That Was Sometime Other Than Now

When I first started working for Cheapo West back in the late fifties, probably one of the few things that resembles anything close to the way you all are doing things today was all of us employees got to take turns picking in-store music to play. One of my very first picks on my very first day was John Hiatt's recently released Bring the Family. At the time I knew little of Hiatt's work other than he was often called the "American Elvis Costello" and that he had written The Way We Make A Broken Heart covered by Rosanne Cash, and Across the Borderline covered by Bob Dylan.

Immediately upon my first listening to Bring The Family, I became a Hiatt fan. As side one (yes back in those days we used to have two sided discs that the kids called albums) finished off with the emotional slide guitar work of Ry Cooder on Lipstick Sunset and the intensity of the confessional Have a Little Faith In Me, I wondered why everyone in the store wasn't in tears like I was. Wow what songwriting!

The follow up releases, Slow Turning, and Stolen Moments made me yearn for even more, so I bought all of Hiatt's back catalog that I could find. He soon stood out at the second tier of my music listening pleasure, often played when Bob, Frank, or Paul weren't on the stereo. The only time I was disappointed was upon the release of Perfectly Good Guitar two years ago. For methat effort came across as work of a craftsman rather than an artist (with the exceptions of the excellent Straight Outta Time and Buffalo River Home). It was a perfect example of how John's biggest strength can also be his biggest weakness. He can be extremely clever with a turn of a phrase, a sarcastic line which can either be funny and effective, or cloying and a device to hide his real emotions. Perfectly Good Guitar was full of moments of good lines that didn't say that much about the writer.

Thus it is of great news that John's newly released Walk On is a complete turnabout from PGG. It reminds me more of the personal, introspection of Bring The Family than any other Hiatt CD but yet shows sign of an artist maturing into the middle years of his career. The first track (and single) Cry Love has one of the catchiest hooks John has ever written. Yet along with the strong melody comes a solid set of lyrics (despite the use of the cliché "tears of an angel, tears of a dove" refrain which can be excused by the energy of the song -what other words rhyme with "love"? "glove" "above" and uh...) that set the tone for the rest of the CD. John recently said in an interview that he can no longer write unless he is on the road, and Walk On gives us a glimpse inside of that statement. The theme throughout is one of a weary soul on the road, trying to cope with the isolation one must endure as he goes from town to town accompanied only with the power of memories of long away homes, past places of comfort.. "Let the river take you away. All the words that you and I could never say, in the silence darling let us pray. Let the river take us away."

David Immergluck's mandolin playing gives the tracks their distinct flavor. Guest appearances by the Jayhawks and Bonnie Raitt indicate the respect other musicians have for Hiatt. The title track, Cry Love, You Must Go, I Can't Wait, and Your Love is My Rest, are among the most heartfelt songs written by a man who has made a career out of writing heartfelt songs. Wrote It Down And Burned It is downright spooky. Shredding the Document shows John at his wittiest with its pseudo-Beatlesque arrangement right down to the harmonies and the harpsichord solo. It is a clever commentary on the current American popular culture so based on TV trash talk shows. My favorite track is Your Love is My Rest which is a simple love song, almost a nursery rhyme/prayer. "I gotta pick up speed, just to get what I need. The end of the line guaranteed, your love is my rest," John sings passionately to a sparse backing. It's a song about a man with one eye on the road, and one eye remembering what keeps him inspired enough to keep coming home.

I think I mentioned in these pages not too long ago a friend's quote to me after I gave her a Liz Phair disc and she said it was a little too downbeat for her tastes. "Music is supposed to be happy," she said. Walk On is not a happy disc, yet with each listen the power of the music is truly uplifting. This is the work of an artist at the top of his powers, searching and expressing and above all else, enjoying the release from the combination of singing, playing, and sharing the words and the music. Some say this may finally be John's breakthrough effort, one that will finally get the masses listening. And since no one is writing better songs these days, that is indeed great news.

"Now I'm out in the backyard leaning on a tree; I have no way of knowing. Can't lean too hard, that's my philosophy; man that tree is growing. Maybe I'll never grow up to be straight and tall, but you can lean on me baby, I won't fall. Maybe in the deal I can learn to bend, learn to listen like that tree, baby, like a good friend."