FEATURED REVIEW.........................................................11 JULY 2005
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Artist:
JOHN HIATT |
Jim Dickinson is the master of disaster. Sure, he's a legendary producer with credits too numerous to mention, but his fondness for horns has sent more than a few of his confederates down the road to ruin. Mr. Dickinson's latest victim is none other than John Hiatt, whose most recent release arrived on June 21st. Less than a minute-and-a-half into the record, a cheezy saxophone rips into the otherwise laudible title track with what can only be described as a fart-like bleat.
To be fair, Dickinson does not muck up the entire album. In fact, on "Wintertime Blues," Dickinson even manages to assemble a certifiably cheeze-free horn section. After the B-movie sax solo on "Master of Disaster," you're bound to cringe when Hiatt barks, "Blow awhile," but the ensuing instrumental break is refreshingly understated and even has something of a drunken Dixieland swagger.
On "Back on the Corner," Dickinson also succeeds in using horns effectively. Not so with "Find You at Last"--the song starts promisingly enough, but the horns soon raise their silly little bells in an altogether unnecessary backing honk.
The album alternates between up-tempo rockers ("Love's Not Where We Thought We Left It") and scaled-back country-folk ballads ("Cold River"). Throughout, Dickinson's sons Cody and Luther (of the North Mississippi Allstars) do an admirable job as Hiatt's backing band.
Among the album's better tracks, "Thunderbird" sounds as though it might have been the product of a collaboration between Fred Eaglesmith and Steve Earle. Sure, a song about a car is always a questionable endeavor, but Hiatt makes it all hang together and even works in a shout out to Arthur Miller in the process ("Willy Loman's saying something / I can't hear a word").
In summation: A decent album with a couple of ill-placed horns. Two cheezeballs.
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A NOTE ON THE RATING SYSTEM:
5 CHEEZEBALLS = UNLISTENABLE SCHLOCK
3 CHEEZEBALLS = A DIFFICULT SLOG
1 CHEEZEBALL = THE ODD FORGIVABLE MISSTEP
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