Bring the Family

by

John Hiatt

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There's a game called 'Desert Island Discs' where you get to nominate the 10 albums you would take if you were ever marooned on such an isle. This is one of mine. In ascending order of importance: the playing is absolutely tops - Nick Lowe and Jim Keltner is pretty much unbeatable as a rhythm section, and what band wouldn't want Ry Cooder on lead guitar? Even in this company, Hiatt proves he no slouch on the fret. Hiatt's voice took me a while to get used to, but it has a gritty soul about it that won me over. which brings me to what this album is about - soul. The heart that pulses with every beat from this album is astonishing. The story behind it is fairly well known - Hiatt had cleaned up after sinking into alcoholism, wrote some songs and went into a studio with these three other musos and knocked out 'Bring the Family' in a matter of days. And each song has a guts and soul to it borne of Hiatt's encounter with darkness and his return. Other reviewers have compared Hiatt to Elvis Costello, and Hiatt has a similar biting wit. But (much as I like Costello's work) Hiatt beats it hands down for warmth and humanity. The album swings in mood - 'Memphis in the Meantime' opens in jokey fashion; then we're straight in to 'Alone in the Dark' which is real "It's 2am and my only companions are a bottle and my fear" stuff. This swing goes through the album before being reconciled in the last two songs - 'Stood Up', a tale of self acceptance, and, finally, in 'Learning How to Love You' a simple, humble, yet glorious declaration of love. A masterpiece - and an album that proves that rock music can grow up.

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Sorry...but...

There are plenty of artists that are virtually unknown and have much more powerful songs than John Hiatt's, "Have A Little Faith In Me"! Look up Tim Buckley, Mickey Newbury, Red House Painters, The Innocence Mission, Nick Cave, Mary Marget O'Hara and Kristin Hersh to name a few.

At 37 in 2010, I decided to finally check out John Hiatt, a name in the music world that just keeps popping up and I swear I can never place one of his songs. I downloaded his first LP from 1974 and found it to be made by a very talented person with too many ideas. So, I moved to what is considered by many to be his best, this one.

The whole album has a little too much "text book perfect" quality for me to truly enjoy. The lyrics are a little too, "Hey, I need to sell some records and impress people". The song, "Lipstick Sunset" is a good example of this. The album reeks of studio musicianship, feels very rehearsed as well as uninventive musically. There are some earnest songs and I'm sure he meant well but, I just can't get around the polished plastic. The improvements are near the very end of the album. This is an album for fans of the most commercial music by Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton. Springsteen came out with a brilliant lo-fi album named, "Nebraska", which changed my opinion on "The Boss". I wonder if Hiatt has something like that? I'd be much more inclined to check out more of him if he does. Some songs remind me of Stevie Ray Vaughan minus the great guitar playing.

The standout track would have to be "Your Dad Did" and then the highly unwarranted fake sitar comes in and kills it. I really want to like this lesser known legend. Hiatt's voice also reminds me of Randy Newman and Elvis Costello, two artists that I can only appreciate in a scholarly kind of way. I'm not a big fan of their vocals at all. The song writing on this album also reminds me of the more commercial style Tom Waits had in the 70's. I'm glad Tom moved on from that style and went on to brilliantly reinvent himself into something I doubt Hiatt has ever touched on. Don't get me wrong, Hiatt is very talented, he's just not my style. It's ok music for hanging on the porch as the sun goes down at a BBQ. Make sure you have some PBR's!

And yes, I know Tom Waits doesn't have a "great" voice but, his song writting towers over Hiatt as well as Dylan and Young.

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