By attempting to loosen up on Little Head, John Hiatt only accentuates his songwriting slump.
Hiatt tentatively backs away from pure Americana, trying to make the rhythms looser and the lyrics funnier.
It's supposed to be a lighthearted record, but the humor is so labored and the music so forced that it largely falls flat.
But the real problem is Hiatt's shockingly listless songwriting.
Although he's recycled past ideas on Perfectly Good Guitar and Walk On, his craftsmanship made those two efforts at least marginally entertaining.
On Little Head, his skill has abandoned him -- there's no spark to the music, no bite to the lyrics, no hooks in the melodies.
"Pirate Radio" comes close to rocking, and "Graduated" is an affecting ballad, yet they pale next to the finest moments not only on Bring the Family and Slow Turning, but also Walk On.
Which means it's arguably his weakest album to date.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little HeadJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | Pirate RadioJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 3 | My Sweet GirlJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 4 | Feelin' AgainJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | GraduatedJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 6 | Sure PinocchioDavey Faragher, John Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | RunawayJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 05:53 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 8 | Woman Sawed in HalfJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 04:31 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | Far as We GoJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | After All This TimeJohn Hiatt | John Hiatt | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 43 mins | 98 MB | |||||
| 43 mins | 289 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Bartek | Horn Arrangements |
| 2 | Jon Brion | Chamberlin, Vibraphone |
| 3 | Emilio Castillo | Sax (Tenor) |
| 4 | Bill Churchville | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 5 | Laura Creamer | Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Barry Danielian | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 7 | Davey Faragher | Bass, Composer, Horn Arrangements, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Gary Ferguson | Guest Artist |
| 9 | Gary Ferguson | Drums, Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Jeffery Fey | Design |
| 11 | Jim Gilstrap | Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | John Hiatt | Composer, Guitar, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 13 | Peter Holsapple | Guest Artist, Organ, Piano, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | David Immerglück | Dobro, Guitar, Pedal Steel, Sitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Bob Joyce | Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | Stephen Kupka | Sax (Baritone) |
| 17 | Dave Lohr | Engineer, Mixing |
| 18 | David Lohr | Engineer |
| 19 | Jean McClaine | Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Bridget Nolan | Project Coordinator |
| 21 | David Nottingham | Assistant Engineer |
| 22 | Neal Preston | Photography |
| 23 | John Scarpulla | Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor) |
| 24 | Benmont Tench | Organ |
| 25 | Efrain Toro | Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 26 | Tower of Power | Guest Artist, Horn |
| 27 | Billy Valentine | Vocals (Background) |
| 28 | Robert Vosgien | Mastering |
| 29 | Tom Winslow | Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |