Track Listing

1. Uncommon Connection
2. How Bad's The Coffee
3. Nagging Dark
4. My Baby Blue
5. My Dog And Me
6. Almost Fed Up With The Blues
7. Circle Back
8. Window On The World
9. Missing Pieces
10. Fly Back Home
11. The Last Time
12. The Most Unoriginal Sin

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66947 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-06
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
18th release to date from John Hiatt was recorded in just 8 days with guitarist Sonny Landreth, bassist Dave Ranson and drummer Kenneth Blevins. Digipak. New West. 2003.

Amazon.com
Much to his credit, John Hiatt has never strayed very far from the bluesy garage rock roots of his Indiana childhood. That fact is raucously underscored here, a gritty collection that finds the veteran singer/songwriter co-crediting his longtime band, the Goners (guitarist Sonny Landreth, bassist Dave Ranson and Kenneth Blevins on drums) for the first time--and for good reason. While Hiatt's songwriting efforts are typically strong throughout, with gems like "Almost Fed Up With the Blues," "My Dog and Me," "My Baby Blue," and "The Most Unoriginal Sin" (originally recorded by Willie Nelson in ‘93) showcasing his tough wit and tender heart, this is decidedly a band effort from the rollicking first notes of "Uncommon Connection." Recorded live in the studio, Hiatt and the Goners evoke everything from chugging Sun Records' shuffles to swampy Delta blues, early Ry Cooder and the Band, all of it informed by the almost telepathic sense of interplay these musicians have developed over decades of touring. This is easily the most overtly rocking album of Hiatt's career, but one that hasn't sacrificed an ounce of soul for its joyous energy. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

It don't get better than the Goners...
Whenever a new Hiatt album comes out, I have to remind myself that even a musician of his caliber can't always live up to the expectation that he has created for himself with classics such as Bring the Family and Slow Turning... However, I was pleasantly surprised by Beneath this Gruff Exterior. This disc exceeded all my expectations, and keeps getting better with each listen.
Having the Goners (including slide genius Sonny Landreth) makes these new songs shine, and lyrically the songs are catchier and smarter than anything John has come out with since Walk On.
If you're a Hiatt fan than this is naturally a must have, but I also recommend it highly as a first introduction to his music!

Sounds Fine to Me
I've read most of the reviews and am puzzled by the venom directed at this album by some of the reviewers. I am not a John Hiatt expert by any stretch, but after listening to the Beneath This Gruff Exterior at least a dozen times, its hard to find much fault with it. Listening for the defects others describe, I am at a loss. Maybe it was a rush job, and maybe a remaster is in order by popular vote, but it sounds just fine to me!
I find humor in Uncommon Connection and How Bad's the Coffee, tenderness in My Baby Blue and Window On the World, a wistful recognition of time flying by in Circle Back, and a poignant view of life with a pet in My Dog and Me. And throughout, I hear a lot of good ol' rock and roll. Though the aforementioned are favorites, I don't dislike any of the others.
I listen to a lot of music and write a lot of reviews. Hiatt is so prolific that I haven't heard much of what he's done. But much of what I have heard I like, including Beneath This Gruff Exterior. So take the naysayers with a grain of salt and try to really listen to this CD before you dismiss it.

John's One Hurtin' Unit...Thankfully
It takes a true artist to turn personal anguish into something total strangers can dance to. John Hiatt ROUTINELY does this two or three times per album. I know most reviewers are talking about The Goners and how they share equal billing here (and no doubt they deserve to--guitarist Sonny Landreth is a mad scientist in the best sense of the term), but "Beneath This Gruff Exterior" is a revelation to me because Hiatt is really pouring his emotions into this songs these days. He's just about my favorite touring artist because of incredible slices of life like "My Dog and Me" and the amazing "The Nagging Dark," where he openly admits to the world that every move he makes is shrouded because of his battles with depression. It's a shame we are living in a world where the most insipid and dumb stuff gets all the airplay, but this is rocking, expert, brilliant work by four total artists. Run, don't walk....push that buy button. John Hiatt, a Hall of Famer if there ever was one. Caveat: The recording job on this one is barely better than the one on "Tiki Bar"; it's all muddy and midrange. What gives?