriter and added an impromptu version
of Taylor’s ‘Rainy Day Man’ to the
encore set amongst a host of other tunes penned by some of America’s finest including
the wonderful ‘Angel from Montgomery’.
Whilst being a John Prine original, Bonnie emotionally dedicated this version
to her mother.
A consistent blues theme existed throughout the evening,
although this was probably best exemplified when organ/keyboardist Mike
Finnigan took over vocals for a sensational version of ‘I Got News for You’. In sync with the blues style, Bonnie indulged
in a little bit of Philadelphia soul and also proved she could really rock n’
roll with a closing number previously made famous by Elvis ‘A Big Hunk o’ Love’. In between, the
ballads showcased Bonnie’s voice at its best including the delightful ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ which was
recently revived with a version by Adele.
Bonnie, now in her sixth decade, heaped continual praise on
her band led by guitarist George Marinelli and containing a rhythm section of
James ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson on bass and Ricky Fataar on drums. However much of the
attention surrounded Mike’s outstanding keyboard/organ sound which provided the
backdrop to so many of the songs. Despite the immense pride in the success of
SLIPSTREAM, Bonnie knew the expectations of songs from her forty-year back
catalogue with ‘Something to Talk About’
and the self-penned ‘Come to Me’
being amongst those well received.
With this first long awaited taste of seeing Bonnie Raitt
live, it was obvious to witness why this consummate performer has inspired and
influenced so many artists that have followed in her footsteps. There was ample
evidence that plenty more is yet to come and she is sure to remain a leading
light for those artists engaged with furthering the cause of Americana music.