ITINERARY
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APRIL 15, 2012
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{ MUS IC }
SomethingtoTalkAbout
BONNIERAITT
took timeoff from recording to rest andheal following
personal tragedy.Now she’sbackwitha reinvigoratednewalbum,
Slipstream
.
{
}
I
sinceBonnie
Raittlastreleasedastudioalbum,butif
you think she spentmuchof that time
lying low—well, you’re right. “Mostpeople
thinkaboutgoingaway foravacation,”says
theGrammy-winningsinger-guitarist.“But
musiciansreallydreamofhavingmorethan
one season inaplace.”Soafter touringand
recordingsteadily fordecades,Raitt,62,de-
cided to stick aroundher home in theL.A.
areaanddonormal-personstu:hike,prac-
ticeyoga,tendhergarden.Sadly,shewasalso
confrontedwith thedeaths of her parents
andherbrother. “I justwanted tobeable to
sit still foraminute,” she saysnow, “and let
all thatwashoverme.”
Thismonth, Raitt springs backwith a
new album that’sworth thewait. On
Slip-
stream
(RedwingRecords, $12), sheoffers
up characteristically soulful renditions of
tunesbyBobDylan,LoudonWainwrightIII
andRandallBramblett;there’sevenafunky,
reggae-accented take onGerryRafferty’s
“RightDown theLine.”Raitt produced the
bulk of the recordwith crackerjack back-
ingbyher roadband. For four cuts, though,
she put herself in the hands of
producerJoeHenry,whohelmed
recentdiscsbyMoseAllisonand
House
starHughLaurie.
“IthinkBonniewassurprised
byhow isolatedher lifehadbe-
come frommusic,”Henry says
ofworkingwithRaitt,whomhe
calls “oneof the great voices of
the rock age.” “But shewas in-
vigorated soquickly, just byem-
bracingtheprocessandfeelingit
embraceher inreturn.”
That re-engagement comes
justasRaitt’smusic isbeingcele-
bratedbyanewgenerationofart-
ists. AliciaKeys joinedher for a
duetattheGrammysearlierthis
year, whileAdele andBon Iver
haveperformedherhit “ICan’t
MakeYouLoveMe.” “It’s really
great, because I likewho’scover-
ing the songs,”Raitt sayswitha
laugh. “Itmightbedierent if it
werea speed-metal version.But
eventhatwouldbe fun!”
CHASINGTHE
CARROT
WHITERABBITS
haveworked their
way to “itband” status—aposition
their latest album,
MilkFamous
,will
only further cement.
{
}
Nearlyadecade
into their career—
one thathas taken
them fromsmall
Midwestern towns to
theBigApple— indie
rockersWhiteRabbits
have, figuratively
and literally, come
a longway. “But in
termsofourworld
openingup, ithasn’t
reallyhappened,”
singerStephen
Pattersonsayswith
achuckle. “Westill
prettymuch justhang
outwitheachother.”
That familiarity
serves theband
well on
MilkFamous
(TBDRecords,
$10), theBrooklyn
combo’spercussively
propelled thirdLP.The
bandmatesenlisted
SpoonproducerMike
McCarthy for the
project, decamping
tohishomebase
ofAustin, Texas,
where they rented
ahouseandspent
threemonths living
and recording. “We
were into the ideaof
gettingaway from
thedistractionsof
being inBrooklyn,”
Pattersonsays. “It
wasnice togetback
toabitof asuburban
lifestyle. It tookus
back towherewe
grewup.”
More importantly,
thearrangement
spawneda fresh
process,with the
bandcapturing
newsongsas they
werebeingwritten.
“There’ssomething
special about that
instant creative
energy,”Patterson
says, “whereyou
haven’toverthoughta
song toomuch.”
Despitehaving
movedup the
proverbial rock ranks
witheachsuccessive
album,WhiteRabbits
seem tobe freeof
any typicalgrowing
pains. “Wedospend
a lotof time together,”
Pattersonadmits.
“Butweallgoway
back, so it’snotas
overwhelmingas it
mightbe for some
bands.”
LYRICALLY
SPEAKING
OBERHOFER
, “Homebro”
TimeCapsules II
(GlassnoteRecords, $10)
“UntilIspentthree
yearsaway,
Ineverknewwhy
thepeoplesay
Loveisallaround.”
