Vinyl Icons

Original LP

Give It Up was released in September 1972 in the UK in a gatefold sleeve. The back cover featured a photo of Bonnie Raitt, a tracklisting and credits plus producer John Cuscuna’s sleevenotes. On the inner gatefold is a collection of black and white photos of the musicians at the recording sessions in Bearsville Studios. The record itself has green labels [Warner Brothers K46189, BS 2643].

The US version, also on Warner Brothers, came with gold labels [BS 2643, pictured below] while the Japanese LP release arrived with a silver obi-strip, a ‘Burbank’ Warner Brothers label depicting a tree-lined avenue, and a folded black and white insert with lyrics in English and Japanese [P-8304W].

Cassette

Unusually for an album from this era, Give It Up had only one cassette release, on Warner Brothers in the US in 1990. It came in white shells and the cover has a portrait detail of the original LP cover photograph [M5 2643].

First CD

The original CD was released in the US in 1987 [Warner Brothers 2643-2]. It was digitally remastered by Lee Herschberg and came in a no-frills package without detailed musician credits nor Michael Cuscuna’s sleeve notes.

The European version, manufactured in Germany that year, was similarly packaged [Warner Brothers 7599-27264-2].

The Japanese CD released in 1990 was a more generous affair with a 20-page booklet of credits and photos with an insert similar to the LP with the lyrics in English and translated into Japanese [Warner Brothers WPCP-3578].

In 2002 a CD remastered by Teresa Caffin, supervised by Ed Cherney, was released in European territories as part of Warner Brothers’ ‘Warner Remastered ‘series [8122-78378-2]. It included the musicians’ credits and Michael Cuscuna’s sleevenotes. In the US this remastered CD had the catalogue number R2 78378.

Audiophile vinyl

In 2013, an audiophile vinyl version of Give It Up was released in Europe in a gatefold cover on 180g vinyl by Music On Vinyl [MOVLP826].

The single

‘Too Long At The Fair’ b/w ‘Under The Falling Sky’ from Give It Up was released on Warner Brothers as a single in 1972. The UK catalogue number was K 16226 while in the US it was WB 7645.

Tributes

Bonnie Raitt appears on the double album Ann Arbor Blues And Jazz Festival 1972, released in the US in 1973 [Atlantic S D 2-502]. As a tribute to Mississippi Fred McDowell she sings his songs ‘Write Me A Few Of Your Lines’, ‘Drop Down Mama’ and ‘Kokomo’. She also duets with Sippie Wallace on her song, ‘Women Be Wise’.