Artist: John Hiatt
Album: Mystic Pinball
Bitrate: 238kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: New West Records
Genre: Rock
Size: 82.54 megs
PlayTime: 0h 45min 55sec total
Rip Date: 2012-09-21
Store Date: 2012-09-25
Track List:
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01. We're Alright Now 4:22
02. Bite Marks 3:36
03. It All Comes Back Someday 3:38
04. Wood Chipper 4:36
05. My Business 3:06
06. I Just Don't Know What To Say 4:38
07. I Know How To Lose You 3:49
08. You're All The Reason I Need 3:47
09. One Of Them Damn Days 2:46
10. No Wicked Grin 3:55
11. Give It Up 4:08
12. Blues Can't Even Find Me 3:34
Release Notes:
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Somewhere on a two lane state road where speed limits are a suggestion, about
150 miles from Phoenix and 300 miles from Albuquerque, "We're Alright Now," the
leadoff track to John Hiatt's 23rd album, Mystic Pinball, is blasting through my
car. Each time I try to let the album play through onto the second song, I can't
help but hit the repeat button -- over and over again. It's not long until I've
memorized the first few verses and the chorus. The volume has now well
overpowered my own voice, and weaving between the rolling meadows and red rock
mountains, I sing the chorus -- a hypnotic, energizing and inspirational anthem
of rebirth and reassurance, reminding us to once again, have a little faith in
ourselves, each other and times to come.
The song is ultimately a simple one: the drums drive its roaring heartbeat
tempo, and the Nashville-twanged garage guitars hold it together with a looping
pulse. But, it's up to the audience to round out the sound -- to clap our hands,
stomp our feet and sing along:
We're alright now.
Got a love so strong.
Baby, we're alright now,
Even when it's wrong.
So, won't you stay with me tonight?
We'll cry some tears and sing some songs.
Honey, it's alright now.
All those battle days are gone.
And, just like that, after almost 40 years of recording music, John Hiatt has
done it again. He has written a hit song, so relevant, so melodic, so universal,
so human that it hooks deep within the listener's soul and takes you on a
musical journey into the beautiful world of John Hiatt -- a world of love,
heartbreak, hope and rebirth that we have come to understand, embrace and even
anticipate, with each new record.
I eventually did allow myself to move on and listen to Mystic Pinball in full.
As one of the most prolific contemporary songwriters recording today, John Hiatt
continues to astound and humble the creative process by releasing albums, almost
on an annual basis, that stand distinctly on their own and relevant to their own
moment. Mystic Pinball is no exception; it paints its creator, yet again, as one
of the true, authentic, romantic American troubadours, who may just be one of
the few still thriving in a dying breed.
There's a certain comfort and familiarity with Mystic Pinball -- a sense that
these songs tell the stories of the everyday folks whom John Hiatt has met
during his 40 years on the road. "I Just Don't Know What to Say" and "Blues
Can't Even Find Me," are lonely and heartbreaking with the gentle melodies to
follow; "One of Them Damn Days" is a swinging blues bad-boy-good-girl standard,
sure to catch you grinning amid the "unrelenting haze" of the scratchy-voiced
narrator. And, yet, as diverse as these stories and songs may seem, they are
rooted in what John Hiatt does so well; they are ingrained in the universal
foundation of relationships -- friendships and otherwise -- and our collective
soul journeys to explore them.
Until this past Saturday night, I had often wondered how John Hiatt could write
with such frequency -- how he could churn out these musical tales with such
authenticity and apparent ease. But then, my southwestern voyage brought me to
the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, where he and his band of southerners were
sampling songs from Mystic Pinball and taking requests for old classics --
"Crossing Muddy Waters," "Feels Like Rain," "Slow Turning," and "Memphis in the
Meantime."
With a smile that never broke and an audience cooled by mist machines in the
midnight desert heat, John Hiatt played with the enthusiasm, excitement and
honor of what seemed like his first paying gig -- like playing music was a gift
not to ever be taken for granted, and we were unexpected witnesses to a
dreamer's dream come true. He can write these songs because less than writing
about the everyday folks, John Hiatt, himself, is the everyday folk, and in him,
we, as the audience, find an approachable, humble, traveling companion -- an old
friend -- with whom we can roll down the car windows, sing songs off key and
celebrate the simple joys, love and even heartbreak, of life.