Search - Various Artists :: It'll Come To You: The Songs of John Hiatt

A solid tribute effort reminds you how good Hiatt is

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 07/02/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Here's the problem--tribute albums rarely equal or surpass the original numbers by the original artist. It'll Come To You is no exception. While its best moments are as good as Hiatt's originals, they still don't improve on them. Much like the Richard Thompson tribute Beat the Retreat, It'll Come to You does what the best tribute albums always do---make you want to go back and rediscover the originals. It also allows you to discover artists new to you that you might not have given the consideration to.The usual suspects are here--from Bonnie Raitt's rollicking remake of Thing Called Love (the best remake of a Hiatt tune I've heard outside of the King/Clapton collaboration Riding with the King). Raitt's remake is--pardon the gender confusion--the King of all the remakes here.Rodney Crowell's She Loves the Jerk and Emmylou's Icy Blue Heart are the Court Jester and Queen of this deck of Hiatt cards.There are other treasures here as well including Buddy & Julie Miller's unexpected remake of Paper Thin. Freddie Fender's cover of Across the Border brings class to the entire collection. It's nicely done tribute to a talented artist who deserved one a long, long time ago."

Eclectic compilation

Music Man | Aurora, Illinois United States | 11/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great CD--really highlighting John's writing. Each rendition brings a new level of perspective to his words and surfaces his amazing lyrics, separate from John the singer. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loves an eclectic blend of music."

Hit and Miss...but pretty good.

M. Wilson | Atlanta, GA United States | 09/25/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Overall, it's a well done tribute to Hiatt with a great roster of artists lending their talents. But, as usual with tribute albums, you quickly realize that nobody does it like the original. Having said that, there are some excellent tracks on this disc:
-Patty Griffin's "Take it Down" is definitely the standout here....it's almost good enough to rival the original.
-Clapton/King's "Riding With the King"
-Emmylou Harris is great on "Icy Blue Heart"This disc is for the die-hard Hiatt fans who already have all of Hiatt's stuff....new folks should go for "Slow Turning" "Walk On" or "..Gruff Exterior""