Customer Reviews

It'll Come To You: The Songs of John Hiatt

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3 star:		(2)
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Here's the problem--tribute albums rarely equal or surpass the original numbers by the original artist. It'll Come To You is no exception. While its best moments are as good as Hiatt's originals, they still don't improve on them. Much like the Richard Thompson tribute Beat the Retreat, It'll Come to You does what the best tribute albums always do---make you want to go back and rediscover the originals. It also allows you to discover artists new to you that you might not have given the consideration to.

The usual suspects are here--from Bonnie Raitt's rollicking remake of Thing Called Love (the best remake of a Hiatt tune I've heard outside of the King/Clapton collaboration Riding with the King). Raitt's remake is--pardon the gender confusion--the King of all the remakes here.Rodney Crowell's She Loves the Jerk and Emmylou's Icy Blue Heart are the Court Jester and Queen of this deck of Hiatt cards.

There are other treasures here as well including Buddy & Julie Miller's unexpected remake of Paper Thin. Freddie Fender's cover of Across the Border brings class to the entire collection. It's nicely done tribute to a talented artist who deserved one a long, long time ago.

Overall, it's a well done tribute to Hiatt with a great roster of artists lending their talents. But, as usual with tribute albums, you quickly realize that nobody does it like the original. Having said that, there are some excellent tracks on this disc:
-Patty Griffin's "Take it Down" is definitely the standout here....it's almost good enough to rival the original.
-Clapton/King's "Riding With the King"
-Emmylou Harris is great on "Icy Blue Heart"

This disc is for the die-hard Hiatt fans who already have all of Hiatt's stuff....new folks should go for "Slow Turning" "Walk On" or "..Gruff Exterior"

This is a great CD--really highlighting John's writing. Each rendition brings a new level of perspective to his words and surfaces his amazing lyrics, separate from John the singer. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loves an eclectic blend of music.

This collection of covers of John Hiatt songs starts off with several must-have interpretations (Buddy/Julie Miller, Patty Griffin, Linda Ronstadt, Robert Bradley) but eventually runs into covers that I didn't enjoy so much, in fact, would rather never hear again. ;-) (Rodney Crowell, Nick Lowe). But the good stuff is definitely amazing. There is no reason to not buy this CD immediately.

While no-one does Hiatt as good as Hiatt, this isn't what this album's about at all. It's about paying homage to one hell of a songwriter, in their own way. Even though this latest tribute is not the strongest of three, I for one am rapt at some interpratations of Hiatt's songs. If you like Hiatt get this!! Also get Rolling into Memphis and Love Gets Strange. Two former tributes. Every tracks a winner!!!

Any fan of John Hiatt knows the joy of listening to his music - over the last 25+ years the man has written and recorded some legendary music. His songs are as emotion-laden as any top songwriter, filled with euphoric highs and melancholy lows, and his music is always top notch.
It's no suprise that an A-list of musicians who matter perform on this tribute disc. Hiatt's tunes have been covered repeatedly over the years, and the artists who record John's music appreciate both the musical complexity and subtle ironies in his tunes.
Of the 13 tracks on this disc, 10 are previously recorded versions, personally selected by Hiatt for this disc. For a taste of the simple beauty of Hiatt's genius, go to Emmylou Harris's "Icy Blue Heart". Emmylou is in perfect voice singing this waltz (yes, a waltz), and Bonnie Raitt's contribution of slide guitar to the track is perfect. For some smoking modern blues, check out Buddy Guy's version of "Feels Like Rain" (awesome number!). Raitt's version of "Thing Called Love" a popular radio hit of a few years ago sounds fresh as ever, and Clapton/B.B. King's "Riding With The King" is a true pleasure as well - the guitar interplay on this song is incredibly well crafted. Another excellent vocal performance is turned in by the (sorely underappreciated) Rosanne Cash on "The Way We Make A Broken Heart" - will someone please explain why Rosanne isn't a star along the lines of Bonnie and Emmylou, because here, as always, her pitch and style are perfect.
Among the three recordings made specifically for this disc, the highlight is the rocking and stomping "Paper Thin" by Buddy and Julie Miller. And Patty Griffin sounds great (as always) on "Take It Down".
This album may not win new fans for Hiatt or his work - most of these artists have the same fan base as John. But for anyone who loves a truly original voice, solid storytelling and smart instrumentation, you cannot go wrong with this incredibly well crafted tribute.

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The album starts badly with Buddy and Julie Miller proving they can't get close to the electrifying original of 'Paper Thin'. The title track is another let down, and Buddy Guy's 'Feels Like Rain' fails to live up to Hiatt's own version. Can't blame them all for trying though.
Bonnie Raitt's stonking remake of 'Thing Called Love' is so good you can forgive its inclusion while wishing that more of the album was Hiatt's obscurer songs like Patty Griffin's lovely 'Take it Down' and Roseanne Cash's 'This is the Way We Make a Broken Heart'. Hiatt's well-known songs are well-known because he did such a great version. Trying to improve on them is a waste of time, though Rodney Crowell has a good stab at it on 'She Loves the Jerk'.
It's an interesting album for Hiatt fans, but one that will probably have them backtracking to the originals to hear the songs done properly, for the most part.