Rave On!
Who doesn’t love hearing about how much someone else loves Mr. Hiatt’s music? It’s certainly never gotten
old for me to collect all the critics’ praise. And, not surprisingly, journalists, bloggers, and fellow musicians
are just as enthusiastic as they have been throughout his forty-year career. Here’s the latest batch of raves:
“John is the consummate songwriter, and he’s at the top of the list along with Bob Dylan. John’s songs have such
meaning and depth, and they’ve stood the test of time. Here we are 30 years later, and I swear that playing them seems
like yesterday, because they sound so fresh. He doesn’t polish anything, either. It’s all about the raw emotion of the
lyrics, because there’s not a set form. A good example is “Sometime Other than Now,” which is all simple chords, but
they change with the lyrics. A lot of pop songs sound like the words are written to fit a musical scheme, but with John’s
songs, the lyrics come first, and the music supports that. It’s more spontaneous that way, and the challenge is more
about remembering the arrangements. John makes the joke every night about trying to remember how we did these
songs originally, but we didn’t know what we were doing back then. That’s the creative side of it I love. It’s more of an
adventure, and the songs are different every night because of it. I think people relate to that, because they know they’re
getting something raw, fresh, and in the moment. It’s a great honor to be able to work with music on that level.”
– SONNY LANDRETH, TO ART THOMPSON GUITAR PLAYER, 2018
“…11 tracks presented here demonstrate that the singer-songwriter, now 66-years-old, is only getting better with age,
his guitar playing more rugged and rootsy, his words wiser and more wry.” – JERRY HOLTHOUSE, NASHVILLE.COM, 2018
“At age 66, John Hiatt is still writing love songs — and good ones. On The Eclipse Sessions, he sings about the wonder of
love, the trouble with love, flowering love and faded love. Not that Hiatt has turned syrupy. Wry lyrics provide a bulwark
against sentimentality, and the Indiana native's untethered corn belt tenor is the perfect delivery system. … There are
fetching melodies and rhythmic wrinkles characteristic of Hiatt's best work. He rocks, sings the blues and digs deep…”
– STEVEN WINE, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2018
“…the album ends with the Texicana waltzing Robber’s Highway, another number informed by world-weary thoughts of
mortality and of time taking things away and the sun going down on life, the sense of resignation and defeat achingly
summed up in the chorus plea ‘Come and get me, Jesus/I don’t know/Come and get me cause I can’t go.’ To these ears,
it’s his best work since Crossing Muddy Waters back in 2000, so, no, Jesus take a rain check, he most certainly can’t go
yet.” – MIKE DAVIES, FOLKRADIO.CO.UK, 2018
“In a stellar career that spans half a century, John Hiatt has built a massive collection of recordings that's been an
ongoing source of inspiration for fans, critics and other artists.” – TIM PLUMLEY, PR NEWSWIRE, 2018
“John Hiatt proves that he is to consistency in songwriting as oak wood panels and dust-covered tomes are to the
world’s finest libraries. Hiatt is the unparalleled master of three and four chord song simplicity, weaving embryos of
melodies into one of his many signature song styles… Hiatt is a world song-writing treasure, as reliable as grits on a
southern breakfast table. There should be statues and scholarships in his honour but until then, I’ll settle for a new
album of trusty Hiatt whenever I can get it..” – JASON, GETREADYTOROCK.ME.UK, 2018
“Hiatt 's the whole package: great singer, fabulous guitarist and primo entertainer, which he demonstrated during a silly
"Mem-Phis" audience participation game and a funny "turn the radio down" bit during "Slow Turning." And he was quite
a sight to behold, looking like farmer John with his too-long hair, oversized bluejeans and crisp button-down shirt, which
he might have picked up at LL Bean during his shows up theyah in Maine.” – BILL BROTHERTON BOSTON HERALD, 2013
“Growing beyond youthful angry snark is a tricky transition for any songwriter, but John Hiatt has managed it better
than most. More than four decades into a recording career that began with songs like “I Killed an Ant With My Guitar,”
Hiatt comes across nowadays as a venerable blues cat who exudes a sort of unpretentious everyman anti-cool. And that
sandpaper sweet-and-sour yowl of his is equal parts heart and wiseacre commentary.”
- DAVID MENCONI, RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER, 2016
“Making literate rock 'n' roll noise since the mid-'70s, … 48-year-old Hiatt can turn a barbed phrase without getting hurt
and get soft without turning mushy, and when he explains the whole process, he makes his acclaimed lyrics sound like
afterthoughts.” – KARLA PETERSON, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2000