As they have throughout so much of John Hiatt’s career, the twin themes of love’s redemption and time’s inexorable passage find a common denominator (much as they did in Slow Turning) in his first release since 2005. The North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson returns to provide multi-stringed support, with drummer Kenneth Blevins resuming his on-and-off association with the artist that has extended for almost two decades. Yet the songs are plainly the main attraction, produced by Hiatt in such a stripped-down, rough-cut, primarily acoustic fashion that many of them sound like demos.
Perhaps an outside producer would have encouraged the singer to lighten up on the blackface vocal affection of the opening (and very funny) reminiscences of “Old Days”, and saved the writer from the saccharine “What Love Can Do” (which, with his daughter Lily providing harmony, makes Paul McCartney sound like Sid Vicious) and the lazy chorus rhymes of the title track (“I love you more than I ever did/I love you just like a little kid/I guess I’ll always be your biggest fan/Honey I’m still the same old man”).
If this mixed musical bag isn’t likely to extend Hiatt’s following, it nonetheless has plenty of highlights to satisfy the faithful. He remains the master of the soul-twisted ballad, as “Love You Again”, “Hurt My Baby” and the mandolin-driven “Our Time” attest. “On With You” forges a groove akin to Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”, while “Cherry Red” delights in its playful lyricism. The conversational confessionalism of “Let’s Give This Love A Try” reflects the songwriter at his intimate best. No new tricks from the same old man, but the familiar ones still work just fine.
