John Hiatt & Lyle Lovett (solo acoustic) - 2010-02-01 - Zurich, Switzerland

John Hiatt & Lyle Lovett
An Acoustic Evening with (solo [&duo] acoustic performance)
2010-02-01
Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
Audience recording (SRM), very good quality
Available in both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

A few weeks ago I had the extreme pleasure of seeing John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett perform live as part of their 'An Acoustic Evening with John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett' concert series, which they have been doing together occasionally,  on and off over the past couple decades (they mentioned as far back as 1989), and what a joy it was seeing and hearing these two old pros sit back and just play their music in such a casual, personal setting. It is just great to get to hear these guys in smaller venues (with better acoustics) for this more intimate acoustic show. They just come out on stage, each with their guitar, sit down, start having a friendly conversation, and then each in turn plays one of their songs, alternating between them with each song, sometimes commenting on or asking about each other's songs. With no advanced setlist or advanced preparation, they just play what they feel like playing, often being influenced or inspired to do a particular song based on what the other just played. It's like having them in your own living room just sitting there playing their masterful selections of songs. It was great. For the most part, they each just played their own songs, with not alot of duets or shared songs (Hiatt would sometimes join in with Lyle to provide some added lead or rhythm guitar, but Lyle generally just sat back and listened when John played his songs, adding some harmony vocals on only a few select songs). But, a great show it was, and although they each played several of my favorite songs by them, of course there were also many they did not get to, but also played several lesser known gems that they were inspired to bring out that night. If you get the chance to catch their show together, by all means do. Anyway, in honor of that show, here is a recording of John and Lyle together for a similar type show from a few years ago (I could not find any recordings of their current acoustic tour). It is very good quality for an audience recording, and also considering the acoustic nature of the show. This show features several of the same songs they perfomed at the show I saw, as well as several other different ones. Enjoy.

Tracklist
disc 1:
01) announcement
02) JH: Drive South
03) talk
04) LL: LA County
05) talk
06) JH: Memphis In The Meantime
07) talk
08) LL: I Will Rise Up
09) talk
10) JH: Walk On
11) talk
12) LL: Fiona
13) talk
14) JH: My Baby
15) LL: Nobody Knows Me
16) talk
17) JH: Crossing Muddy Waters
18) LL: Don't Cry A Tear For Me
19) JH: Like A Freight Train

disc 2:
01) talk
02) LL: She's No Lady
03) JH: Tennessee Plates
04) talk
05) LL: Natural Forces
06) JH: Thunderbird
07) talk
08) LL: If I Had A Boat
09) JH+LL: Thing Called Love
10) LL: My Baby Don't Tolerate
12) talk
13) JH+LL: Ain't No More Cane
ENCORE
14) JH: Have A Little Faith In Me
15) talk
16) LL: Step Inside This House

New Links! Updated 11/9/21
mp3 - JH&LL_2010-02-01_Zurich_mp3-disc1
          JH&LL_2010-02-01_Zurich_mp3-disc2

FLAC - JH&LL_2010-02-01_Zurich_FLAC-disc1
            JH&LL_2010-02-01_Zurich_FLAC-disc2

John Hiatt - 1989-01-24 - San Francisco

John Hiatt & the Goners
January 24, 1989
The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
KFOG-FM broadcast recording (from a high bias master cassette), very good quality
available in both lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's another great radio show from John Hiatt, this one from early on in the Slow Turning Tour. This is one of my favorite periods for John's shows, with The Goners, as he plays a few songs from Bring The Family, then plays most of his 'new' album, Slow Turning, which for my money was his very best. Great sound and great performances here (John opened for Robert Cray again on this tour, as he also did in 1987 as in this show). This is another show that has come courtesy of draftervoi (Thanks David!), who specializes in collecting quality radio shows.

Tracklist
01.  Introduction
02.  Memphis In The Meantime
03.  Thank You Girl
04.  Icy Blue Heart
05.  Drive South
06.  Tennessee Plates
07.  Have A Little Faith In Me
08.  It'll Come To You
09.  Paper Thin
10.  Stood Up
11.  Ride Along
12.  Slow Turning

New Links! Updated 12/09/21
mp3 - John Hiatt_1989-01-24_SF_mp3.rar

FLAC - John Hiatt_1989-01-24_SF_FLAC.rar

John Hiatt - 1987-09-18 - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA

John Hiatt
& The Goners
September 18, 1987
The Warfield, San Francisco,  CA
FM Broadcast (KFOG-FM) recording, excellent quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and mp3 (320 kbps) versions



Here's some more from the great John Hiatt, this one a short but wonderful opening set from 1987 (he opened for the Robert Cray Band), and this excellent-sounding FM broadcast recording comes courtesy of one of our blog readers (draftervoi, who specializes in FM broadcast recordings), so much thanks to him for making this available. This show comes shortly after the release of Bring the Family, which became his 'breakthrough' album, after years of struggling to find an audience. Thus this set features several songs from that wonderful album, as well as featuring John with one of his best back-up bands, The Goners. This set also features a rare early song that John never had recorded ('A Crazy Girl is Hard to Find') and a preview of a song from his next album, Slow Turning ('Tennessee Plates'). Overall, a great opening set (although too short!). 

Tracklist
01.  Intro
02.  Memphis In The Meantime
03.  Alone In The Dark
04.  Thank You Girl
05.  Learning How To Love You
06.  A Crazy Girl Is Hard To Find
07.  Tennessee Plates
08.  Your Dad Did
09.  Thing Called Love

New Link! Updated 11/9/21
mp3: John_Hiatt_1987-09-18_SF_mp3.rar

flac - John_Hiatt_1987-09-18_SF_flac.rar

John Hiatt - 1993-10-30 - London (Pre-FM)

John Hiatt
(& The Guilty Dogs)
1993-10-30
The Forum, London, UK
Pre-FM Broadcast recording, excellent quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps
Artwork Included

How about some John Hiatt? Here is a great-sounding full-length concert radio broadcast from early in John's tour for his 1993 album, Perfectly Good Guitar. This is a tour that I haven't featured anything from previously, so this is a great addition to the shows already presented. In 1993, following John's less than successful stint with the intriguing star-filled but commercially failed venture known as Little Village, and inspired by the some of the young alternative bands his son was listening to at the time, John decided to move forward in a more hard-edged straight-on rock approach for his next album. So, John got with producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More, The Replacements) and assembled a band of young alt-rockers, including members of School of Fish and Wire Train, and in two weeks put together an album of decidedly harder-edged rock songs than any of his previous albums. For some (those with a bent towards harder rock), this was a welcome relief and praised this as some of his best work, while those that preferred his more folksy-countryish rock style were less impressed. For me, it was a mixed effort, as there are some very good songs here, but overall, I much preferred his previous albums and the more folksy style, and thought that the harder rock style did not mesh very well with his songs and songwriting style. True to the album and his mind-set at the time, the live shows for this tour featured a young, lean, muscular band that offered more rocking and aggressive versions of all of John's songs. So, if you prefer harder driving live shows, this is the John Hiatt tour for you. For me, Slow Turning was his very best album, and his tours with The Goners as back-up the best band and arrangements, but many others prefer these rockier versions and The Guilty Dogs. So check out John and his band for this harder-edged sound and style, and this excellent recording, and decide for yourself which songs and style you prefer. But it's all good with John Hiatt, anytime, all the time, right?

Tracklist:   
01. Through Your  Hands
02. Drive South
03. Cross My Fingers
04. Permanent Hurt
05. Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder
06. Loving A Hurricane
07. When You Hold Me Tight
08. Paper Thin
09. Straight Out Of Time
10. Your Dad Did
11. Something Wild
12. Have a Little Faith In Me
13. Buffalo River Home
14. Angel
15. Thing Called Love
16. I Don’t Even Try
17. Perfectly Good Guitar
18. Thank You Girl
19. Slow Turning
20. Georgia Rae
21. Tennessee Plates
22. Lipstick Sunset
23. Real Fine Love
24. Feels Like Rain

John Hiatt: guitar, vocals
& The Guilty Dogs:
Michael Ward: gutar, vocals
Corky James: guitar, vocals
Davey Faragher: bass, vocals
Michael Urbano: drums

New Link (Updated 05/07/2022)
John_Hiatt_1993-10-30_London.rar

John Hiatt, Nick Lowe, and Paul Carrack - 1983-12-21 - Copenhagen, Denmark

John Hiatt, Nick Lowe, and Paul Carrack
(with Martin Belmont & Bobby Irwin)
1983-12-21
Copenhagen, Denmark
Audience recording, Very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's a unique show from 1983 that neatly shows the collaboration between these 3 great performers. Previously, I've presented shows from Nick Lowe from around this period, his 'Noise To Go' and 'Cowboy Outfit' Bands that also featured Paul Carrack. As also previously mentioned, this band (which also included ex-Rumour guitarist Martin Belmont and Bobby Irwin on drums) served to back-up both Nick and Paul's solo albums around that time (Paul-Suburban Voodoo-1982, Nick-Nick The Knife-1982, The Abominable Showman-1983, Cowboy Outfit-1984,1985). In addition, they also were featured on John Hiatt's 1983 album, Riding with the King, which was also produced by Lowe. These 1983 shows in Europe and Scandinavia (where they were much more popular than in the U.S.) put them all together for a brief tour. So, we get all three leads taking turns doing their own songs, backed up by Nick's crack ensemble. This fits in nicely with the shows by each artist previously posted. Hiatt is obviously trying to promote Riding with the King, as all of his songs performed are from that album, whereas Nick and Paul do a mixture of new songs with old favorites from their various bands. This was still a few years before Hiatt would team up with Lowe again for 'Bring the Family' and finally become 'popular'. You can then follow the rest of these folks career outlined in the previous posts. A very interesting show and a worthy addition to the shows already posted, as well as a bit of 'history' to add to what is already outlined here.

01 Soul Cruising (Carrack)
02 I Don't Even Try (Hiatt)
03 Saint Beneath the Paint (Lowe)
04 The Love That Harms (Hiatt)
05 Tempted (Carrack)
06 Cruel To Be Kind (Lowe)
07 Switchboard Susan (Lowe)
08 Love Like Blood (Hiatt)
09 Girl On a String (Hiatt)
10 Half a Boy & Half a Man (Lowe)
11 Raging Eyes (Lowe)
12 I Need You (Carrack)
13 Little By Little (Carrack)
14 Cracking Up (Lowe)
15 Falling Up (Hiatt)
16 How Long (Carrack)
17 Burning (Lowe)
18 Lesson In Love (Carrack)
19 Riding With the King (Hiatt)
20 I Can't Win With Your Love (Carrack)
21 I Knew the Bride (Lowe)
22 Heart of the City (Lowe)
23 634-5789 (Lowe, Carrack, Hiatt - Wilson Pickett cover)

New Link! (Updated 09/27/21)
Hiatt_Lowe_Carrack_-_1983-12-21_-_Copenhagen.rar

Little Village (John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner) 1992-04-26 - Boston

Little Village

(Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner)

April 26, 1992

Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA

FM Broadcast (WBCN), Excellent Quality recording

mp3 @ 256

In 1991, following his successful run of recent albums and tours (1987-1990), John Hiatt wanted to get back together with the band lineup that started it all, the all-star group (Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner) that backed him on his breakthrough 1987 album, Bring The Family. But this time they would be a 'real' band, not just Hiatt's back-up group. So, in early 1992, it was announced that Hiatt, Cooder, Lowe, and Keltner were forming a band, to be known as 'Little Village' (after an earlier idea of calling the band 'Hiatus' was scrapped). This was welcome news for fans, who had high hopes for the reunion of these talented musicians. Unfortunately, when the album was released later that year, most fans were dissappointed with the result. Although a solid album, it just wasn't up to the expectations and high standards set by the talent involved. The songs, which were all listed as collaborations of all four members, were not as memorable as most from Hiatt's (or the other members) recent solo albums. As a result, the group disbanded later that year, and each went back to their own solo work. However, they did tour that year in support of their album, and the tour was much more successful than the album. It is a joy to hear these guys playing together as a band in concert. They are all consumate musicians and just seem to be having fun. For the most part, the Little Village songs also come across much better live than on record, as Ry Cooder's great guitar and slide work is much more prominent in the longer, looser, live versions. And live, the band also gets to do some of their earlier songs (from Bring the Family), as well as a song or two from each of their solo repertoires. So, although Little Village was somewhat of a failed experiment for these guys, their live show, as demonstrated here in Boston on one of their last shows from the American tour, was great, and we were fortunate to have had these guys get together for this tour and interesting musical venture. This is an excellent FM recording, probably the best of the recorded versions of Little Village live shows. So, check 'em out, the once and only Little Village.

Disc 1: 66:22

1. Introduction 1:03

2. She Runs Hot 3:57

3. Band introduction by Nick Lowe 2:53

4. The Action 3:37

5. Fool Who Knows 4:31

6. Crazy About an Automobile 6:06

7. Inside Job 5:23

8. Do You Want My Job? 6:36

9. Alone in the Dark 5:42

10. Take Another Look 4:57

11. Solar Sex Panel 4:57 (tape flip during applause)

12. Don't Think About Her When You're Trying to Drive 6:04

13. Memphis in the Meantime 5:28

14. Crying in My Sleep 5:06

Disc 2: 53:54

15: Don't Go Away Mad 5:10

16: Big Love 8:15

17: Little Sister 4:35

18: Across the Borderline 7:39

19: Carter Alan Encore Break #1 1:07

20: Don't Bug Me When I'm Workin' 5:58 [tape flip during applause]

21: Half a Boy and Half a Man 3:52

22: Announcer Encore Break #2 1:00

23: Thing Called Love 7:46

24: Lipstick Sunset 6:11

25: Carter Alan Closing Credits 2:19

Total Runtime: 120:16

New Links! (Updated 09/27/21)
Disc 1: Little_Village_-_1992-04-26_-_Boston_MA_d1.rar

Disc 2: Little_Village_-_1992-04-26_-_Boston_MA_d2.rar

John Hiatt - 1990-12-06 - Chicago FM (FLAC)

John Hiatt & The Fugitive Popes

December 6th, 1990

The Vic Theater, Chicago IL

"The Complete Wild Blue Yonder"

FM Broadcast (WXRT), Very Good Quality

Lossless Files (FLAC)

Artwork Included

Here is another excellent John Hiatt show, from about 2 years later than the last one, this one on tour in support of his Stolen Moments (1990) album. So, this show adds numerous songs from Stolen Moments, in addition to highlights from his two previous albums, Slow Turning and Bring the Family, which may well be his three best albums overall. Thus, this show comes right around the peak of his career. This is the full show from the Vic Theater, Chicago, which was a benefit for a local Children's Hospital. Apparently there was an earlier 1-CD bootleg from this show containing only a part of this show, entitled 'Wild Blue Yonder', which is why this set is called 'The Complete Wild Blue Yonder'. John Hiatt remains one of our greatest songwriters, a wonderful and unique person and performer, and just a great all-around guy.

Disc 1

01 Intro

02 Seven Little Indians

03 Stolen Moments

04 The Rest Of The Dream

05 Real Fine Love

06 Trudy & Dave

07 It'll Come To You

08 Your Dad Did

09 Paper Thin

10 Is Anybody There?

Disc 2

01 Back Of My Mind

02 Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder

03 Riding With The King

04 Memphis In The Meantime

05 Tennessee Plates06 band intros

07 Slow Turning

08 Have A Little Faith In Me

09 Thing Called Love

10 Rock Back Billy

11 Heaven Help Us All (Stevie Wonder)

John Hiatt -Guitars, Vocals

The Fugitive Popes are:

Barry Lederer - Keyboards

Pat Donaldson - Bass

Lyn Williams - Drums

Steven Paul Perry - Guitar

New Links (Updated 03/18/22)
disc 1: John Hiatt_1990-12-06_Chicago_D1

disc 2: John Hiatt_1990_12-06_Chicago_D2

John Hiatt - 1989-01-04 - Ottawa, ON

John Hiatt & The Goners

January 4, 1989

Barrymore's Music Hall, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Title: Alone In The Dark

FM Broadcast, Very Good Quality recording

mp3 @ 192 kbps

By the end of 1986, John Hiatt was ready to give up on his recording career. After a string of 7 unsuccessful albums and 3 record labels over the last 12 years, he was about at the end of his musical rope. Although he had achieved some acclaim and notoriety as a songwriter (his songs had been covered by Bob Dylan, Nick Lowe, Rick Nelson, and Rosanne Cash, among others), his own albums just didn't sell at all (none had ever even charted on the Billboard 200). After being dropped by his latest record label (Geffen) due to poor sales for Warming Up to the Ice Age (1985), he didn't have anywhere else to go. However, his friends and supporters all told him to stick with it, and those that had heard his latest songs were convinced they were his strongest yet. Then, England's Demon Records, who still admired his work, pledged to put up $30,000 to make a new album. John's musician friends also came to the rescue as he put together an all-star backing band consisting of guitarist Ry Cooder, bassist Nick Lowe, and ace session drummer Jim Keltner, all of whom had worked with John before, were friends and admirers, and came to help without receiving any payment for their services (Nick even shared a room with Hiatt at the local Holiday Inn during the recording session). The album was recorded in a quick 4 days in February 1987 with not a single song or track left behind (John had to quickly finish writing the last song on the last day of recording to have enough songs for a full album). Once the record was finished and the tapes shopped around, A&M Records picked up the album (& Hiatt) for distribution. Well, The album was titled Bring the Family and, of course, was Hiatt's breakthrough album and biggest success up to that time, and established him to the general public as not only a great songwriter, but a great performer, too. The album contained such soon-to-be-classic Hiatt songs as 'Memphis in the Meantime', 'Your Dad Did', 'Lipstick Sunset', 'Alone in the Dark', 'Thing Called Love', and his signature 'Have a Little Faith in Me'. 'Thing Called Love' became a big hit for Bonnie Raitt soon after, and 'Have a Little Faith in Me' has become Hiatt's most-covered song. Hiatt's next album, Slow Turning (1988) was an even bigger success, producing his first hit single and several more of his very best songs. This excellent show and fine recording comes from that period, after the release of Slow Turning, when Hiatt was enjoying big success for the first time, and features half of the songs from each of these two albums. This does not appear to be the complete show, however, as it does not include 'Slow Turning', which was his hit song at the time and usually sung as an encore (hard to imagine it was not included in the set). Another excellent show from around this same time (1988-12-16, and which includes a couple more songs and 'Slow Turning') was recently posted at T.U.B.E., so be sure to get that one too right here.

Tracklist

01 Memphis In The Meantime

02 Drive South

03 Thank You Girl

04 Tip Of My Tongue

05 Tennessee Plates

06 Alone In The Dark

07 Ride Along

08 Is Anybody There?

09 Paper Thin

10 Thing Called Love

11 Have A Little Faith In Me

12 Icy Blue Heart

13 It'll Come To You

14 Your Dad Did

John Hiatt: Vocals, Guitar

Sonny Landreth: Lead Guitar

David Ranson: Bass

Ken Blevins: Drums

New Link! (Updated 04/23/20)
John_Hiatt_-_1989-01-04_-_Ottawa_ON.rar