AND WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Bonnie Raitt’s new...

AND WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Bonnie Raitt’s new record, due out Aug. 4, is called “Nine Lives,” which is somehow appropriate, considering that it’s been nearly four years since her last album (the under-appreciated but influential “Green Light”). Raitt has been on Warner Bros. Records her entire career, but the label never released her follow-up album, originally titled “Tongue in Groove.” However, after lengthy negotiations, Raitt is back--on Warners again. “She was given the freedom to go shopping and, in essence, she didn’t take us up on it,” said a Warners spokesman. “She came back and worked with the A&R; department on a record we could all get excited about.” The new album includes several tracks from “Tongue in Groove” as well as a Bryan Adams song, “No Way to Treat a Lady,” “True Love Is Hard to Find” (by Toots Hibbert), “Running Back to Me” (by Karla Bonoff) and “Stand Up to the Night,” which will be featured in the upcoming film “Extremities.” . . . Speaking of duets: Aretha Franklin has teamed up with George Michael on “I Knew You Were Waiting,” a song slated for her next record. . . . Suzanne Vega is working on a new record with Let’s Active’s Mitch Easter. . . . Elvis Costello is already at work on a new album, tentatively titled “Blood and Chocolate.”