''Give It Up'' is the second studio album by American musician

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

. Released in 1972 by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, ''Give It Up'' is an amalgamation of various genres, including

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, R&B, and

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

. Seven of the ten tracks on the album are covers, and the tracks are either soft

sentimental ballads A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cur ...

or fast-paced folk rock pieces. Lyrically, ''Give It Up'' revolves around Raitt's femininity, relationships, and being comfortable with herself. Raitt recorded the album at

Bearsville Studios Bearsville Sound Studio was a recording studio founded by Albert Grossman in Bearsville, New York, west of Woodstock in 1969. History Albert Grossman, who was the manager of Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, first arrived in Bearsville in 1 ...

with producer

Michael Cuscuna Michael Cuscuna (born September 20, 1949 in Stamford, Connecticut, United States) is an American jazz record producer and writer. He is the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records. Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and ...

. ''Give It Up'' was Raitt's first album to reach the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it peaked at number 138. The initial reception was positive, as critics liked the vocals and the musicianship throughout the album. Contemporary reviews are also positive, with some critics calling ''Give It Up'' a stand-out album within Raitt's

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

. In 2012, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked ''Give It Up'' at number 495 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Composition

''Give It Up'' was recorded in June 1972 at

in New York, with producer

. It is an amalgamation of several music genres, including folk, blues, R&B, and

. The ten tracks on the album are a mix of soft

and fast-paced folk rock pieces. Some of the faster tracks are accompanied by brass instrumentation, which is played in the style of a

New Orleans brass band New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. This sound is demonstrated on the opening track "Give It Up or Let Me Go". It begins with an acoustic guitar, but then transitions into an explosive sound of a brass band, reminiscent of

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

music. ''Give It Up'' features many guest musicians, most of which were from the area around

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

. Among these are future politician

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

, multi-instrumentalist

Freebo Daniel Friedberg, better known by the stage name Freebo, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer noted primarily for his work with Bonnie Raitt. He is also a session musician who has recorded and performed with Ringo Starr, John ...

, and blues singer

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

. Overall, ''Give It Up'' has a smoother, more polished sound than its predecessor ''

''. Raitt wrote three songs for the album. The other seven songs are covers of songs by musicians like

Chris Smither William Christopher Smither (born November 11, 1944) is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, and modern poets and philosophers. Early life, influences and educat ...

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

, and

Joel Zoss Joel R. Zoss (born February 19, 1944, Easton, Pennsylvania) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and award-winning prose author. Biography Early years At the age of four Zoss moved to Madison, New Jersey, with his family. He attended Mo ...

. Lyrically, ''Give It Up'' revolves around Raitt's femininity, relationships, and being comfortable with herself. According to biographer

Mark Bego Mark Joseph Bego (born 23 September 1952, in Pontiac, Michigan) is an author known for his biographies focusing on the rock & roll and show business genres. Bego has written a total of 59 books, two of which have gone on to become New York Times ...

, Raitt sounds more confident while singing on this album when compared to her vocal performance on ''Bonnie Raitt''.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote: "Raitt can be earthy and sexy, but she balances it with an inviting sensuality that makes the record glow". Raitt herself would later criticize the vocals, and said: "I sound like

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

Release and reception

''Give It Up'' was released in September 1972 by

. It sold moderately well, and was Raitt's first album to reach the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it peaked at number 138. It was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in 1985, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies. The song "Too Long at the Fair" was released as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

to radio stations, although it did not reach any music charts. ''Give It Up'' received positive reviews upon release. A critic for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine wrote: "Bonnie Raitt is presented in her second album for the label and it should be a big one. Her unique vocal treatments and guitar style on 'Stayed 'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''Too Long at the Fair' and the title song should do a lot to sell the album." ''Record World'' described ''Give It Up'' as "an exceptional effort. The choice of material, from the self-penned numbers to a stunning Jackson Browne tune, is excellent and the musicianship and production could hardly be better." ''

'' critic

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...

also praised the album, writing that "the best thing about Bonnie Raitt is her singing, and the best thing about ''Give It Up'' is that she sings great from beginning to end; in doing so, she successfully handles a far greater range of styles and material than on her first album and has produced a more interesting and satisfying record in the process." Landau highlighted the three original songs, and called "Love Has no Pride" the perfect summation of Raitt's musical abilities. Retrospective appraisals have also been positive. In ''

The New Rolling Stone Record Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', critic Bart Testa wrote: "''Give It Up''

omes The branches of science known informally as omics are various disciplines in biology whose names end in the suffix ''-omics'', such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, metagenomics, phenomics and transcriptomics. Omics aims at the collective ...

closest to perfecting her approach: she

ingles Ingles Markets, Inc. (stylized as ingles) is an American supermarket chain based in Black Mountain, North Carolina. As of September 2021, the company operates 198 supermarkets in the Southeastern United States. The company is listed on the NASD ...

her blues resources with a variety of contemporary and folk-oriented songs, coming up with classics in 'Been Too Long at the Fair' and Eric Kaz's 'Love Has No Pride'."

noted how singers like

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

and

Shelby Lynne Shelby Lynne (born Shelby Lynn Moorer, October 22, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter and the older sister of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. The success of her pop rock album '' I Am Shelby Lynne'' (1999) led to her winning the Grammy ...

were likely inspired by ''Give It Up'', and ultimately described it as "one of the great Southern California records." In a review published for '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

commended Raitt's maturity and intelligence in both her style of play as well as her lyrics. Christgau later ranked ''Give It Up'' at number 31 on his decade-end list of the best albums of the 1970s. In 2012, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''Give It Up'' at number 495 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, calling it "gorgeous folksy blues".Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone – Special Collectors Issue – The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of the 1972 release. Each number denotes which track features the musician and instrument.

Musicians

* Bonnie Raitt lead vocals,

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

(1, 3), acoustic guitar (2, 4-8, 10), backing vocals (3, 7), 12-string guitar (6), electric rhythm guitar (9), acoustic piano (10) * Jack Viertel steel guitar (1) *

T.J. Tindall Thomas Joshua Tindall (1950 – January 26, 2016) was an American guitarist. He was a member of MFSB and played on 38 gold and platinum funk and R&B records and more than 30 hits produced by Gamble and Huff in the 1970s and 1980s. Tindall is consid ...

electric guitar (3, 7) * Kal David electric guitar (4) * Lou Terriciano acoustic piano (1, 8) * Mark Jordan acoustic piano (3),

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(3), electric piano (7) *

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Polyte ...

acoustic piano (4) *

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

acoustic bass (1, 2, 8) * Chris Parker drums (1, 4, 8) * Wells Kelly congas (2, 3, 9), drums (3, 6, 7, 9), cowbell (3, 7), backing vocals (3) * Dennis Whitted drums (5) *

Eric Kaz Eric Justin Kaz (born January 21, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, New York. Besides his solo work, Kaz was a member of Blues Magoos for their fourth and fifth albums, ''Never Goin' Back to Georgia'' and ''Gulf Coast Bound ...

vibraphone (2), acoustic piano (6), horn arrangement (9) *

Peter Ecklund Peter Ecklund (September 27, 1945 – April 8, 2020) was an American jazz cornetist. Career In 1967, Ecklund received a degree from Yale University. He went on tour with singer Paula Lockheart and started a jazz band, in addition to working with ...

cornet (1, 3) *

Amos Garrett Amos Garrett (born November 26, 1941) is an American-Canadian blues and blues-rock musician, guitarist, singer, composer, and musical arranger. He has written instructional books about music and guitar. Garrett holds dual citizenship and was rai ...

trombone (1) *

tuba (1), 12-string rhythm guitar (2), fretless bass (3-7, 9, 10), backing vocals (3) * John Payne tenor saxophone (2), clarinet (8), soprano saxophone (9), sax solo (9) *

Marty Grebb Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, ...

tenor saxophone (4), alto saxophone (9) * Terry Eaton tenor saxophone (9) * Gene Boris Stashuk cello (6) *

harmonica (7) *

backing vocals (3), electric guitar (6, 9), "steel drum" guitar (9) *

Jackie Lomax John Richard Lomax (10 May 1944 – 15 September 2013) was an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his association with George Harrison, who produced Lomax's recordings for the Beatles' Apple record label in the late 1 ...

backing vocals (3) * Tim Moore backing vocals (7)

Production

* Producer, liner Notes Michael Cuscuna * Engineer Kendall Pacios * Remixing Nick Jameson and Kendall Pacios * Mastering Lee Hulko * Art Direction

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of numerous Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Album ...

* Photography Michael Dobo

Charts and certifications

References

Citations

Book sources

* {{Authority control 1972 albums Albums produced by Michael Cuscuna Bonnie Raitt albums Warner Records albums