The Best of John Hiatt

by

John Hiatt

Edit

There are many John Hiatt compilations in existence, but in the latter 90's, it got especially confusing, as three competing record labels weighed in: this one from Capitol in 1998, A&M with "Greatest Hits" in 1999, then HIP-O with the 2-disc set, "Anthology" in 2001. Oy!

Of the two Capitol and A&M single-disc compilations, which to buy? Is there a difference in the audio quality between the two?

You bet. If you're looking for the disc with the best audio, this is it.

The Capitol & A&M titles share eight identical tracks:

2. Thing Called Love

5. Slow Turning

7. Memphis In The Meantime

8. Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder

11. Buffalo River Home

12. Feels Like Rain

14. Perfectly Good Guitar

15. Tennessee Plates

Six of these tracks have noticeably better audio on this disc vs. the A&M version. Tracks 2 & 14 sound identical.

Two tracks whose titles appear on both CD's, but in actuality are different versions are (on this disc):

1. Have A Little Faith In Me (re-make with chorale, I prefer the original version)

9. Drive South

This CD has six other tracks which do not appear on the A&M version.

Compared to HIP-O's more expensive, 2-disc "Anthology", the audio on this disc is virtually identical, though both sets were mastered by different engineers at different studios. So, it looks like HIP-O & Capitol tried harder or had better source material, and the A&M is sub-standard.

There are only 5 tracks on this disc that do not appear on the HIP-O "Anthology" (#'s 1, 6, 13, 16, 17).

So, the HIP-O set is probably your best investment, as its resale value, should you ever choose to sell it, or more likely, when ANOTHER Hiatt "Best Of" shows up, will be higher than the other two discs.

Best of? Not exactly. Music buyers would be better off skipping this disc and loading up on a half dozen or more of Hiatt's other recordings, including these wonderful tunes: Seven Little Indians (Stolen Moments) Through Your Hands (Stolen Moments) Blue Telescope (Perfectly Good Guitar) Is Anybody There? (Slow Turning) Lipstick Sunset (Bring The Family) Stood Up (Bring The Family) Ethylene (Walk On) One Step Over The Line (Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume II: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, featuring a terrific duet with Rosanne Cash) and John H.'s best song and one of the best songs from anybody in a long time: Don't Think About Her When You're Trying To Drive. (Little Village with John on vocals and Ry Cooder on electric guitar.)