Just when it looked as if John Hiatt's career was firmly on autopilot, he springs this on us. Master of Disaster is the best thing the man has done since his glorious late-1980s double whammy of Bring the Family and Slow Turning. Hiatt has rung the changes, opting to use the veteran producer Jim Dickinson, who in turn brings along his sons Cody and Luther, otherwise known as the North Mississippi Allstars, to form the backbone of a wonderful new backing band; but the key difference is simply that Hiatt's songwriting has regained its sharpness, whether on the effortlessly catchy title track, the ballad When My Love Crosses Over, the obligatory car song, Thunderbird, or the angry Love's Not Where We Left It ("Always thought we'd make it here - but here keeps moving").
A powerful return to form.
New West