CLASSIC COMING OF AGE BROADCAST RECORDING By the end of 1986, John Hiatt was ready to give up on his recording career. After a string of 7 unsuccessful albums and 3 record labels over the past 12 years, he was just about at the end of his musical rope. Although he had achieved major acclaim and notoriety as a songwriter (his songs had been covered by Bob Dylan, Nick Lowe, Rick Nelson, and Rosanne Cash, among others), his own albums just didn't sell at all. After being dropped by his latest record label (Geffen) due to poor sales for Warming Up To The Ice Age (1985), he didn't have anywhere else to go. However, friends who had heard his latest tunes were convinced they were his strongest yet, and the UK s Demon Records put up $30,000 to make a new album. His musician friends also came to the rescue and he was able to put together an all-star backing band consisting of guitarist Ry Cooder, bassist Nick Lowe, and ace session drummer Jim Keltner. The album, titled Bring The Family was Hiatt's breakthrough record and biggest success up to that time. Hiatt's next album, Slow Turning (1988), was an even bigger success, producing his first hit single and several more of his very best songs. This excellent show and fine recording comes from that period, after the release of Slow Turning, when Hiatt was enjoying big success for the first time, and features half of the songs from each of these two albums. With the added bonus of Hiatt s own version of the song he donated to blues guitarist, the late Jeff Healey, this CD will prove a delight for fans of the man who continues to tour and record regularly and remains one of America s finest ever composers of popular song.
