Bonnie Raitt: Dig In Deep

Bonnie Raitt has always been a pilot light, powering hard love, broken love, lost love and yes, unrequited love. In the valley of the unfulfilled and yearning, her voice has warmed that want into something that infused with the blues with a whole lot of blazing red.
It is that red which defines Dig In Deep, the grooves, shuffles and guitar lines all buck and thrust with the promise—or need—for meaningful copulation. Starting with the steamy Fender Rhodes organ tumble and high hat-spanking “Unintended Consequence of Love,” Raitt is looking to scratch an itch that has somehow gone fallow in a very salty way. And it’s not just a shrewd vocal; it’s the way she wrings sweat from a slide solo that just keeps pushing the pocket.
Joie du mattress dancing informs Los Lobos’ percolating “Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes” with a bawdy delight that makes Kelis’ “Milkshake” seem like child’s play—and INXS’ throbbing “Need You Tonight” gets transformed into a bawdy shakedown from a woman who knows how to make carnality an on-the-bone proposition.