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The eclipse sessions

Release Date: October 12, 2018
CD NW 6452
LP NW 5272

CD

 
1. Cry to Me 3:55 Listen
2. All the Way to the River 4:30 Listen
3. Aces Up Your Sleeve 3:21 Listen
4. Poor Imitation of God 2:57 Listen
5. Nothing in My Heart 4:03 Listen
6. Over the Hill 4:21 Listen
7. Outrunning My Soul 3:43 Listen
8. Hide Your Tears 3:15 Listen
9. The Odds of Loving You 4:05 Listen
10. One Stiff Breeze 3:40 Listen
11. Robber's Highway 4:23 Listen
  Total running time 42:13  
 

 

Musicians

John Hiatt: Guitar, Vocals
Yates McKendree: Acoustic Slide Guitar
Kenneth Blevins: drums
Patrick O’Hearn: Bass
Kevin McKendree: Guitar, Organ, Piano

Note

  • All songs written by John Hiatt - So Not That Music (BMI)
  • Produced and Mixed by Kevin McKendree
  • Engineered by Yates McKendree
  • Recorded at The Rock House in Franklin, TN
  • Mastered by Jim Demain at Yes Master Studios in Nashville, TN
  • Cover Design: Jordan Fann, Vector Management
  • Photo of Earth taken August 21, 2017 by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and used courtesy of NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University
  • Package Design: Jeremy Fetzer
  • Photography: David McClister
  • Management: Vector Management, Ken Levitan


Thanks to my wife Nance and my family.
Thanks to all at Vector Management.
Thanks to all at ICM. Thanks to all at FBMM. Thanks to everyone for listening.

For my sister Susie Wagner

 

 

Promovideo's

John Hiatt - "Over The Hill" [Official Video]
 
John Hiatt - "Cry To Me" [Official Video]

Press sheet

John Hiatt is set to return with The Eclipse Sessions on October 12th, 2018 via New West Records. The 11-track set is the Grammy nominated legend’s first new album in four years. It was produced by Kevin McKendree (Delbert McClinton) and features Hiatt’s longtime drummer Kenneth Blevins and bassist Patrick O’Hearn, as well as Yates McKendree (Kevin’s 17-year old wunderkind son, who also engineered). Hiatt places The Eclipse Sessions in a lineage alongside two of his greatest works -- 1987’s mainstream breakthrough Bring the Family, which sprung from an impulsive four-day session with an all-star combo led by Ry Cooder, and 2000’s Crossing Muddy Waters, an unplanned and largely unplugged effort that garnered a Grammy Award nomination and also set Hiatt on the rootsier path he’s still pursuing today. “The three albums are very connected in my mind,” Hiatt says. “They all have a vibe to them that was unexpected. I didn’t know where I was going when I started out on any of them. And each one wound up being a pleasant surprise.”

Since the release of Hiatt’s 1974 debut, Hangin’ Around the Observatory, rarely has more than a year or two passed without a new collection hitting the shelves. But after wrapping up a year of touring in support of 2014’s Terms of My Surrender -- the singer-songwriter’s 22nd studio effort overall -- he found himself, for the first time in a long time, unsure of what would come next. “I’ve been lost before,” Hiatt says. “Although usually I have some sort of notion or clue where to go. But this time? I had no sense whatsoever.” He continues, “I wanted to spend more time with my family (which includes his critically acclaimed singer-songwriter daughter Lilly). I was aging, with all that entails or doesn’t entail. Stuff was just happening.” During this period of transition Hiatt did compose a new song that closes The Eclipse Sessions - a dusty, road-worn meditation titled “Robber’s Highway” with the ominously prophetic lyrics “I had words, chords and strings / now I don’t have any of these things.” Hiatt explains, “I was just thinking in terms of somebody who’s out there hammerin’ away with his music, wondering what it’s all coming to. And maybe the songs just aren’t there anymore…” Fast-forward a few years, however, and it’s clear the songs are still very much there as the 11 tracks presented here demonstrate that the singer-songwriter, now 66-years-old, is only getting better with age, his guitar playing more rugged and rootsy, his words wiser and more wry.

True to its title, Hiatt and his band were hard at work on August 21st, 2017 when a solar eclipse traveled the length of the continental U.S. “I think we recorded three songs that day, and then we took a break to go outside and watch everything happen,” Hiatt says. What he observed amongst his fellow Nashvillians during that moment of totality -- his city was one of a few spots in the U.S. to be plunged into near complete darkness -- did give him pause. “It seemed everything stopped for a minute or two,” he says. “It was like a magical little bit of time, a harmonic convergence or something. Like everybody was on the same page.”

There’s a grit to these songs -- a craggy, perfectly-imperfect quality that colors every aspect of the performances, right down to Hiatt’s vocals, which are quite possibly his most raw and expressive to date.

The Eclipse Sessions will be available across digital platforms, compact disc, vinyl, as well as a limited split metallic & white vinyl edition available at Independent Retailers. John Hiatt’s The Eclipse Sessions is available for pre-order now via NEW WEST RECORDS.

John Hiatt’s songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Iggy Pop, Rosanne Cash, Eric Clapton & B.B. King, and countless others. He has received his own star on Nashville’s Walk of Fame, the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, and has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

 

allmusic.com

John Hiatt's best work often comes when he seems to be looking inward and baring a bit of his soul, as he did on his 1987 masterpiece, Bring the Family. Of course, most folks have only so many demons to reveal to their public, and by all accounts Hiatt is far from the reprobate he was in his younger days. But he seems to remember the long shadows of his past with clarity, and on 2018's The Eclipse Sessions, he appears to be taking a look into the more unforgiving parts of his nature and trying to make sense of it all. "Poor Imitation of God" and "Nothing in My Heart" are plainspoken meditations on his failings as a partner and as a man, "Over the Hill" has less to do with age than his distance from the people in his life, "Hide Your Tears" contemplates the pain that comes from his misdeeds, and "Robber's Highway" is sung in the voice of a man at the end of his life with more regrets than blessings to show for a life spent on the road. Only Hiatt can know just how autobiographical any of these tunes may be, but even if they're all fiction, The Eclipse Sessions rings true as the work of someone who has been thinking a lot about human frailty and the consequences of the choices we all must make. Hiatt is too smart to pretend he has answers to any of the emotional puzzles he's working in these tunes, but he sounds fearlessly honest as he ponders it all, and the grain in his voice gives the right texture to his contemplative delivery. And the arrangements and production on The Eclipse Sessions are well matched to the material; Hiatt's band (Yates McKendree on guitar, Patrick O'Hearn on bass, Kenneth Blevins on drums, Kevin McKendree on keys) lays a lean but eloquent groove behind his performances, and the audio is rich and clear. One hopes for his sake that John Hiatt's life is happier than The Eclipse Sessions may suggest, but either way he's given us a dark night of the soul that's compelling and beautifully crafted.

 

 

 


Cry to Me

Getting dark and it feels like trouble
Heating up just like before an evening rain
Tongues so sharp they could burst any bubble
Nobody wants to talk about all that pain

They're all having fun playing with your feelings
You can't control it, it just breaks your heart
Dirty double-crosses done with underhanded dealings
When all you ever wanted was a place to start

CHORUS:
Come on and cry to me, baby
You can even lie to me, baby
I'm probably going to let you down, but
I swear I won't keep you down
I swear I won't keep you down

Memories of Highway 19 they still haunt you
Babies on hips and men made out of motorcycle parts
Broken windows and blows that taunt you
Not one damn thing in the yard that starts

Wonder why love is always looking for its own ghost
Or is that just what hurt people do
Find the ones who injured them the utmost
Practically beg 'em to make their dreams come true

CHORUS

Sometimes something good can come from lying
Cause sometimes when they got you so down
Something worse can come from crying
Cause sometimes they just wanna keep you down

CHORUS

Up

 

 


All The Way To The River

Up late with her hollowed out eyes
All the way to the river
Trying every last trouble on for size
All the way to the river

Who knows what she's gonna do
All the way to the river
Not up to me, not up to you
All the way to the river

Fumbling for the keys to her car
All the way to the river
Empty bottles only go so far
All the way to the river

Straight down Broadway, three A.M.
All the way to the river
She's gone way past calling a friend
All the way to the river

CHORUS:
All the way to the river
Down to the bottom where the catfish moan
All the way to the river
Dirty Nashville
That's her home

Mama don't you worry 'bout me
Hmm
Scribbled down with a fleur-de-lis
Hmm
How's she gonna get through this night
Hmm
How's she ever gonna be alright Hmm

CHORUS

It takes cowardice and courage too
All the way to the river
To leave this town before you're through
All the way to the river

CHORUS

All the way to the river
That's her home

Up

 

 


Aces Up Your Sleeve

I still turn down the boulevard
Thinking I'm coming home to you
But I live way down south of town
On Indiana Avenue

They say the North side's humming now
Big money and big dreams
When we lived there, you kept a pair
Of aces up your sleeve

The light is bright in the restaurants
Where you and he go to be seen
But there's no light on the barroom floors
Where you swept them all off of their feet

I don't know if our love means anything anymore
But it used to make you breathe
And it was fair to keep a pair
Of aces up your sleeve

My headlights know these old back roads
It's a perfect sleight of hand
I'm driven through the darkness by
The promise I will see again

The queen of hearts has shown her face
She wants you to believe
You were never meant to have
Aces up your sleeve

You were never meant to have
Aces up your sleeve

Up

 

 


Poor Imitation Of God

CHORUS:
I'm a poor imitation of God
I'm a poor imitation of God
I'm a poor imitation of God
I'm a poor imitation of God

I can do The Devil in my sleep
All day waiting for my midnight creep
If you love me, don't expect a lot
I'm a poor imitation of God

CHORUS

I can steal your heart on you
Hide it in my walking shoes
Leave before the band gets hot
I'm a poor imitation of God

CHORUS

I do better, I do better
On my own
Like a sick dog, like a sick dog
Ain't got no home
Unto thine image made
But on that day the mold was broken
I'm afraid

CHORUS

I'm a poor imitation of God
Cobras coming outta my eyes
Land of a thousand dances and the chances
Sharkskin will materialize

I'm a poor imitation of God
But there ain't nobody else
Can't you see girl, I'm trying to love ya
But I can't even love myself

CHORUS

Up

 

 


Nothing In My Heart

CHORUS:
There's nothing in my heart
There's nothing in my heart
There's just the darkest part
To hide my love away

I keep the memories
I keep the memories
In a hole dug down so deep
To hide my love away

Couldn't find it if you tried
Couldn't find it if you tried
My tears already cried
To hide my love away

You see what you want to see
You see what you want to see
But there's just enough of me
To hide my love away

CHORUS

Why bother with me now
Why bother with me now
You're the one who showed me how
To hide my love away

You wanted the better man
You wanted the better man
Well, I've done all that I can
To hide my love away

Two trains runnin' side by side
Two trains runnin' side by side
There's a space ten miles wide
To hide my love away

CHORUS

No feelings bad or good
No feelings bad or good
I'd hurt you if I could
To hide my love away

No pain and no despair
No pain and no despair
There's just nothing there
To hide my love away

CHORUS

Up

 

 


Over The Hill

I'm over the hill under the bridge
Still a few peaks and valleys I ain't seen
You talk about love I talk about love
I don't know any better than to dream
I know your father's house it has many rooms
I see the young men sweeping up with their brooms

CHORUS:
But if you want me, I'm over the hill
Yeah, if you want me, I'm over the hill

I'm long in the tooth what can I say
I take huge bites of life and I eat the bones
The gristle and marrow feeds my soul
Gives me the strength to forgive all the sticks and stones
And what you see in me you think I see too
I didn't get here telling stories for you

CHORUS

I hear a distant cry a tear forms in your eye
For the way things might have been
We can't look back again
No time to fill the cup
No time to screw it up
We'll have to place our bets
On the dog with no regrets

Time won't tell heaven or hell
Time just pisses his secrets down the stream
You talk about love I talk about love
Sometimes I even think we know what we mean

No band of angels bringing peace to the streets
We wear the garments and we shuffle our feet
If you still want me, I'm over the hill
If you still me baby, I'm over the hill

Up

 

 


Outrunning My Soul

You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul
My life is out of control
You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul

You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul
You're EZ passing my toll, baby
You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul

What's it gonna take to slow you down a little bit
What's it gonna take for love of just live with it
I can't shake these feelings inside of me
I can't fake the man that I'm supposed to be

You're outrunning my soul, baby
You're outrunning my soul, baby
It's like I'm taking a stroll, baby
You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul

You give me a wink passed all understanding
Shudders me to think what love might be demanding
Wouldn't it be nice to spend some together?
Can't we be here now and now not be forever

You're outrunning my soul, baby
You're outrunning my soul, baby
You're like some special patrol, baby
You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul

Shoot the moon and stars out beyond the stratosphere
Flesh upon flesh cozy by the fire here
Bending to your will in a single arc of light
Isn't that enough eternity for one night?

You're outrunning my soul, baby
You're outrunning my soul, baby
Going nowhere I'm told
You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul

You're outrunning my soul, baby
You're outrunning my soul, baby
It's like I got no control, baby
You're outrunning my soul
You're outrunning my soul

Up

 

 


Hide Your Tears

I don't spend too many days
Thinking about my reckless ways
Broken hearts rhymes of death
Trouble I've brung, pain I've left

All the changes I try to make
Like drowning bubbles in a giant wake
Coughed from the sea onto dry land
Brought to life somehow again

CHORUS:
Hide your tears out in plain sight
Hide your tears to catch the light
Show your tears to all your friends
Then go and hide your tears again

Heard a cry through bedroom doors
Crashing dreams off distant shores
Said everything I shouldn't say
Would different matter anyway

The stories I could never tell
Of lives and wives and city bells
They're all wrapped in my arms so dear
Though nothing I have can hold them here

CHORUS

I still fall for it every time
Take the cure on my own dime
Get up, get knocked down again
I ask for five and you give me ten

I broke into the house of love
A dimming light my shadow held
'Til shadows held no light to see
With all of it surrounding me

CHORUS

I don't spend too many days
Thinking about the reckless ways
A man tries to outrun his death
Or a broken heart runs out of breath

Up

 

 


The Odds Of Loving You

Lying
I caught you doing it
Crying
You had to ruin it

I was
Up on my high horse
Taking notes
And naming names

You were
Sniffling and snuffling
Fogging up your window panes

I rode in on my high horse
Ran out like a dog in shame

You
Got ways of dealing with me
I
I don’t like feeling

But you
Keep me on the front stove
And right before I blow my top
You school me me and you cool me
Baby, don't you ever stop

CHORUS:
Seven nights of Heaven
Eleven days of who shot who
Seven come eleven
I like the odds of loving you

I
I like the gravy
But you
You want to save me

From myself
And I keep thinking
Of all the nights I spend alone

I'm stubborn and I'm stupid
Baby would you please come home

CHORUS

Up

 

 


One Stiff Breeze

CHORUS:
What's that coming on your mind, you joking?
What's that sneaking up behind, you smoking?
What's that burnin’ down the line, you stoking’?
What's that got you in a bind, you choking?

I can't find you anywhere
Stone white skin and fiery hair
Think you'd stand out in a crowd
With that laugh you laugh out loud

CHORUS

Shadows slip through shifting light
'Til the air is black with night
Endless tears and mournful sighs
Sure could use your flashlight eyes

CHORUS

All this time we've come across
All we've gained and all we've lost
Just a little pile of dust
One stiff breeze and you've got us

I love you
I love you
I love you

Up

 

 


Robber's Highway

Can't feel the fingers of one hand
Last night felt like a three night stand
Mouth full of cotton, feet of clay
I didn't plan on waking up today

I had heart, wheels and wings
Now I don't have any of these things

Come and get me, Jesus
I don't know
Come and get me cause I can't go

I lost my brothers, I lost my friends
Only one way this thing ends
Cheap and dirty in a bad motel
Wondering what it was you used to do so well

I had words, chords and strings
Now I don't have any of these things

Come and get me, Jesus
I don't know
Come and get me cause I can't go

Shirt and pants, coffee black
Open up the shade a crack
Fields of cotton, fields of clay
Sun going down on the robber’s highway

Winds that whistle, birds that sing
I've no understanding of any of these things

Come and get me, Jesus
I don't know
Come and get me cause I can't go

Up

 

 

 

 



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