My kind of town

CD - LP 1. It'll Come to You 4:25 2. Drive South 5:38 3. Paper Thin 4:41 4. Hold My Baby Tight 7:00 5. Child of the Wild Blue Yonder 7:49 6. Straight Outta Time 6:20 7. A Thing Called Love 6:54 8. Cross My Fingers 3:57 9. Feels Like Rain 5:56 10. Have a Little Faith in Me 5:09   11. Perfectly Good Guitar 5:26 12. Seven Little Indians 5:03   13. Bring Back Your Love to Me 4:18   14. Rock Back Billy 5:19     Total running time: 77:55

Musicians John Hiatt: guitars, vocals Michael Ward: guitar, vocals Davey Faragher: bass, vocals Michael Urbano: drums

Note   Recorded live from the XRT summer of 93 free concert at Grant Park, Chicago on June 26, 1993. 93 XRT copied from a broadcast by 93 XRT radio, Chicago

In late June 1993 John Hiatt was putting the finishing touches to what was to be his 11th studio album, Perfectly Good Guitar. But such prior engagement didn t stop Hiatt from stepping out on 26th of the month to delight the gathering at that year s free summer concert in Chicago s Grant Park, a show to be broadcast live by local station 93 XRT FM. Hitting the boards with his then touring outfit The Guilty Dogs, John and the band get straight into stride as they open with three fine cuts from 1988 s Slow Turning. John then - always the Southern Gentleman - asks permission from the revved up thousands if it s ok to play some new songs, by which he refers to numbers to be included on the upcoming record, slated for release in September. Permission is rapturously granted and the group fire into the charming When You Hold Me Tight . Up next, Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder , originally on 1990 s Stolen Moments, is accompanied by Mr. Hiatt s demonstration of a dance he has, we learn, been taught him by a flight stewardess the previous day. Then it s back to the new ones and a gorgeous version of the magnificent Straight Outta Time is performed, followed up quickly with Bring The Family s Thing Called Love . When another new song Cross My Fingers is aired, fans in the crowd are getting the message that the upcoming album is almost certainly going to be another classic Hiatt collection, choc-full of the kind of tunes that have made this unique talent such an in-demand composer. Those same fans though need to groove through sublime versions of Feels Like Rain and Have A Little Faith In Me (we re unreliably informed that few complaints were received) before sampling the classic title track from PGG. By then there is no question in anyone s mind that the album of the same name will be anything but superb. That was it for the Chicago crowd, but not for those lucky souls who have acquired this terrific CD, as three tracks recorded on Hiatt s 1990 tour of the US are included as bonus cuts making for a great all-round package and a truly delightful listening experience.

allmusic.com

Recorded for a Chicago radio station in 1993, not long after the release of Perfectly Good Guitar, My Kind of Town finds John Hiatt mining his then-recent records for A&M -- the classic 1987 comeback Bring the Family, its excellent 1988 successor Slow Turning, the highly polished 1990 LP Stolen Moments and, naturally, Perfectly Good Guitar, which was the record he was plugging -- adding a few earlier tunes for good measure. His band is slick and professional, expertly vamping as Hiatt talks some jive at the start of "Child of the Wild Blue Yonder," goosing his roots rock so it has a contemporary punch that, in retrospect, sounds slightly dated (the heavily flanged guitar on the opening solo rendition of "It'll Come to You" sets the pace for everything that comes next). That said, Hiatt and crew sound quite good beneath the gloss and the set list -- while missing a few recent Hiatt heavy-hitters, such as "Tennessee Plates" or "Memphis in the Meantime" -- is robust and filled with good songs. Not a major thing but a good snapshot of where Hiatt was in 1993, when he was still in the mainstream and a crossover hit still seemed like a possibility.