Streetlights is the fourth album by
Bonnie Raitt, released in 1974.
Recording and music
Bonnie Raitt was allotted $10,000 by
Warner Bros. Records to record Streetlights, which was the least amount of money she had received to record an album.[1] Warner Bros. was unhappy with the lengthy production surrounding her previous album, Takin' My Time, and the company limited her expenses. The two parties eventually agreed on an advance of more money, on the condition Raitt would choose a producer with a history of commercial success.[1] Raitt chose
Jerry Ragovoy, who had worked with musicians such as
Janis Joplin and
Dionne Warwick.[1] Ragovoy felt Raitt's music was bogged down by
blues music, and wanted to produce an album with a more slick and polished pop sound.[2] Raitt did not like Ragovoy's decision, but acquiesced, and Streetlights was recorded during mid-1974.[2]
Critics have described Streetlights as Raitt's first attempt to record music for a mainstream audience.[3][4] In contrast to the eclectic and laid-back sound of her first three albums, Streetlights features simpler arrangements with more
string instrumentation, influenced by pop and
R&B music.[2][4] It is Raitt's only album in which she does not play the
slide guitar.[2] Session musician
Freebo said Raitt was negatively affected by the more professional production of Streetlights. "The environment changed her singing. She was in a professional world with Streetlights, and had to act like one" said Freebo.[2] Nine of the ten tracks on the album are
covers of songs by musicians such as
Joni Mitchell,
James Taylor, and
John Prine.[5][6] The one original track, "Ain't Nobody Home", was written by Ragovoy.[7]