Rating: NNN
The grunge thing apparently didn't pan out, so John Hiatt decided it was best to put down his electric guitar and revert to singer/songwriter mode with the sepia-toned, acoustic Crossing Muddy Waters album.
It's essentially a front-porch country-blues concept, with Hiatt scraping a buzz out of a National reso-phonic alongside foot-stomping bassist Davey Faragher and mandolinist David Immerglück while hollering about what he knows best -- broken hearts and getting old. It's light labour for Hiatt but at least he's staying clear of sappy sentimentality and novelty tunes for the time being.
