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John Hiatt
Bug Demos (1983/1985)
Hiatt"s On-The-Brink Years, Pt. 3
Rare King & Ice Age Demos

I"ve written about my favorite John Hiatt period before. The era during his last two, chart-repellent albums for Geffen Records which - after a severe battle with alcohol abuse and the suicide of his wife - left Hiatt without a label, without a job and without much of a life that wasn"t covered by the catch-all phrase, rock bottom. There"s a happy ending to this tale, fortunately. Hiatt turned his life around after 1985, signing with a new label, recording his first charting album (Bring The Family) and finally getting clean and sober. Anyone who"s ever appreciated the guy knows he deserved a break more than most. As connoisseurs are aware, however, sometimes artists on drugs, or on the brink, record some of their most interesting material. Hiatt"s no exception. His two albums from this period, Riding With The King and Warming Up To The Ice Age aren"t universally acclaimed, but represent some of Hiatt"s ballsiest, most personal writing (find them both, here). Just recently, this batch of demos from 1983-85 hit the torrents, capturing Hiatt and band (sometimes with a drum machine) sketching out some of Hiatt"s contending work. The sound quality is quite good, but not studio perfect, while the performances are record-ready, even if the sonics aren"t quite there yet. Because of the rarity of the material and the vintage of these sessions, I didn"t mind. If you revere this period, too, you probably won"t either. Here"s a collection of mostly unreleased songs and performances from Hiatt"s On The Brink Years. 

Frontcover only.


The Truth About Money (4:40)
Trudy and Dave (3:58)
Where Is The Next One Coming From (3:49)
Kick Out Of Nothing (2:30)
She Don"t Love Nobody (3:26)
The Penny Dropped (4:49)
Mercy Don"t Know My Name (4:17)
New Fingerprints (4:16)
Tennessee Plates (2:37)
Everybody"s Girl (4:00)
Confidence Man (3:20)
Real Emotion (4:19)
Right Now (4:12)
Angel Eyes (5:00)
Tip Of My Tongue (5:01)
Wild World (3:46)
Lipstick Sunset (4:11)
Falling Apart At The Dreams (3:48)
Someplace Where Love Can"t Find Me (4:06)
Two Hearts Like Ours (3:04)
Kick Out Of Nothing 2 (solo) (2:57)