Published on Sep 11, 2001
I think having John Hiatt around is good for the American soul.
Whatever crap might float to the surface of our collective popular
music cesspool, there’s Hiatt, playing half a block down at a smoky
bar, or having other people (Three Dog Night, Jeff Healey, Bonnie
Raitt) charting singles with songs he wrote. I may not always like
John Hiatt, but the man is at least sincere and he continues a
remarkable career with his second CD for Vanguard Records,
The Tiki Bar Is Open.
Hiatt has spent his entire career bouncing back and forth
between being an acoustic folkie and a three-chord rock and roller,
and
Tiki falls firmly on the electric side of things. For the
first time since 1988, he’s back with his electric band, the
Goners, which includes bayou slide guitar impresario Sonny
Landreth, and Landreth’s electrifying, lashing guitar licks keep an
edge on
Tiki sometimes lacking in Hiatt’s work. In addition, Hiatt’s
work continues to grow more and more like artists he admits are a
huge influence on how he views music, The Band. What in the hands
of lesser musicians might be slavish imitation becomes art on
Tiki.
Hiatt remains a consummate songwriter. With references as
widespread and varied as Ray Milland in the cinematic classic
Lost Weekend (“All The Lilacs In Ohio”) to the poetry of
Guillaume Appolinaire (“Farther Stars”), he proves himself a master
of phrase and pacing, one of the better songwriters out there.
“Something Broken” is a wistful, sad look back at a long, varied,
harried life; “Everybody Went Low” is a three-chord manic romp;
“Rock Of Your Love” is a slide guitar masterpiece; and “The Tiki
Bar Is Open” is an eerie tribute to the undiluted Americana of
Hiatt’s second home, Daytona Beach.
There are only a couple of misses. To my ears, at least, “I Know
A Place” is forced, stretching Hiatt’s vocals beyond the spraining
point, and the first single, “My Old Friend”, is a little too
clever for its own good. But these are minor, at best.
Overall,
The Tiki Bar Is Open is an excellent edition to Hiatt’s
catalog, a fun piece of rock and roll, and definitely worth
grabbing.