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John Hiatt - Crossing Muddy Waters Audio CD

A fair review of the John Hiatt "Crossing Muddy Waters" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all John Hiatt reviews here, or go back to the John Hiatt tabs.

John Hiatt Band: John Hiatt
Title: Crossing Muddy Waters
Rating:
Release Date: 2000-09-26
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Lincoln Town 2: Crossing Muddy Waters 3: What Do We Do Now? 4: Only The Song Survives 5: Lift Up Every Stone 6: Take It Down 7: Gone 8: Take It Back 9: Mr. Stanley 10: God's Golden Eyes 11: Before I Go

John Hiatt at his Best
Crossing Muddy Waters IS the epitome of that kind of album. John Hiatt has been on the music scene with his incredible song writing skills since the late 70's but he will always be at his best when he's playing stripped down, acoustic folk/blues/country letting his amazingly expressive voice touch you at your core. THis is a don't miss cd from Mr Hiatt. .


Decent, but mostly overrated
Stripped down to the bone puts the full emphasis on John's singing and the songs with mixed results. Its been a few years since this one came out. Crossing Muddy Waters is one of his best songs ever. Nothing else comes close to that description. This CD might be the start of his singing become more ragged (or should I say gritty). Its not so bad like the desstruction of Bob Dylan's voice and in concert, he still sounds pretty darn good (just saw him last month).

Overall, a few nice songs here but if you are looking at his latter day works, you can do better. Walk On, Tiki Bar and Gruff Exterior are all better. And of course, Little Head is much worse and the latest, Same Old Man is probably not quite as good either.


Crisp, slightly introvert acoustic album

And "Crossing Muddy Waters" is not a blues record either, despite the title. No drummer at all, but a lot of mandolin on John Hiatt's 16th album. It is a predominately acoustic album, just Hiatt and multi-instrumentalists Davey Farragher and David Immerglück on various stringed instruments, tambourine, harmonium and a folding chair.

And the songs are quite low-key as well; "Crossing Muddy Waters" is dominated by slow and mid-tempo folk shuffles, with just a couple of up-tempo numbers.
Many of the songs deal with lost love, but it's not a depressing record. A sober one, yes, but with lighter moments as well, including the swinging "Lincoln Town", and the gospel-imbued "Lift Up Every Stone". And there is a lot to be said for this simple approach. . . "Crossing Muddy Waters" was recorded in four days, and the result is an album which feels relaxed without being unfocused or sloppy, and John Hiatt sings as well or better than he ever has.

"Crossing Muddy Waters" is not A-list-songs all the way from beginning to end; there are few somewhat forgettable numbers which refuse to make much impression, on me, anyway. The first half of the album is significantly stronger than the second, which makes for a bit of an odd listen, but there is still enough here to make it worth your while is you're into John Hiatt. And enough for some 3 1/2 stars.


timeless
We played it over and over on our first vacation together. My boyfriend bought this CD in 2000 and it was phenomenal. Then we played the last track as we left our wedding reception in 2001 with flying rose petals. Just last month I was on a trip with my father and my 2 sons and I'm still playing it. My dad liked it so much, I sent him a copy to thank him for taking a trip with us. My husband and I are great Johan Hiat fans and this particular CD will always be on my top 10 list.


Recommend to Your Friends
John Hiatt has always been the Daddy of the singer/songwriter clique, but he has cemented his positon with this extremely insightful and helpful group of meditations and musings. This is such a great album.
I bought a copy of this album for my friend who recently lost her husband, and she told me that she listens to it every day. I can see why.


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