Dirty Jeans And Mudslide Hymns

Being a John Hiatt fan can often be a frustrating exercise. His album from last year, 'The Open Road' was a three-star record that promised more than it ultimately delivered. However, in what amounts to almost a rush-release, 'Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns' sees Hiatt back in full posession of mojo and with a bit of that ol' righteous indignation that once used to permeate the fabric of his records and had been absent for a while. The opening track, 'Damn This Town', sees Hiatt cast himslef as a fifty-eight year old still living at home with his mother, and boy is he unhappy about it. The fact that the lyric is lashed to one of Hiatt's grittiest tunes helps, and his vocal howl adds to the ire beautifully. He also shuffles his pack of styles and moods brilliantly, too, with songs such as 'Till I Get My Lovin' Back', a haunting country waltz ballad that again sees Hiatt in imperious lovelorn vocal form. Then you can go to the desperate 'Down Around My Place', a desolate piece that presses hard on the mordant pedal. 'Detroit Made' is a paean to a car (one of Hiatt's petrolhead anthems), and there's humour in here too, and a bit of wistful on the 'Adios to California'. 'When New York Had Her Heart Broke' is a song about the 9/11 events of ten years ago, a sensitive and stirring, but never mawkish closer that rounds out a simply superb album. Hats off to producer Kevin Shirley, who made his name producing the likes of Aerosmith. He enshrines Hiatt's best bunch of songs in a long while with a sympathetic sound palette that can be big and broad as well as soft and subtle. This album gets better and better with each listen, and I heartily recommend that you invest in this immediately. It gets five stars,'cause I can't give it six.

Everyone has a favourite pair of jeans, ones which always look good, feel right and which actually get better with age. How appropriate then for the great John Hiatt to name his new album after these durable garments since in musical terms his own longevity over nearly 60 years has been one marked by cranking up the quality button to the the highest level and broadly sticking around at that benchmark. With past glories like "Bring the family" (1987) and the essential "Crossing Muddy Waters" (2000) it remains one of life's enormous puzzles why Hiatt remains a minority taste but for those who have yet to sample his work thus far there is a chance to make amends by purchasing "Dirty jeans and Mudslide Hymns" since this seasoned campaigner is again near the top of his game. Ultimately those familiar with Hiatt works will already know the score as in this album you will get angry blues, soft country, good time rock n roll and a classic voice with a raspy southern drawl that emotes a lifetime of paying songwriting dues where sadly most of "hits" derive generally from covers of his work by other artists.

The album starts with a corker, a dirty swamp blues rock out entitled "Damn this town" where Hiatt spits out vitriol and raw emotion about his disillusionment with a certain locality which has delivered nothing but heartache. The anger subsides on the next song "Till I get my loving back" a classic country ballad full of haunting slide guitar and an emotive Hiatt vocal which will no doubt be covered down the years by people who know good music. As always he also throws in a couple of good time rockers with "Love that girl" and the joyous chugging auto song "Detroit Made" about a Buick Electra 225 being the prime examples. But throughout the prevailing mood is one of seriousness encapsulated in world weary ballads like the brilliant "Dont wanna leave you know" which is a classic Hiatt break up song and a genuine beauty. He matches this excellence with the sterling "Hold on for your love" a slow burning acoustic lament full of lyrics telling a menacing story of the decline and the need for the anchor of tenderness. Hiatt's voice swells over a brooding conclusion and its clearly one of the finest songs he has written in years. Others worthy of mention in dispatches are the echoes of Little Feat in "Train to Birmingham" and "Adios to California" which contains the line of the albums title and which could show some of the new alt country crowd a thing or to. The concluding track is Hiatt's retrospective look back at the still resonating events of 9/11 entitled "When New York had her heart broke" a very atmospheric and slow building song chronicling his reaction to events he witnessed on the day. To some it might seem just another homeland patriotic reaction but Hiatt's uncertainly plays a key part in the song lyrics and despite the sentiment that New York will rise again he admits "I was there that day/ and I dont know what to say". It is possibly up there with Springsteen's "My city in ruins" as one of the finer musical reaction to a a truly terrible event.

John Hiatt is never going to depart too far from his core purpose and fundamental mission which is to simply write powerful albums sung with real heart and infused with impeccable musicianship. He probably recognises by now that this formula will probably never lead him to overly trouble the charts but for a man who wrote his greatest album without a record deal he will undoubtedly live with the shame! Hiatt has build up a formidable body of work over 20 albums which rank him as one of America's greatest musical exports. In the last analysis there are no great departures on this album and indeed it nicely compliments 2010s excellent "Open Road" with many of the timeless themes it pursues. "Dirty Jeans" is a very fine album and while its not quite up there with his masterpiece "Bring the family" is still shows that in the roll call of American music John Hiatt remains frimly ensconced in the upper reaches of the Premier Division from where he is never likely to be dislodged.

John Hiatt's twentieth studio album, and his best since "Crossing Muddy Waters" eleven years ago. After a series of largely underwhelming releases since then, last year's "The Open Road" marked a welcome return to form and this new set reveals his mojo still working very nicely, thank you.

Hiatt's most notable work across a long career has come from those sessions in which he hasn't shouldered the production duties on his own. A consummate writer, singer and performer, he hasn't always brought the best out of his own songs when alone at the controls. Here, famed Aerosmith / Journey / Iron Maiden / Dream Theater producer Kevin Shirley smooths out just a few of the rougher edges and sprinkles just enough magic dust over the proceedings without ever diluting the essence of what makes the artist tick, the haunting "Down Around My Place" as good an example as any.

Stylistically, the album harks back to Hiatt's golden years on A&M, "I Love That Girl" "All The Way Under" "Detroit Made" "Adios To California" and "Don't Wanna Leave You Now" all prime instances of the master's art.

"Train To Birmingham" probably isn't about the dubious pleasures of an off-peak return from St. Pancras to New Street, although the line "But I die a little slower on the train to Birmingham" did have me wondering...

The set closes with "When New York Had Her Heart Broke", a moving 9/11 lament and proof, if any were needed, that John Hiatt still has plenty left in the tank.