Master Of Disaster [SACD]

JOHN HIATT Master Of Disaster
New West Records. 11 tracks.
After scribbling "I-heart-John Hiatt" on my pencil case, decorating my back-pack with his name in tip-ex and plastering my bedroom wall with his posters - I feel I have now released my foaming adoration enough to be capable of reviewing John Hiatt's latest release with minimal hysteria (I now understand the mentality of screaming teenage girls over the last Pop Idol/X-Factor runner-up). Hiatt I'm sure is a familiar name to most of our readers (his songs have been covered by artists ranging from Iggy Pop to Bob Dylan) but this was my first exposure to what is a quite startling recording artist, and his music. Never have I been moved to such extreme varying feelings by a recording artist. Lyrically and musically it's hardly challenging, but there's honesty and a "lived" emotion throughout this collection that many (more competent?) recording artists try but ultimately fail to muster in their musical offerings... Magical is in no way too strong a word to sum up this album. The title track has to be the highlight - a truly classic pop song that moves the listener between real sadness and absolute laughter, within minutes (wasn't that what all those great Blues artists were capable of doing?), a perfect opener. Also of note, 'Aint Ever Going Back' a touching ballad carried perfectly through John's earthy vocals but the whole collection, produced by Big Star's Jim Dickinson, makes for faultless listening pain & pleasure. Mention should be made of John's backing band, The North Mississippi Allstars, who keep up the standard without ever over-stepping and infringing upon the clear star of the show. It sounds effortless, it sounds like a Master.
Darren Howells

When I read that master craftsman John Hiatt,one of my favourite
singer/songwriters of all time ,was teaming up with the backbone
of the North Mississippi Allstars ( and father Jim Dickinson),I was
tremendously excited.Salivate I did, but this is not the up tempo corker I hoped for.
There is very little incendiary guitar
work,and this could best be described as Hiatt's country blues
album. Must say that when comparing Hiatt albums in that vein
I prefer "Crossing Muddy Waters", but this is still better than
"Walk On" and "The Tiki Bar is open."
My favourite 2 songs would be "Ain't ever goin'back" and "Find
you at last",and if your looking for a more guitar inflected
album I would recommend his last " Beneath this gruff exterior"
with his mate Sonny Landreth featuring.
To me the release of any Hiatt album is a seriously major event,
and this is still worth dipping into your wallet for.I would
probably purchase an album of this man performing animal
impersonations, but I am still disappointed the fireworks and
foot tapping did not emanate from this release.

I realised today that I now own twenty John Hiatt CDs. Some I love, most I really like. I'm not a fan of John when he goes loud, so I didn't care much for 'Perfectly Good Guitar', and 'Beneath This Gruff Exterior' left me frozen cold. I expected this to be more my 'thing' musically, and on paper it is. But in practice, it just isn't.
You know I listened half with horror and half with bemusement: I didn't know what this record was trying to be, but it sure didn't sound like it was succeeding.
The title track is okay but very, very familiar ground - just less well done than usual. No edge. Bad vocals (more on that later). Hmm. 'Howlin' down the Cumberland' is a bizarre little ditty with a repetitive military drum beat. John puts nothing into the vocal or the arrangement. It's a dead song. 'Wintertime Blues' sounds like something The Lovin' Spoonful might have done in the seventies. This sounds really dated and uncomfortable with a melody that might have worked if the singer could have pulled off the vocal, but even then...
Well, I'm not going to go through every track, but they almost all have two things in common: poor vocals and dull arrangements.
As for vocals, John either sounds like he has a sore throat, or like he's singing down the phone. 'Ain't Ever Going Back' might've been good, but John sounds like JR Ewing singing in the bath. I get the impression that his voice is really tight and he's having to do strange things with it to get the notes out. It isn't nice to listen to. It's a shame.
The most surprising thing though about this album is just how dull the arrangements are, how ordinary the backings sound, how un-Hiatt the whole thing is.
UNTIL... we get to 'Find You At Last' which is pretty much up to scratch: vocally just about there, some interesting guitar, good groove. Yeah. I can go for this. And John wraps things up with the simply delightful 'Back on the Corner', a simple, acoustic blues song that he underplays and underplays beautifully. It makes you realise what's missing elsewhere. This song is funny, clever, beguiling, seductive... everything it should be. But it's out of place on this album where even the best of the rest are barely good enough to be the fillers on his other albums.
And to add insult to injury, I was far from impressed by the sound quality. It's certainly better than 'Gruff Exterior' in this respect (what isn't?) but much has been made of the DSD recording quality - I expected to be blown away. Granted I don't have an SACD player. Maybe playing on an 'ordinary' CD player compromises the sound more than usual. But to me, the soundstage was narrow and even the dynamic range seemed constricted. It certainly sounds different, and very detailed, but not in a good way.
Out of my twenty Hiatt CDs, I'm probably going to have to say this is just about at the bottom for me. I never expected that.