Nick of Time is the tenth studio album by the American singer Bonnie Raitt, released on March 21, 1989. It was Raitt's first album released by Capitol Records. A commercial breakthrough after years of personal and professional struggles, Nick of Time topped the Billboard 200 chart, selling five million copies, and won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, which was presented to Raitt and producer Don Was. In 2003, the album was ranked number 229 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, The injury gave her time to reflect on recent life choices. "It seemed that some changes needed to be made. I looked at myself and just felt I wasn't being the best version of me as I could. I wasn't going to blame anyone other than myself." Raitt attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, which she credits with giving her a new outlook on life.
Despite her newfound sobriety, Raitt was still in financial trouble. She left Paisley Park Records after Prince failed to come through with the new album she wanted. With no money for backing musicians, Raitt resorted to playing acoustic versions of her songs at concerts. It was during this period that she met musician Don Was of the band Was (Not Was). They collaborated on the song "Baby Mine" for the 1988 album Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, which featured contemporary interpretations of songs from Disney films. Raitt enjoyed working with Was, and chose him to produce her next album.
Composition
Nick of Time features a smooth and understated rock sound.
Many of the songs deal with personal issues Raitt was struggling with at the time. For example, Raitt was almost forty years old when Nick of Time was released, and the album's title track is about coming to terms with middle age.
Release
Nick of Time was released on March 21, 1989. By 2019, Nick of Time had sold over five million copies, and helped revitalize Raitt's career.
Reception
In 2003, Nick of Time was ranked number 229 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was ranked number 230 on the 2012 edition of the list, and number 492 on the 2020 edition. The record was voted number 615 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000), and was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
In 2022, the Library of Congress selected Nick of Time for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry as a "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" work.
Track listing
Personnel
- Bonnie Raitt – vocals, electric piano (1, 9), slide guitar (2–4), guitars (5, 6, 11), backing vocals (5)
- Scott Thurston – keyboards (3, 7)
- Michael Ruff – keyboards (4)
- Jerry Lynn Williams – acoustic piano (5)
- Don Was – keyboards (8)
- Herbie Hancock – acoustic piano (10)
- Michael Landau – guitars (1, 3)
- Johnny Lee Schell – acoustic guitar (2), backing vocals (2), guitars (3, 9)
- Arthur Adams – guitars (3)
- John Jorgenson – guitars (8)
- Jay Dee Maness – pedal steel guitar (8)
- James "Hutch" Hutchinson – bass (1–3, 5, 7–9)
- Chuck Domanico – acoustic bass (4, 6)
- Preston Hubbard – bass (11)
- Ricky Fataar – drums (1–3, 5, 7–9), percussion (1)
- Fran Christina – drums (11)
- Paulinho da Costa – congas (1), percussion (4, 7)
- Tony Braunagel – percussion (2, 5), timbales (2), drums (4)
- Marty Grebb – tenor saxophone (3, 9)
- Heart Attack Horns – horns (3, 9)
- Bill Bergman – saxophones
- Greg Smith – saxophones
- John Berry Jr. – trumpet
- Dennis Farias – trumpet
- Kim Wilson – harmonica (5, 11)
- Sir Harry Bowens – backing vocals (1, 3, 8, 9, 11)
- Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (1, 7, 8, 11)
- Sweet Pea Atkinson – backing vocals (3, 8, 9, 11)
- David Crosby – backing vocals (4)
- Graham Nash – backing vocals (4)
- Larry John McNally – backing vocals (5)
- David Lasley – backing vocals (7)
Production
- Don Was – producer
- Ed Cherney – recording, mixing
- Clark Germain – recording assistant, mix assistant
- Vincent Leslie Jones – recording assistant, mix assistant
- Jim Mitchell – recording assistant, mix assistant
- Charlie Paakkari – recording assistant, mix assistant
- Martin Schmelzle – recording assistant, mix assistant
- Tommy Steele – art direction
- Larry Vigon Studio – design
- Deborah Frankel – photography
- Gina Furth – hair
- Paul Starr – make-up
- Danny Goldberg – management
- Ron Stone – management
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
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!Chart (1989–1990)
!Peak<br>position
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|Australian Albums (ARIA)
| style="text-align:center;"|58
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|-
|-
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Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
!Chart (1990)
!Position
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|US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"|16
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Certifications
Awards
Grammy Awards of 1990
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Winner
!align="left"|Category
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"|1990
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Nick of Time
|align="left"|Album Of The Year
|-
|align="left"|Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
|-
|align="left"|"Nick of Time"
|align="left"|Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
|}