Bonnie Raitt and Rosanne Cash have something very rare in common. Both are talented musicians in their own right and, in recent years, both lost fathers who were giants in the music community. After Broadway legend John Raitt passed away last February at the age of 88, his 55-year-old daughter continued working on her new studio album Souls Alike, the 15th of her career.

"It was a welcomed other focus," she says on the line. "It really isn't an escape when you're working that hard. It was a little bit more difficult to make a record in those circumstances of having such an ill parent. It certainly changed the record, but once you get into the studio you can't isolate that away."

The new album, in stores next Tuesday, marks a departure of sorts for Raitt: It's her first as producer. Yet the added responsibility didn't faze her.

"In terms of the overall thrust of the music -- from the sound of the instruments to who is going to sing backgrounds -- that's mostly me on all the records," she says. "I've been working with the exact same band that was on (2002's) Silver Lining. We really work almost like a jazz group, in the sense that we don't work out things beforehand."

On Souls Alike Raitt pushes herself into some different territories. While there are the funky blues of Two Lights In The Nighttime and the groovy Trinkets, there are also melancholic moments like the closer The Bed I Made, The Pretenders-ish Crooked Crown and the poignant I Don't Want Anything To Change.

Raitt says the album champions the horde of fine singer-songwriters like Jon Cleary and Emory Joseph still under most people's radar.

"All of those songwriters, I could have done five or six of their songs," she says. When she hears the truth coming out of them, she knows she'll sing their songs.

"It is really difficult to find songs that fit and that thrill me," she adds. "Even though I love songwriting, some of my biggest thrills are to go on song hunts and just listen to hundreds of CDs. Sometimes when I think I'm not going to find anything I'll turn up one of these jewels that are found on the record."

Raitt recorded 15 songs for Souls Alike but pared it down to 11. She says the mood of the record isn't perhaps as cheerful as previous albums.

"The songs are somewhat adult and quite complex, really not the ordinary happy-go-lucky," she says. "The best songs are the ones about the things that rub and make you feel a little bit uncomfortable. Sometimes the song's feelings aren't always positive."

Music aside, Raitt is a political activist. She toured last year on the U.S. Vote For Change tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M, and received the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award last month. Raitt appreciates the recognition.

"We have such blessings already that it's really great to use our celebrity and ability to draw attention to issues," she says. As the interview winds up, Raitt's voice brightens when asked about her late father.

"Even though he didn't cotton to too much of the louder rock and roll stuff, he was around me for the 35 years I was playing," she says. "He always was appreciative of it, especially the older blues and the ballads. He was as much a fan of mine as I was of his.

"I miss him very much and I'm so glad that you asked about him because he was so important to my life. I think he was incredibly accepting of all the aspects of my life -- romantic and late nights -- he never gave me a lot of grief about any of it. He accepted me and was proud of me."

While Raitt mounts a North American theatre tour this fall, Toronto fans must wait until next summer before the singer hits town, most likely at the Molson Amphitheatre. If you can't wait that long, she plays Buffalo on Oct. 13.