JOHN HIATT

“The Tiki Bar Is Open”

Vanguard

After a quiet opening record on Vanguard a year or so back, Hiatt comes blazing back with one of his strongest, full band records in years. A great writer and accomplished leader, Hiatt gives us quite a breadth of his songwriting and observational skills on “Tiki Bar.”

Long an underrated purveyor of his own style of blues, Hiatt is alternatingly funny, in the title track; personable and longing, as in “I’ll Never Get Over You,” and crystal clear bizarre, in “All The Lilacs in Ohio.”

It’s long been a crime that no major label has picked up Hiatt; maddeningly so that he’s not has his own hits (although he’s written a handful for other artists). It’s outstanding that Vanguard, with it’s long history, has seen fit to present this major songwriter and singer in all his splendor.

- Mark T. Gould