Comments for Hiatt, John, Slug Line

Hiatt at the height of his new wave period, providing good hard edged rock with a reggae twist. One of his best, but like all his early records, completely ignored at the time.

This is the record that turned me on to John Hiatt. I walked into a used record shop on Asp Avenue in Campus Corner in Norman, OK in the winter of 1980 looking for a something new, something to embrace. As I searched through the bins, I was drawn to the album playing on the store's sound system -- it was unique, a Southern voice on a new Wave album. I, of course, had to have the album. To this day I believe the radio station that recieved this promotional copy made a mistake by not airing the tracks, but what's really new about that? I wasn't sure I wanted to wait for the final track to play before I purchased it. I still have the album today. I wish they would release it on CD so that I could enjoy it in my car since I don't have a burner. If you locate this album, buy it. Hiatt's voice is an exceptionally eloquent instrument especially on "The Negroes are Dancing" and "The Night Kenny Died".