"Anthology" by JOHN HIATT - Forty Album Tracks from 1974 to 2000 featuring Guests Nick Lowe of Brinsley Schwarz and Little Village, Martin Belmont of Ducks Deluxe, Paul Carrack of Ace, Squeeze and Mike & The Mechanics, Glen Ballard of Argent, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, Mac Gayden of Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry, Ry Cooder, Rosanne Cash, Sonny Landreth and many more (7 August 2001 US-Only Hip-O Records 40-Track 2CD Career Anthology with Erick Labson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Have A Little Faith In Me..."

There are some artists/songwriters that should be huge. And in some ways - especially among other singers who know the real tunesmith deal when they hear it - they actually are. It's just that the public has been a tad slow in picking up on the good news (think John Prine, Shawn Phillips or even Randy Newman in the 60ts and 70ts). 

 

Indianapolis' JOHN HIATT is one of those artists. His first two albums on Epic Records - the debut "Hangin' Around The Observatory" and its follow-up "Overcoats" hit American record shacks in 1974 and 1975, but did little business. Unbelievably Hiatt would have to wait until the brilliant (and commercial) "Bring The Family" album on A&M Records in 1987 before he charted on Billboard - a full seven albums into his output. In fact, the year 2023 celebrates 50 years of recording for JH as that debut was put down in July 1973, the LP released January of the next year (1974).

 

It's also worth pointing out that when "Bring The Family" was issued in 1987 (early days for CD) - that digital outing had an ok-to-good reputation sound-wise. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab of the USA picked up on this and in Nov 1994 reissued "Bring The Family" on one of their Original Master Recording, Ultradisc II formats - and to much praise. But being a limited edition, it has been deleted years and steadily accruing huge price tags. So here on this 2001 2CD set - fans can at least get five of the "Bring The Family" album tracks in superior Erick Labson Remastered sound for online prices that are more than reasonable.

Which brings us to this fantastic-sounding US-only 2CD career overhaul from Hip-O Select issued in August 2001 (trading then as Hip-O Records). You get forty albums cuts from the 1974 debut right up to 2000's "Crossing Muddy Waters" CD album on Vanguard Records. There is much to savor...

 

US-only released 7 August 2001 - "Anthology" by JOHN HIATT on Hip-O Records 314 556 134-2 (Barcode 731455613421) is a 40-Track 2CD Career Retrospective of New Remasters that plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (78:08 minutes):

1. Sure As I'm Sittin' Here 

2. Hangin' Around The Observatory 

3. Down Home

4. Washable Ink

5. Slug Line

6. Radio Girl

7. Pink Bedroom 

8. It Hasn't Happened Yet

9. Spy Boy

10. Doll Hospital

11. My Edge Of The Razor

12. Riding With The King

13. She Loves The Jerk

14. I Don't Even Try

15. The Love That Harms

16. The Way We Make A Broken Heart (Duet Vocals with Rosanne Cash)

17. When We Ran

18. The Usual

19. She Said The Same Things To Me (Duet Vocals with Frieda Woody)

20. Lipstick Sunset

21. Thank You Girl

22. Have A Little Faith In Me

NOTES:

Tracks 1 and 2 from his US debut album "Hangin' Around The Observatory", January 1974 on Epic KE 32688 

Track 3 from his second US studio album "Overcoats", April 1975 on Epic KE 33190

Tracks 4, 5 and 6 are from his third studio album "Slug Line", August 1979 on MCA Records MCA-3088 

Tracks 7 and 8 are from his fourth studio album "Two Bit Monsters", October 1980 on MCA Records MCA-5123

Track 9 from the Original Soundtrack Album "Cruising" from 1980

Tracks 10 and 11 are from his fifth studio album "All Of A Sudden", April 1982 on Geffen GHS 2009

Tracks 12 to 15 are from his sixth studio album "Riding With The King", April 1984 on Geffen GHS 4017

Track 16 from the compilation album "The Best Of John Hiatt", August 1998 on Capitol CDP 7243 8 59179 2 9 - featuring Rosanne Cash on Duet Vocals - song recorded during the "Riding With The King" sessions in 1984 

Tracks 17 to 19 are from his seventh studio album "Warming Up To The Ice Age", September 1986 on Geffen GHS 24055 

Tracks 20 to 22 are from his eighth studio album "Bring The Family", May 1987 on A&M Records SP 5158 in the USA, Demon Records FIEND 100 in the UK

 

CD2 (77:17 minutes):

1. Memphis In The Meantime

2. Thing Called Love

3. Tennessee Plates

4. Slow Turning 

5. Drive South 

6. Feels Like Rain

7. Paper Thin

8. Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder

9. Real Fine Love

10. Perfectly Good Guitars

11. Buffalo River Home

12. Angel Eyes

13. Cry Love

14. Shredding The Document

15. Don't Think About Her When You're Trying To Drive

16. Pirate Radio

17. Crossing Muddy Waters

18. Take It Down

Tracks 1 to 2 are from his eighth studio album "Bring The Family", May 1987 on A&M Records SP 5158 in the USA, Demon Records FIEND 100 in the UK

Tracks 3 to 7 are from his ninth studio album "Slow Turning", August 1988

Tracks 8 and 9 are from his tenth studio album "Stolen Moments", June 1990

Tracks 10 and 11 are from his eleventh studio album "Perfectly Good Guitar", September 1993

Track 12 from the live album "Hiatt Comes Alive At The Budokan?", November 1994 by John Hiatt & The Guilty Dogs

Tracks 13 and 14 are from the album "Walk On", November 1995

Track 15 from the CD album "Little Village" by Little Village, 1992

Track 16 from the album "Little Head", June 1997

Tracks 17 and 18 are from the album "Crossing Muddy Waters", October 2000 

 

The 16-page booklet features new June 2001 liner notes SCOTT SCHINDER mixed in with period photos and interviews with a clearly happily married man and a musical career he's proud of. But the big news is without doubt the talents of a Universal Audio Engineer I've raved about before - ERICK LABSON. As of 2023 I think he's amassed over 1,000 reissue credits including Buddy Holly, The Who, Neil Diamond, Wishbone Ash, The Mamas and The Papas, Etta James, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and the bulk of the Chess/Cadet/Checker catalogue. When this guy gets nears the tapes, magic is going to happen and it does here. I had the album "Warming Up To The Ice Age" when I was in the thralls of buying everything and anything I could get my hands on in 1985 - I wanted the riffing "The Usual". It always had a weedy punch - here it leaps and snarls as it was always meant to do. To the array...

 

I would be the the first to admit that as you play the start of CD1 and the end of CD2, a 5-star rating seems a tad high. And with that in mind it is unfortunately easy to hear why the early LPs came and went, the songs are good but never great or particularly memorable. It isn't until you get to the cod Rock 'n' Roll of "Doll Hospital", the hurting and pleading ballad "My Edge Of The Razor" and that very John Hiatt chug of "Riding With The King" (in the early 80ts) do you start to get really interested. I know these tracks from vinyl and to hear them now finally punching above their audio weight on these fantastic Remasters is a blast. 

 

You can feel the songwriting prowess growing with cool shuffles like "She Said The Same Things To Me" and his Indie-Punk-New Wave heart in the fab riffage of "The Usual" - a highlight on the "Warming Up To The Ice Age" album from 1985. But everything changed with the undeniable "Bring The Family" album produced with warmth by John Chelew in 1987. Even as the gorgeous melody of "Lipstick Sunset" plays - Ry Cooder playing a blinder as ever on Slide Guitar - you can hear all those years grafting and honing his songs come full circle to the absolute classic that is "Have A Little Faith in Me". Jewel did a cover of this impassioned piano pleader on the John Travolta movie "Phenomenon" soundtrack that brought its beauty to everyone's attention a few years later. 

 

British songwriting and humorist hero Nick Lowe of Brinsley Schwarz and later Little Village fame joined Hiatt's recording entourage for the "Bring The Family" album on Bass and Harmony Vocals. And dig that Ry Cooder guitar on "Thank You Girl" - gritty and chunky with the Remaster - so damn good. Bonnie Raitt covered "Thing Called Love" for her 1989 comeback album "Nick Of Time" on Capitol Records and once again - a cool woman brought Hiatt's songwriting brilliance to the masses. 

 

Hiatt's witty lyrics come roaring out of the sick-of-mandolins romp that is "Memphis In The Meantime" where he tells his girl that he needs to hear the guitars of a real band. Sonny Landreth adds his fabulous and unique slide guitar prowess to the rocking "Tennessee Plates". Although it was inexplicably perceived as a bit of a disappointment after the overall quality of "Bring The Family" - I love the four from 1988's "Slow Turning" album that are featured here. First up is the rollicking upbeat vibe to the title track "Slow Turning", then the very John Mellencamp big acoustic sound to the motor-running "Drive South". CD2 now provides us with his other undisputed classic - the slow shimmering guitars of "Feels Like Rain" - what a gem and sounding glorious too. 

 

"Paper Thin" is a rocker that again wouldn't be amiss on Mellencamp's "Big Daddy" album say - guitars from Sonny Landreth and Eagles original Bernie Leadon. We go big-eyed for the happy and catchy "Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder", but that is whomped by my fave-of-faves - "Real Fine Love" - both it and "Child..." from the underrated "Stolen Moments" album of 1990. And on it goes to other goodies like the lovely "Buffalo River Home", even if it does taper out a bit for me towards 2000. 

 

"What did I do...what did I say...to turn your Angel Eyes my way?" Hiatt sings on the cleverly chosen live version of "Angel Eyes" taken from his lesser-seen Budokan show with his band of the moment, The Guilty Dogs. Well, I am guilty, sign me up to the wild blue yonder and bring all the family too...