When John Hiatt’s eighth album, Bring The Family, came out thirty-five years ago (5/29/87), it was the pivotal album of his career. And it has remained so in the interim,
John Hiatt's last two albums (The Open Road 2010, Dirty Jeans Mudslide Hymns 2011) are among the most memorable of his career, in large part because of the assertive yet sympathetic accompaniment of The Combo, a streamlined three-piece band consisting of guitarist Doug Lancio, bassist Patrick O’Hearn and drummer Kenneth Blevins. No doubt inspired by their intuitive savvy, Hiatt writes with the confidence of a craftsman who knows his band can handle anything he composes and the mutual surety of the four men permeates Mystic Pinball.
Highlights from the 2002 Warren Haynes Christmas Jam will be released on 12/6.
Recording with The Combo makes all the difference in the world in the presentation of John Hiatt’s songs. A craftsmanlike composer schooled in Nashville, Hiatt may forever skirt a pro-forma approach to songwriting, but the unified punch of this band brings realism to his material and his performance on Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns.
Back in 2007, Dispatch shocked the world when they reunited for three benefit shows at Madison Square Garden that sold out within hours of going on sale. The jam-pop trio,
John Hiatt's latest release The Open Road is a loose, very spontaneous affair, much like its predecessor Same Old Man. But unlike that prior album, where the focus remained on the songs, the material on this new album is the means to the end of making music, during the course of which Hiatt himself is an integral member of highly-skilled band.
Same Old Man may be the most accessible album of John Hiatt’s career. But it’s worth serious note that the rewards of hearing this album (repeatedly) far outweigh its simplicity and that’s due to the strength of the songs. Tunes such as “Cherry Red” and “Hurt My Baby” are just two instances in which the author turns the usual conceits of composition inside out.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Portland Oregon was a gracious host to the Waterfront Blues Festival. In its 18th year of existence, this ever-expanding festival seems to annually grow in both numbers of attendees and the name power of its headliners. With a beautiful setting that is shadowed one side by Portland
Just as we do every year, Glide has chosen the twenty albums that appeal to us as the strongest artistic statements of the year, representing both our diverse content and readership. Our 20 For 2005, plus a dozen disappointments.
