Octo_Russ

John Hiatt [Walk On]

This disc resides in my all time top 25, and that's no mean feat with over 1600 discs in my library / collection, surprisingly this is the first time that Hiatt appears in my Blog!, and long overdue, to many people the name John Hiatt would be new to them, but with over 20 odd studio albums to his name, spanning over 35 years, he's certainly not new, and his influence on others is immense, in my mind this is his best album of all, with Perfectly Good Guitar running it a close second, full of clever musical ideas, and a wry observation on life.

John Hiatt will hit the big 60 this year, i guess still young for an old-timer, he's American, and he recorded this album in 1995, the photography is truly powerful [by Ethan Russell], i'm a great fan of shots that are symmetrical, and Hiatt at his country home inside his gates is perfect, not only that, but it's a silhouette too, even the lettering is in a box which adds to the symmetry, and it's not just the front booklet cover, but the back inlay is equally stunning, another silhouette, the long shadow is fantastic, and the track listing, white on black background really stands out, a truly great product.

Wow!, on this listen my favourites were tracks 4, 7, 10 & 12, especially track 12 hit me harder than usual, the other three are my trinity of favourites, but deep down the track that always gets me the most is track 7 'Dust Down A Country Road', with David Immergluck playing mandolin, it gives it a Bluegrass feel, very acoustic, the opening tune is just magnificent, and Hiatt just magically marries words and music perfectly, he conjures up the most intense feelings of nostalgia,

And my whole life flashed before me

Just like a story book

it's good that Hiatt starts off with a double verse, gives the whole thing strength, between the second chorus and the fourth verse is an intense mandolin instrumental from Immergluck [2:16-2:37], the whole thing is a creation of genius.

Here's John Hiatt singing 'Dust Down A Country Road' on YouTube.