John Hiatt at his best is the equal of any of the Blues/Country/Rockers that the US has offered in the last fifty years. He has a great voice, throaty and hoarse but with an Indiana drawl and great power, and he has written great songs about real life in small town America and real hopes, dreams and disasters as they affect real people.
‘The Open Road’ is very definitely up there with his best work. And in the title track and the second ‘Haulin’ he captures the emotions and anticipation of life behind the wheel brilliantly. He isn’t looking back to home, he is looking forward to the unknown and pitching against experiences and dreams with a sense of excitement that is rare for country. You can’t help but be carried along in his dust.
‘Go Down Swinging’ still stands proud – there is no expectation of success but a chest puffed out as he affirms that whatever happen he will battle until the end.
‘Like A Freight Train’ has a real old-Blues feel to it and the strangulated vocals remembering “I used to roar through here like a freight train but now the wheels have come off” is an admittance of age but there is still that wink and nod of the head that says ‘I may be old now but hell, at least I got memories’.
The guitar on ‘Freight Train’ is simply gorgeous; old style Blues slide with all sorts of depth and the band has a perfect sense of pace, of the old man taking the world at HIS pace and never gonna be hurried.
Even when he takes a softer look at it all there is no sense of regret, no maudlin sentimentality - it is all about pride in your history and acceptance that you can never change it.
Every track is played with real punch and joy; Doug Lancio’s guitar playing is classic and the combination of Patrick O’Hearn on bass and Kenny Blevins (drums) delivers the kind of tightness that you can only develop by playing live for show after show. These three complement Hiatt perfectly and they make the album completely satisfying.
Eleven tracks of this new set and I wouldn’t have minded if there were a hundred and eleven. John Hiatt is one of America’s greats, up there with Johnny Cash and Steve Earle, and to hear him back to his best is a real treat.
‘The Open Road’ is very definitely up there with his best work. And in the title track and the second ‘Haulin’ he captures the emotions and anticipation of life behind the wheel brilliantly. He isn’t looking back to home, he is looking forward to the unknown and pitching against experiences and dreams with a sense of excitement that is rare for country. You can’t help but be carried along in his dust.
‘Go Down Swinging’ still stands proud – there is no expectation of success but a chest puffed out as he affirms that whatever happen he will battle until the end.
‘Like A Freight Train’ has a real old-Blues feel to it and the strangulated vocals remembering “I used to roar through here like a freight train but now the wheels have come off” is an admittance of age but there is still that wink and nod of the head that says ‘I may be old now but hell, at least I got memories’.
The guitar on ‘Freight Train’ is simply gorgeous; old style Blues slide with all sorts of depth and the band has a perfect sense of pace, of the old man taking the world at HIS pace and never gonna be hurried.
Even when he takes a softer look at it all there is no sense of regret, no maudlin sentimentality - it is all about pride in your history and acceptance that you can never change it.
Every track is played with real punch and joy; Doug Lancio’s guitar playing is classic and the combination of Patrick O’Hearn on bass and Kenny Blevins (drums) delivers the kind of tightness that you can only develop by playing live for show after show. These three complement Hiatt perfectly and they make the album completely satisfying.
Eleven tracks of this new set and I wouldn’t have minded if there were a hundred and eleven. John Hiatt is one of America’s greats, up there with Johnny Cash and Steve Earle, and to hear him back to his best is a real treat.
