Nine Lives (Bonnie Raitt album)

Nine Lives
Studio album by Bonnie Raitt
Released	1986
Recorded	1983,1986
Genre	Rock
Length	41:33
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Rob Fraboni, Russ Kunkel, Bill Payne, Steve Tyrell, George Massenburg
Bonnie Raitt chronology
Green Light (1982)Green Light1982 Nine Lives (1986) Nick of Time (1989)Nick of Time1989

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	D
Robert Christgau	C+
Rolling Stone	(mixed)

Nine Lives is the ninth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). It was Raitt's most difficult release, due to the poor sales, negative reviews, and general circumstances surrounding its release.

History

"In 1983 there was a corporate sweep at Warner's, coming from upstairs, and they needed to trim the fat," Raitt recalled in 1990. "I just had completed an album called Tongue & Groove, which was produced by Rob Fraboni, who had also done Green Light. And I don't think they maliciously said, 'Let's let her finish her album and get the tour all lined up and print the covers and hire the people to do the video and then drop her.' You know, ha, ha, ha. But that's what they did. It was literally the day after I had finished mastering it. I had already finished the album once, and [Warner's claimed] the Jerry Williams tune would be more commercial if it didn't have quite as reggae a beat. Or something like that. So I went in and redid it. I thought if I cooperated a little more, maybe they'd promote the album more. But instead they dropped me and pulled the rug out from under my tour. I thought the way they did it was real crummy. They sent a letter. I think I suffered from not having a relationship with the A&R department there, because I had an independent production deal..."

Raitt could have purchased the master tapes and released the album elsewhere, but Warner's asking price was considered too high. "They told me I can take the tapes and shop them around," said Raitt, "but they wanted about $500,000 for them, and nobody wanted to pay that much..."

The material for Tongue & Groove was shelved until two years later when "Warner's suddenly said they were going to put the record out," Raitt recalled. "I said it wasn't really fair. I think at this point they felt kind of bad. I mean, I was out there touring on my savings to keep my name up, and my ability to draw was less and less. So they agreed to let me go in and recut half of it." The result was Nine Lives, which was finally released in 1986.

Track listing

1. "No Way to Treat a Lady" (Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance) – 3:51
2. "Runnin' Back to Me" (Karla Bonoff, Ira Ingber) – 4:14
3. "Who But a Fool (Thief into Paradise)" (Nan O'Byrne, Tom Snow) – 4:26
4. "Crime of Passion" (Danny Ironstone, Mary Unobsky) – 4:20
5. "All Day, All Night" (James "Hutch" Hutchinson, Ronald Jones, Ivan Neville) – 4:03
6. "Stand Up to the Night" (Will Jennings, Richard Kerr, J.A.C. Redford) – 4:43
7. "Excited" (Jerry Lynn Williams) – 3:12
8. "Freezin' (For a Little Human Love)" (Michael Smotherman) – 4:58
9. "True Love Is Hard to Find" (Frederick Hibbert) – 4:34
10. "Angel" (Eric Kaz) – 4:00

Personnel

• Bonnie Raitt - guitar, vocals, background vocals, slide guitar
• Greg Adams - trumpet, flugelhorn
• Rosemary Butler - vocals, background vocals
• Max Carl - vocals, background vocals
• Emilio Castillo - tenor saxophone
• Lenny Castro - percussion
• Blondie Chaplin - vocals, background vocals
• Ray Chara - bass
• Nathan East - bass
• Richard Elliot - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Charles Ferrin - guitar
• Rob Fraboni - percussion
• Ira Ingber - guitar
• Eric Kaz - piano, background vocals
• David Kitay - guitar, keyboard
• Richard Kosinski - keyboard
• Russ Kunkel - drums
• Stephen "Doc" Kupka - baritone saxophone
• Michael Landau - guitar
• Ian McLagan - guitar, keyboard
• Christine McVie - vocals, background vocals
• Guy Moon - keyboard
• Ivan Neville - vocals, background vocals
• Ray O'Hara - bass
• Dean Parks - guitar
• Bill Payne - piano, keyboard, vocals
• J.A.C Redford - keyboard
• John "J.R." Robinson - drums
• Stephen Ross - vocals, background vocals
• Johnny Lee Schell - guitar, keyboard, vocals, background vocals
• Todd Sharp - vocals, background vocals
• Leland Sklar - bass
• Earl "Chinna" Smith - guitar, vocals
• Earl J. Smith, Jr. - background vocals
• Neil Stubenhaus - bass
• Lee Thornburg - trombone, trumpet, flugelhorn
• Tower of Power - horns
• Carlos Vega - drums
• Ian Wallace - drums
• Sippie Wallace - background vocals
• David Woodford - saxophone

Production

• Producers: Rob Fraboni, Russ Kunkel, George Massenburg, Bill Payne, Steve Tyrell
• Engineers: Terry Becker, Rob Fraboni, David Kitay, George Massenburg, John X. Volaitis
• Assistant engineers: Sharon Rice, Billy Youdelman
• Mixing: George Massenburg, David Tickle
• Mastering: Doug Sax
• Remastering: Teresa Caffin
• Series producer: Gregg Geller
• Project coordinator: Jo Motta
• Production coordination: Ivy Skoff
• Drum programming: David Kitay
• Horn arrangements: Greg Adams
• Art direction: Laura LiPuma
• Design: Laura LiPuma
• Cover illustration: Lindsey Loch
• Photography: Jim Shea

Charts

Album - Billboard (America)

Year	Chart	Position
1986	The Billboard 200	138

Singles - Billboard (America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	"No Way to Treat a Lady"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	15