John Hiatt - Beneath This Gruff Exterior
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Music CD Cover
Artist: John HiattEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2003-05-06
Music Label: New West Records
Soundtracks:
- Uncommon Connection
- How Bad's The Coffee
- Nagging Dark
- My Baby Blue
- My Dog And Me
- Almost Fed Up With The Blues
- Circle Back
- Window On The World
- Missing Pieces
- Fly Back Home
- The Last Time
- The Most Unoriginal Sin
Free Music Notes for Beneath This Gruff Exterior
Free Music Review: This "Gruff Exterior" Is A Fine Return To Form
Hit: 5 Stars
Any album whose opening line is "Well I do my best thinking sitting on my ..." has got to be a winner, and BENEATH THIS GRUFF EXTERIOR is just that. It's no secret that I haven't been too fond of the last few Hiatt albums (my reviews proved that!), but I'm happy to say that I think BENEATH THIS GRUFF EXTERIOR is his best in a decade, ranking right up there with his classic A&M releases. Opening up the CD is the rollicking "Uncommon Connection." With it's hearty lead vocal and wry lyrics (the aforementioned opening line, "I jogged my memory once, then I shelved my plans/I'm tired of holding on to love's clammy hand", "Some people call it depression, I call it a song"), the song kickstarts the disc into high gear. The smiles just continue with "How Bad's The Coffee." A full-blown rocker, this is Hiatt at his best: an exuberantly delivered lead vocal, tight, economical instrumentation and a wink and a nudge when it comes to the lyrics: "I would call you an angel/But honey, you'd know better than that/Just a trucker's dream with a coconut cream/And a nasty old cup of black." Man, would I love to see Bonnie Raitt cover this song! "The Nagging Dark" is also Hiatt at the top of his game...a simple, perfect track, wrapped around spot-on lyrics ("Once shame and guilt/Have made their mark - You can't run away from the nagging dark/You carry it everywhere in your heart/It finishes everything that you start/You can't run away from the nagging dark"). Next up are two sweet songs about the simple pleasures in life, both past and present. "My Baby Blue" is a soaring tribute to a lost -first? - love, while "My Dog And Me" is a song about, well, a man and his dog! Only Hiatt could write about a walk with your dog and make it sound both touching and universal ("Man and beast and sky and sun/Who's talking to the birds in the trees/Why it's just my dog and me" and "So it's over the ridge for one last mile/'Til we're fast asleep by the fire side/Dreamin' these dreams for free/Just my dog and me"). And, once again, only Hiatt could pull off the cranky "Almost Fed Up With The Blues." Sonny Landreth's guitar snakes thru the song, rising and ebbing as Hiatt makes his feelings clear: "I wake up with my head in hand/I wish I was another man/'Cause I'm almost fed up with the blues" and "If I get up they'll knock me down again/But what are you going to do, my friend/When I'm almost fed up with the blues." True Hiatt through and through, with none of the "coasting" that I thought was so prevalent in his writing on his last few albums, particularly the majority of the last two (2000's CROSSING MUDDY WATERS and 2001's THE TIKI BAR IS OPEN). "Circle Back" has a nice, quirky vibe to it, masking a slightly somber commentary on the inescapable movement of time and how it weaves it's way thru generation after generation ("Well it's 99 in Topeka/The wind is blowin' hot/Blowin' through my oldest daughter's hair/With everything else I forgot - I drove her out to college/Drove back through an empty space/Thinkin' back to when she was a baby/Tryin' hard to see that face" and "Two kids up and at 'em/One more left at home/She's a spark plug, a real fire cracker/And in four years she'll be gone - They just blow through your life/Like the winds on the plains/Like the dust that covers everything/'til the rivers fill with rain"). I've said it before and I'll say it again...John Hiatt is one of America's best wordsmiths, bar none! "Window On The World" lopes along, while "Missing Pieces" is a reflective break-up song, a story Hiatt seems to be relaying to the listener after he was told it by a third party. It's a unique concept for songwriting, and one Hiatt pulls off perfectly. Then there's the barn-burner "Fly Back Home." If this raver doesn't have you tapping you toes by song's end...well, you have no toes! BTGE ends on a high and low note. The low note, "The Last Time", is somewhat plodding, and just doesn't match up to the higher standards of the rest of the material. The CD's closer, however, is a true gem. "The Most Unoriginal Sin" has a dreamy quality to it, resulting in a thoughtful, swaying track that just floats out of the speakers. Landreth's guitar once again lifts things to unparalleled heights, while Hiatt's lyrics are captivating: "What there was left of us/Was all covered in dust and thick skin/A half eaten apple/The whole Sistine Chapel/Painted on the head of a pin - A life long love's work/Gone up in a smirk/And you didn't even see her walk in." As I said before, John Hiatt's back and in top form, and that's why I have no qualms stating that BENEATH THIS GRUFF EXTERIOR is one of 2003's best, most masterful releases yet. Do yourself a favor and pick it up!
Beneath This Gruff Exterior Poster
Much to his credit, John Hiatt has never strayed very far from the bluesy garage rock roots of his Indiana childhood. That fact is raucously underscored here, a gritty collection that finds the veteran singer/songwriter co-crediting his longtime band, the Goners (guitarist Sonny Landreth, bassist Dave Ranson and Kenneth Blevins on drums) for the first time--and for good reason. While Hiatt's songwriting efforts are typically strong throughout, with gems like "Almost Fed Up With the Blues," "My Dog and Me," "My Baby Blue," and "The Most Unoriginal Sin" (originally recorded by Willie Nelson in ?93) showcasing his tough wit and tender heart, this is decidedly a band effort from the rollicking first notes of "Uncommon Connection." Recorded live in the studio, Hiatt and the Goners evoke everything from chugging Sun Records' shuffles to swampy Delta blues, early Ry Cooder and the Band, all of it informed by the almost telepathic sense of interplay these musicians have developed over decades of touring. This is easily the most overtly rocking album of Hiatt's career, but one that hasn't sacrificed an ounce of soul for its joyous energy. --Jerry McCulleyClassic Rock Music CDs
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