Recorded at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York, GIVE IT UP was produced by Michael Cuscuna, filling a seat that had previously been occupied by Willie Murphy on Raitt’s self-titled debut album. This should not be taken as any slight on Murphy’s efforts, however, as it wouldn’t be until Raitt’s fifth album that she finally landed on a producer with whom she would work for two consecutive albums. (Stand up, please, Paul Rothchild!) Besides, it wasn’t as though Raitt was ever hurting for talented individuals to work with her: even just a cursory glance at the credits of GIVE IT UP reveals a plethora of top-notch singers and musicians, including Paul Butterfield, Eric Kaz, Jackie Lomax, and Merl Sanders, just to name a few.

For GIVE IT UP, Raitt delivered a trio of self-composed tunes – “Give It Up or Let Me Go,” “Nothing Seems to Matter,” and “You Told Me Baby” – but otherwise stuck with interpreting other people’s work, including Barbara George (“I Know”), Rudy Clark (“If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody”), Joel Zoss (“Too Long at the Fair”), Jackson Browne (“Under the Falling Sky”), Sippie Wallace (“You Got to Know How”), and even one by the aforementioned Mr. Kaz (“Love Has No Pride,” co-written with Libby Titus).

UPC: 081227837822