John Hiatt - The Tiki Bar Is Open

150-gram transparent green vinyl

Originally released in 2001, The Tiki Bar Is Open by John Hiatt was acquired by New West in 2012, and is now reissuing it for 2023 on 150-gram transparent green vinyl.

For much of this album, his 16th in 26 years, Hiatt reunites with his best band, the Goners, and takes a giant leap back to his still-hungry days as a jag-edged, Costello-esque rocker while hewing to the soulful, blues-based songwriting he perfected on 1987's Bring the Family. The withering pub rock of 1979's Slug Line — as well as a nod to fallen hero Dale Earnhardt — seeps into the title track, while the roaring guitar, courtesy of the brilliant Sonny Landreth, and tight rhymes of "All the Lilacs in Ohio" suggest the streetwise edge of 1983's Riding with the King.

But it's with ballads such as "Something Broken" and "Come Home to You" that Hiatt's musicianship, songwriting, and deeply soulful vocals truly convince and offer the most moving moments on this, his most memorable album in many years.

Side A

1. Everybody Went Low

2. Hangin' Round Here

3. All the Lilacs in Ohio

4. My Old Friend

5. I Know a Place

6. Something Broken

Side B

1. Rock of Your Love

2. I'll Never Get Over You

3. The Tiki Bar Is Open

4. Come Home to You

5. Farther Stars

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