John Hiatt:Â Mystic Pinball (New West Records)
DL/CD+Vinyl Deluxe Bundle/CD
Out: Now
John Hiatt’s new album has certainly impressed LTW scribe Chris Hearn. He elaborates on the why and the how below.
I donât think John Hiatt is capable of making a bad record, and heâs definitely made more than his fair share of brilliant albums. This is another one of those. Wow, you know, it just blows me away how good this guy really is. Heâs probably one of the best song writers out there, who has had his music covered by countless artists like Bonnie Raitt, Marshall Crenshaw, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and so on, and on, and on….and on. He also has one of the most unique voices pretty much anywhere, with his deep, raspy bluesy sound that is recognizable the second you hear it. You canât mistake him for anyone else even if you tried.
After 40 years of doing this, he seems to be aging like the proverbial wine. He only seems to be getting better and better as time passes, I swear. This is his 23rd album and judging by the quality of this one, there are many more left in him, which is comforting. From the very first chugs of the bluesy, rootsy, up-tempo, almost gospel tinged sing-along âWeâre Alright Nowâ you know that this is going to be a sweet listen. And it just keeps on going, song after song until by the end, you have heard a classic example of how exceptionally crafted music should sound.
Watch: âWeâre Alright Nowâ live video:
âBite Marksâ is a greasy, dark, sexy back street driving blues number. Hiatt is good at these songs, and it reminds me of a less autobiographical âPaper Thinâ off of Slow Turning. Hiattâs got the absolute perfect, gravelly, powerhouse voice to give this song proper bite (See what I did there? Eh?) . âWood Chipperâ is a dark humoured beauty about love gone wrong, cheating, lying, stealing, coppers, grocery lists and murder. Itâs packed with Hiatt personality. âI Just Donât Know What To Sayâ is a hurtinâ ballad about being burnt by love done in a distinctly Hiatt fashion once again. âYouâre All The Reason I Needâ is a very blue collar roots rock number about being a hard-working man with one woman on his mind. And it keeps going and going, all just the great sounds and lyrics that one should expect from a John Hiatt release. What we have here are songs of love lost and gained, experiences good and bad, lessons learned, lessons given, life and itâs many twists and turns. And itâs all done accompanied by outstanding musicianship. I wish I had liner notes for this album. I only have the audio. I wonder who he has playing with him. According to his facebook page his current band, The Combo, is made up of Patrick OâHearn, Doug Lancio and Kenneth Blevins who are all accomplished musicians from Nashville. But, with horns, slide guitar, dobro and other instruments on this album, clearly he has plenty of help. And, Iâm sure there are no shortage of amazing people who would love to play with him.Oh ya, and the guy drives a race car as well. At least he did. I went to Nashville one year and went to this celebrity race. He had his own car and everything. Who knew? As a diehard race fan I thought that was pretty cool.
Watch: âNo Wicked Grinâ live acoustic:
So, thanks John Hiatt for once again delivering the goods and giving us great stories of real people and real life and doing so with heart and soul and honesty. This is an album that, in my opinion, is timeless. As with other Hiatt albums, it will probably sound as fresh and relevant in 30 yearsâ time as it does today. So will the next album, and the album after that, and the album after that andâ¦.
You can listen to Mystic Pinball (minus the exclusive title track that only comes as a download with album purchase) right now on John Hiattâs Facebook page. Listen to it, fall in love with it and buy yourself a copy at iTunes or Amazon, or hopefully it is at your local record shop which I encourage you to support first! You can also check out John Hiatt online at his official website.
All words by Chris Hearn. You can read more from Chris HERE.
