Nick of Time (album)

In 1983, Raitt was dropped from the Warner Bros. Records roster for not selling enough copies of her two previous albums, The Glow (1979) and Green Light (1982). This decision came just one day after she had finished production on what would be her upcoming album for Warner Brothers, entitled Tongue in Groove.[3] Two years later, Raitt's affair with producer Rob Fraboni came to an end, and she was also forced to dissolve her backing band as she could no longer afford to pay them.[4] In addition to this, Raitt was also dealing with alcohol and drug abuse issues. In 1986, Warner Bros., who still had rights to the Tongue in Groove album, announced to Raitt that it would be releasing the album. Raitt thought this was unfair as she would have an album released on a label that had dropped her and that she and her management no longer had ties to. Warner Brothers allowed Raitt to go back to the studio to make some changes to the album and Raitt also changed the name of the album to Nine Lives.[5] The album, however, was a commercial disappointment. Raitt began to suffer from depression, and tried to distract herself with excessive eating, drinking, and partying.[5] When asked about this period in her life, Raitt said: "I wasn't kicking and screaming into dementia, but I did have a complete emotional, physical, and spiritual breakdown."[6]

After the release of Nine Lives, Raitt went on a concert tour. Recording artist Prince was a fan of Raitt, and attended her performance at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. He later offered Raitt a recording contract on his own label Paisley Park Records.[7] Raitt initially agreed, but she suffered a skiing accident and was hospitalized for two months.[8] 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, and ended her drug abuse.[9]

Raitt now had newfound sobriety, but she still was in financial trouble. She and Paisley Park Records could not come to an agreement. Raitt was also concerned that Paisley Park releases were distributed and partly promoted by Warner Bros. Records, the label that had dropped her from its roster. Negotiations with Paisley Park fell apart. Without enough money to afford a backing band, Raitt played a series of acoustic gigs to simply keep afloat.[10] It was during this period that Raitt met musician Don Was of the band Was (Not Was). They had earlier collaborated on a children's album in 1988. Despite the simplistic material Raitt recorded for the album, she very much enjoyed working with Was, and wanted to work with him again.[8] The search for a new record contract proved difficult, however, as many labels felt Raitt was not commercially viable. Raitt's co-manager Danny Golberg said at least fourteen executives passed on her before Tim Devine of Capitol Records took an interest. In 1988, Capitol signed Raitt to the label with an advance of $150,000, with Raitt requesting that Don Was produce the album.[11]

Nick of Time was released on March 21, 1989. Capitol Records marketing department did not provide heavy promotion on the album initially, so label exec Tim Devine asked the president of the label for permission to have full page ads taken out in music magazines.[11] Nick of Time was very successful, eventually selling over 5 million copies in the US, and quickly became the best selling album of Raitt's career up to that point.[19] Her follow-up album Luck of the Draw, released in 1991, would become an even bigger seller at 7 million copies in the US. When asked why Nick of Time was so successful, publicist Joan Myers said, "Bonnie's personality and sincerity just won people's hearts, in addition to her music. There was nothing ever pretentious about her."[11]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Chicago Tribune	[20]
Entertainment Weekly	A[21]
Los Angeles Times	[22]
Robert Christgau	B[13]
Rolling Stone	[23]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[24]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 229 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[1] then was re-ranked at number 230 on the 2012 list. [25] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[26] It was voted number 615 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[27]