cactusrecords

The Eclipse Sessions, John Hiatt�s newest album, offers up his strongest set of songs in years. Long celebrated as a skilled storyteller and keen observer of life�s twists and turns, Hiatt can get at the heart of a knotty emotion or a moment in time with just a sharp, incisive lyric or witty turn of phrase. The 11 tracks presented in The Eclipse Sessions, from the breezy opener �Cry to Me,� to the stark �Nothing in My Heart,� the lost-love lamentation �Aces Up Your Sleeve� to the rollicking �Poor Imitation of God,� demonstrate that the singer-songwriter, now 66, is only getting better with age, his guitar playing more rugged and rootsy, his words wiser and more wry.

Hiatt goes all in with The Eclipse Sessions. There�s a grit to these songs�a craggy, perfectly-imperfect quality that colors every aspect of the performances, right down to Hiatt�s vocals, which are quite possibly his most raw and expressive to date. �They ain�t pretty, that�s for sure,� he says about the creaks and cracks that punctuate his phrases in songs like �Poor Imitation of God� and �One Stiff Breeze.� �But I don�t mind a bit. All the catches and the glitches and the gruffness, that sounds right to me. That sounds like who I am.� The Eclipse Sessions is the sound of an artist not only living in but also capturing the moment.