Since
Home Plate brought
Bonnie Raitt within shooting distance of the Top 40, thereby being the greatest chart success she yet attained, it made sense that she re-teamed with its producer
Paul A. Rothchild for its follow-up,
Sweet Forgiveness.
Rothchild's modus operandi remains slickness, but he has backed away from his fondness for studio musicians, letting
Raitt record the majority of the record with her touring band (who only were spotted occasionally throughout
Homeplate). All this means is that the near-hit "Runaway" is almost a ringer, largely because it's a poor choice for
Raitt's sweetly funky Californian rock that was obviously designed as a bid for a single, therefore it was slicked up more than the rest of the record (which remains slick, but not glossy).
Sweet Forgiveness is actually looser than
Homeplate, a little less constrained. Then why isn't it quite as successful, artistically? That comes down to a selection of songs that aren't quite as effective as those
Raitt usually picks -- and, in that sense, "Runaway" was a good indicator of the album. However, the selection of material isn't bad. If the tunes don't happen to form into a whole, it's still filled with great moments, from Earl Randall's opener "About to Make Me Leave Home" to
Karla Bonoff's closer "Home."
Sweet Forgiveness may not be one of
Raitt's unqualified successes (despite its hit status), it's still a solid record, one that's hard to deny if you're already a
Raitt fan. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine