John Hiatt

The Open Road  New West ****

After a year or so hanging around the house, John Hiatt was clearly itching to get out on the road. This 11-track album is drawn in general to the open road, including the opening title track, a meaty story with Warren Zevon-like flourishes.

Elsewhere, Movin' Ondeals with memories of the peripatetic nature of his parents or Haulin' his way through the streets of Kentucky in the spirit of Chuck Berry. His defiant Go Down Swingin' is classic Hiatt, unsparing self-deprecation, wrapped, as with the bulk of the album, in a primitive r'n'b sound, his voice a twisted, scary form of beauty. The same goes for the witty mock barfly paean to My Baby. A friend, listening to this album, remarked that though Hiatt has written and continues to write great songs, he has yet to make a great album. While there is much to admire here, the wait goes on.See johnhiatt.com

Download tracks: The Open Road, My Baby, Movin' On