I had a good friend in the early 80's who kept pushing this guy on me, extolling the virtues of the songwriting. I had seen the LP's come into the WPRK studios in college and dropped a needle on them briefly to provide a category and a short synopsis for the other DJ's. I believe it was the whiny voice that put me off. Ten years and a half dozen records go by, and then one day in 1993, in our Music 4 Less promo bag of goodies (Hutch was our favorite CSMS contact :) was this sampler:
Playing this compilation on a regular basis allowed me to GET what my friend years earlier was alluding to. Culled from what is arguably his finest stretch of recordings (well, I loved "Perfectly Good Guitar", most reviewers didn't feel the same way), I understood the songwriting aspect of it. But as I go back through my collection of John Hiatt, I realize that it contains mostly songs, not full-lengths. Of the eight albums since "...Guitar", I have one in its entirety. I will now add DJ & MH as the third.
The man has written some great songs made famous by others. How about "Angel Eyes", "Have A Little Faith In Me" and "Ridin' With The King" for example. I hear this track as a hit for somebody in Nashville, for certain...
Yes, if I had to stick a category label on this record I'd have to file it in Country, with a cross-file in Rock. Why? This is the opening track...
The quality of the recording itself was so impressive that I had to investigate. Found out it was recorded in Ben Fold's studio in Nashville, which was originally a historic RCA room, and produced by Kevin Shirley, currently one of the most in-demand knob spinners around. Guess that explains that. Throw in ten great songs (so there's one semi-turkey) and Hiatt's touring band, which includes one of my favorite, most versatile bassists of all-time, Patrick O'Hearn, and you have a keeper.
If you like country music, you will love this record. Just play it at least three times before passing judgement. I guarantee you'll be singing along...
