Leftover Feelings [Signed Edition] [Black Splatter Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

by Jerry Douglas, John Hiatt, The Jerry Douglas Band

Overview

One of the unspoken rules of the music business is that you can age out of rock & roll, but you're allowed to show your age in blues and country if you do it right. The blues have always been a good match for the gritty, eloquent sneer of John Hiatt's voice, and he's been more than willing to push himself in that direction in his recordings of the 2010s and onward, as the celebrated singer/songwriter, born in 1952, moves further from the sell-by date of most rock and pop artists. On 2021's Leftover Feelings, Hiatt has blended his bluesy sensibilities with a subtle country feel, though he clearly feels no alliance with the beer-and-pickup trucks mindset of Nashville's current hitmakers. Hiatt recorded Leftover Feelings with the Jerry Douglas Band, led by Douglas, arguably the world's best and certainly most influential dobro player. Though Mike Seal adds occasional flashes of electric guitar to the mix, this is otherwise an acoustic session which, as is the tradition in bluegrass, features no drums. The music is not bluegrass in either concept or execution ("All the Lilacs in Ohio" comes close), even though that's the path Douglas and his bandmates usually walk; instead, Hiatt and Douglas use the group's tonal palette to reflect the themes and emotions of Hiatt's songwriting, with the band deferring to the needs of the material rather than their past musical associations. And even when the music isn't truly blues or bluegrass, Hiatt knows how to draw the rootsy sensibilities of his songs to the surface (they're never buried especially deep anyway), and the subtle virtuosity of Douglas, Seal, bassist Daniel Kimbro, and fiddler Christian Sedelmyer is a superb match for Hiatt's songs and lead vocals. After two decades of Hiatt's reliable excellence in songwriting, Leftover Feelings does nothing to break this streak; the opening track "Long Black Electric Cadillac" is witty but a bit gimmicky, but the lonely wandering of "I'm in Asheville," the tragic family story of "Light of the Burning Sun," and the bittersweet introspection of "Changes in my Mind" are the work of a masterful tunesmith with faultless instincts about how to deliver his material. Leftover Feelings isn't "John Hiatt's Acoustic Album," it's a solid and rewarding set of songs that sounds a bit different than usual, but finds him working with some excellent and simpatico musicians who understand his craft and play into the feel of Hiatt's material. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/21/2021
Label:	Bmg Special Products
UPC:	0607396551118

Album Credits

Performance Credits

John Hiatt   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jerry Douglas   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background),Lap Steel Guitar,Dobro
The Jerry Douglas Band   Primary Artist
Carmella Ramsey   Vocals (Background)
Christian Sedelmyer   Violin
Daniel Cambronero   Bass
Mike Seal   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

Paul Blakemore   Mastering
John Hiatt   Composer
Neal Cappellino   Mixing Assistant
Patrick Sheehan   Photography
Ken Levine   Management
Christian Sedelmyer   String Arrangements
Daniel Cambronero   Tic Tac,String Arrangements
Sean Sullivan   Mixing,Engineer
Jordan Fann   Design,Art Direction
Brian Penix   Management
Laron Stewart   Design,Art Direction
Jerry Douglas   Producer