Customer Reviews

Green Light

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album is predominately an up-tempo rocking album - it never slows below mid-tempo - although Bonnie's roots in blues music are still in evidence. This was the first Bonnie Raitt album I ever bought and is still my favorite among those I've heard. Apparently, the musicians used on this album were the ones that backed her on tour at the time rather than studio musicians.

Bonnie found some great songs here by noted songwriters such as Eric Kaz (River of tears) and Bob Dylan (Let's keep it between us, one of his more obscure but still excellent songs). Two songs were written by Terry Adams of NRBQ - the title track and Me and the boys.

To my ears, the standout track is Baby come back, perhaps because I was already familiar with the song even before Bonnie started her long and distinguished career. Eddy Grant wrote this song in the sixties, when he was lead singer of the Equals. Their original version of the song went all the way to number one in the UK charts in 1968. Bonnie's cover is faithful to the original but equally brilliant.

I love to hear Bonnie sing the blues but this album shows that Bonnie could rock too. It may not be typical, but it's great entertainment.

I first heard Bonnie Raitt in 1989, when she had become the toast the record industry following the release of "Nick Of Time". I knew that she had been around for a long time before that, but (like a lot of other people, I guess) I had never really heard anything by her. She had never gotten a lot of airplay. I was impressed, though, and I decided to give some of her other albums a try. I got a copy of "Green Light", and I can say I wasn't disappointed. This album is a first-rate collection of solid rock-and-roll songs. There isn't a clinker in it anywhere. There are several straight-up rockers, such as "Willya Wontcha" and "Me and the Boys", and a couple of slower tunes, like "River of Tears". Several are covers of songs by others, but all are given solid treatment here. Check out Raitt's versions of Dylan's "Let's Keep It Between Us" and Eddy Grant's "Baby Come Back". There are just two minor problems with this album. First, the lack of a standout song that could have been put out as a single to capture some airplay. Second, Raitt's vocals sometimes sound a bit thin or tinny. As though the microphone was inside a tin can. She doesn't quite have the vocal presence on this album that she acquired by the time she recorded "Nick Of Time". Even so, "Green Light" is a very good album. The songs are well-chosen and played with feeling. If you like rock-and-roll (or if you just like Bonnie Raitt) give this album a listen. I think you'll like it.

Being a fan of Bonnie's music since the middle
70's period, I was use to her wonderful voice, guitar
stylings and assorted material she chose to sing and
sometimes wrote and recorded herself. I just loved
her early work to death, played it so much growing
up. Pick up any Bonnie collection during the 1970's and theres always
something to love from this period., she puts her soul into
everything. By the early 80'she seem to start to
struggle just to be heard on a radio station and
with this collection she almost got it right. Like
earlier reviews stated she just needed that one
single to push this into mainstream, but for one
reason or another it sank. I always felt this was
one of her best records, I saw her perform this
material in Boston after its release and I remember
the concert was considered one or two of the best
shows (LIVE) in Boston in 82'. The material ROCKED!She was dazzill'in to watch and had complete control of these songs.
I feel it was difficult for Bonnie to put this
energy on a record, she should have recorded these
concerts live, they were like nothing I'd ever experienced
going to see Bonnie. Great songs on GREEN LIGHT, but
the production on this record just wasn't quite right. Her
vocals had been recorded much better in the past, she blended into the music too much and that voice should have been recorded much more in the front and center, like Don Was did,
now listen to her, she's an awesome vocalist with
a tight blues rock sound and she can do anything. This
period, early 80's was the time video came jumping
out and the flashiest got noticed and Bonnie never
really compromised herself to a sellout, it took
time and "Green Light" was just a great step'in stone
for a women like Bonnie showcasing what a great talent
she would be in the not that far away 90's.

Bonnie Raitt, on this 1982 album had finally found a balance between rock, pop, and the blues. Starting off with "Keep this Heart in Mind," Raitt rocks with her thick guitar like no man could. Later she dips for the ballad "River of Tears," and "Lets Keep it Between Us." Raitt, a long time fan of NRBQ, frollics in the fun of two NRBQ songs, but nowhere does her guitar sound better than on "I Can't Help Myself." With the 80's a hard period in her career, this album echoes the rare and "gem" sounds of one of musics greatest women performers. A true lost gem!!

VH-1 justifiably calls "Green Light" a "lost classic." If this record were released today it would have sold millions. More rock than the average Bonnie Raitt album but still enough blues to be genuine. Rock on, Bonnie - you're the best!

This is my favorite Bonnie Raitt album because it ROCKS more and flirts a little with "new wave" sound more than her others. The NRBQ tunes are my favorite, but what sold me was the single I heard on WNEW FM in NYC "Keep This Heart In Mind." I liked the rock production and the hook was good. I liked "Baby Come Back" and "Can't Help Myself" too. This is an entertaining, party kind of album, the most fun she ever made because it shifts moods and really showcases all her talents. Much better than that BORING "Nick of Time" one that won all those Grammys.

I've been a Bonnie Raitt fan since the mid '70s. Saw her live in Tucson then, and used to see her annually when she'd join Jackson Browne for his annual benefit concerts in Sedona. In all this time I still feel this is the best and most 'Bonnie' album. And Keep This Heart In Mind still is my favorite of her songs, and on of my list of my favorite ever. An infectious groove, when I play it myself on guitar I just can't keep from extending the ending indefinitely. It's just a pocket you don't want to get out of.

Paul Cate

Length:: 0:36 Mins

i had this album years ago. i was looking for it for along time.found it on amazon. fantastic album as its bonnie raitts early years.

Pedal down and drivin' hard, Bonnie knows how to rock and roll, too. Some hard-core fans saw 'Home Plate' and 'Green Light' as too commercial. (These are the same people who booed Dylan's electric guitar...) Throughout her career, she's done what she wants and if that honesty coincided with some more accessible music, I sure don't begrudge her. I think Sippie Wallace would approve...