John Hiatt – Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns review

Truly great country musicians never really die out. Give them a guitar, and a sad American tale, and they’ll serve you all the beautiful melancholy that modern, bubble-gum country stars seem to have forgotten. John Hiatt is considered by anyone who really knows country music to be one of the genre’s most prolific and influential songwriters and musicians. His words have inspired artists like Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson to perform covers. So with his twentieth installment, “Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns,” Hiatt isn’t looking for a clean slate, a loud encore, or any sort of bragging rights. The work of a seasoned expert; the album is well constructed without giving the impression that he’s showing off. A modest, simple, neat package, this is the product of a mature musician. The album is honest, and straightforward. The band that accompanies him is clean and crisp; the music is always tight. It’s moving without any cheap fireworks, soulful without tacky embellishments.

Hiatt has incredible vocal range. Sometimes he sounds sardonic, sometimes earnest; sometimes he embraces a country twang, and sometimes, he’s timbre and throaty. No matter which personality he chooses, he’s always texturally interesting to listen to.

The album boasts some true standouts. The track “Hold On for Your Love” swells with raw emotion. Its nearly six and a half minute play time is well deserved. He mixes things up with “I Love That Girl,” a joyous, spunky tribute. With a less husky voice, Hiatt is unselfconsciously sincere.

Hiatt’s best songs maintain momentum, and showcase enough range to remain interesting. At it’s least engaging, the album stagnates, becoming a bit one note. Several of the songs blend together, and the listener gets lost in the monotony.

The opening track, “Damn This Town,” may be the weakest. As the song’s narrator struggles with the inertia of small-town America, the song itself gets stuck in its own repetition, and winds up being grating.

When you’ve accomplished as much as John Hiatt, it’s all too easy for critics to suggest that your day in the sun has come and gone. John Hiatt isn’t clinging to the past, rather, he’s ambling further down his winding path, continuing to add more worthy installments to this uniquely American art.