John Hiatt The Tiki Bar Is Open LP (Transparent Green Vinyl)

• DESCRIPTION

For much of this 2001 album, his 16th in 26 years, John Hiatt reunites with his best band, the Goners, and takes a giant leap back to his still-hungry days as a jagged-edged, Costello-esque rocker while hewing to the soulful, blues-based songwriting he perfected on 1987's Bring the Family.

The withering pub rock of 1979's Slug Line—as well as a nod to fallen hero Dale Earnhardt—seeps into the title track, while the roaring guitar, courtesy of the brilliant Sonny Landreth, and tight rhymes of "All the Lilacs in Ohio" suggest the streetwise edge of 1983's Riding with the King. But it's with ballads such as "Something Broken" and "Come Home to You" that Hiatt's musicianship, songwriting, and deeply soulful vocals truly convince and offer the most moving moments on this, his most memorable album in many years.

Tiki Bar is a keenly constructed collection of heartfelt, bluesy tunes that rock — and often rock hard — with tremendous soul... a superbly crafted disc whose songs quickly sink in and stay lodged in your brain.