Crossing Muddy Waters

Often lost amidst the slew of hits he’s provided other artists (most notably Bonnie Raitt’s “Thing Called Love”) and overlooked in favor of his latest gig hosting PBS’s eclectic music hour, Sessions At West 54th, is the fact that John Hiatt has been a compelling solo artist in his own right for over 20 years. Rather than find one successful formula and stick with it, he’s built a career on Neil Young–like transformations from introspective folk troubador to new wave provacateur to raging guitar god and rarely missed his mark. Crossing Muddy Waters is an almost entirely acoustic effort, but don’t take “acoustic” to mean “soft.” Where most songwriters allow the comforts of middle-age to mellow them beyond recognition, for Hiatt it brings fresh angst. He channels his discomfort into dark country-folk ballads (“What Do We Do Now,” Take It Down”) and gritty blues stomps (“Lincoln Town,” “Take It Back”), proving he’s found a way to get old without burning out or fading away.