Building a ship in a bottle

by Mark Hipps

1999

"My only pride and joy Was this racket down here Bangin' on an old guitar And singin' what I had to say" John Hiatt, from "Slow Turning"

The label, "Folk Music" applies to a much larger chunk of popular entertainment than one would deduce by the paltry number of artists in the "Folk" section of the local CD store. Perhaps such labels are just for music snobs, critics, radio and record execs. Most true "folkies" are found in the rock, blues and country genres. These are the singers and songwriters who often follow tradition but just as often make up their own rules. John Hiatt calls this "American music."

John Hiatt is certainly a purveyor of American music and many folks consider him quite good. Many of those folks expressed their disappointment last weekend at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. A headlining act on the Newport Folk Festival Tour, John Hiatt pulled from the tour about 10 days prior to the Raleigh show.

The author of hits by artists as diverse as Jewel, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Healy, Aaron Neville, Suzy Boggus, and others has been performing his own compositions since age 18. Nominated for a Grammy with his 1995 release, Walk On, John Hiatt still has not received the recognition he deserves. Folks will get a chance to catch up this week with the release of The Best of John Hiatt, a new compilation featuring twenty years of memorable music.

Speaking from his farm in Franklin Tennessee, Hiatt explains the process of elimination used to select songs for collection. "We started out writing song titles on a paper napkin," Hiatt laughs. "There were a lot that we thought we couldn't leave out that we left out so it kinda got to be a matter of what worked together…we were kinda leaning towards things that had actually been singles, although they hadn't been hits, necessarily…they should have been, damn it!"

Best of begins with a new recording of Hiatt's well known, "Have A Little Faith In Me." "If I had a nickel for every couple who told me this was their wedding song," Hiatt remarks in the liner notes for the new CD, "What I wanna know is, how many of you are still married?"

"Faith" is quintessential John Hiatt, as are all of the tracks on the new CD. Each track shows a different slant to Hiatt's personality. His music borrows elements from Mississippi John Hurt, the Rolling Stones, Hank Williams and The Band as well as a variety of others. Hiatt's style, though, is truly his own. Others may cover his work, but the originals are what the cover artists are striving for. And that is a lofty goal.

Hiatt's songwriting style is that of a storyteller. The characters in his songs are well developed and the themes are universal. "I don't put any limits on anything, my songwriting is just whatever comes out," Hiatt declares. When asked if his songs are autobiographical, Hiatt responds, "It's mostly fiction, but nothing is sacred…if it ain't nailed down, I'm liable to use it."

This is the second compilation album for Hiatt. The first was Geffen's 1989 release Y'all Caught. Hiatt explains, "It's a phrase down here in the South, when you see somebody coming in from fishing: 'Y'all caught?'…You say 'Nah, not much'…or else you lie!"

Catching a wave of success with Bonnie Raitt's hit version of Hiatt's "Thing Called Love" thrust Hiatt into the limelight just in time for the emergence of his best work to date. A trilogy of albums that began with Bring the Family, continued with Slow Turning and solidified with 1990's Stolen Moments.

The new disc draws heavily from these recordings. But Hiatt did not stop there. Changing gears a lot over the past eight years, Hiatt has gotten somewhat grungy on Perfectly Good Guitar, goofily groovy on Little Village (with Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Kelner), rootsy and rich on the Grammy nominated Walk On, and wickedly witty on Little Head.

Throw in a couple of live discs and it is apparent that maintaining a complete John Hiatt collection can be a full time job! The guy is a hard worker. "This Summer," Hiatt confesses, "I took off until the end of July and it's the first summer I have had off in 12 years."

Hiatt has, however, found time for a new hobby- Legends Car racing. When asked if racing may replace music as his passion, Hiatt exclaims "Both are my passions…for different reasons," adding, "The only problem with racing is the dang music cuts into my racing time!"

Hiatt has put in his time as a songwriter. Starting work at age 18 as a songwriter for a music publising company in Nashville, Hiatt never has written with other performers in mind, "I never started out to write for other people and I'm not much on co-writing either. I've done it, but I like the little space you get into when it is just you trying to chase this song somewhere. It's like building a ship in a bottle or some other futile effort…It just kicks you in the ass but you kind of wind up enjoying it."

Hiatt has worked with other writers on songs such as "Tennessee Plates" and "Angel Eyes," (Hiatt finally recorded "Angel Eyes" himself for the Best of.) but the "Hiatt co-write rule still applies; any bits you like are mine. Any bits you don't are the other guy's."

Hiatt has had some of the most respected musicians in the business grace his albums. Names like Sonny Landreth, Ry Cooder, Wallflowers' guitarist, Michael Ward, David Lindley, and Billy Paine have appeared on Hiatt's work over the years. Hiatt says, "I have been very fortunate to work with a lot of great players-and not just the marquee names…there has been a ton of other players equally as wonderful that nobody knows." "You know, that has been one of the big thrills of this funny little career of mine. Record making is a collaborative thing and I really enjoy that part of the process."

Hiatt admits to sometimes being difficult to work with, "The kindergarten note that came home with me said 'John doesn't play well with others' and it just kind of stuck." Hiatt is quick to note, "I like people just fine, I am just deficient in so many areas of my character that I …I just don't play well with others."

Perhaps, this is the reason for the uneven Little Village project. "We almost got there… I always thought it would be a good idea [to reunite] but you'll have to ask those three guys! There are some good grooves to be had with that band."

Maybe this is also the reason for Hiatt bailing out of the lightly attended Newport Folk Festival tour. His own explanation goes like this: "Well everything gets shuffled around, and the next thing you know ...ol' Jed's a millionaire! But, you know what it is? It's politics and promoters, and it's too ugly to get into."

Fortunately, Hiatt plans to have his band back on the road early in October and some North Carolina dates are very likely. Until that time, fans can enjoy old favorites and some new surprises on The Best of John Hiatt, coming out August 25.

-Mark Hibbs

Links

Capitol Records John Hiatt webpage: http://hollywoodandvine.com/johnhiatt/
A good unofficial John Hiatt website: http://www.tiac.net/users/pfl/sor.htm