Greatest Hits

Product Description:

Personnel: John Hiatt (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Karen Peris (vocals); Ethan Johns (guitar, drums); Ry Cooder, Michael Ward (guitar, background vocals); Sonny Landreth, Matt Wallace, Michael Landau, Michael Henderson, Mac Gayden (guitar); Dave Farager (bass, background vocals); Nick Lowe, Pat Donaldson, David Ranson, John Pierce (bass); Jim Keltner, David Kemper, Ken Blevins, Brian MacLeod, Michael Urbano (drums); Ashley Cleveland, Russ Taff (background vocals).

Producers: Glyn Johns, John Chelew, Matt Wallace.

Compilation producer: Bill Levenson.

Engineers include: Larry Hirsch, Glyn Johns, Jack Joesph Puig.

Recorded between 1987 & 1994. Includes liner notes by Jeff Dean.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

John Hiatt closed out his years at Capitol with this single disc collection of his "greatest hits." The set is a bittersweet reminder of both the quality of his work and the fact that he's never had any bona fide hits. For years the only knowledge the public had of John Hiatt was of others performing versions of his songs (Bonnie Raitt's "Thing Called Love" and Jeff Healey's "Angel Eyes"). The fact that Hiatt's own versions (both included here) were grittier and packed that much more wallop was, unfortunately, the best kept secret in town.

As evidenced on the disc's seventeen tracks, Hiatt deserved better: his blend of pop melodics, Nashville twang, and clever (and many times affecting) turns of phrase are the stuff that most singer-songwriters aspire to. While his new recording of "Have a Little Faith in Me" lacks the stark power of his original 1986 version, the collection nonetheless shows his range with good-time rockers ("Drive South," "Memphis in the Meantime"), aching ballads ("Feels Like Rain"), to cranky bitch sessions ("Perfectly Good Guitars"). Hiatt has not only retained a remarkable consistency in his output, he's also improved with the years.