John Hiatt, The Jerry Douglas Band – Leftover Feelings

In the midst of a global pandemic, John Hiatt entered the historic RCA Studio B and opened up a lifetime of feelings left behind. Half a century ago, Hiatt lived in a shabby $15-a-week room on Nashville's 16th Avenue, less than a mile from the RCA and Columbia studios that were the heart of what became known as "Music Row." Over the next 50 years, he evolved from a scrappy young buck into a celebrated grand master of song.

For Leftover Feelings, Hiatt teamed up with award-winning artist and producer Jerry Douglas and his band, the Jerry Douglas Band. There's no drummer, yet these grooves are deep and real. And while the up-tempo songs are, as always, filled with delightful internal rhymes and sly aggression, the sensitive musicianship of the Jerry Douglas Band prods Hiatt into performances that are startlingly vulnerable

In life, leftover feelings can remain unresolved no matter how many times they are explored. Explored in a place of history, a place of solace. A sacred place, if you consider the documentation of human expression a sacred thing. So here, with this album, is a meeting of bruised and triumphant American giants. Here are Hiatt and Douglas creating what is meant to be: Love songs and street songs, smart songs and hurt songs. Their songs, and now our songs. Leftover sentiments that edify and sustain.

Reviews

"Hiatt's voice has gotten a few more scratches, but the songs only benefit from that." (stereoplay, June 2021)

"With a raspy timbre, he sings about the ups and downs of his life, and it gets to the heart." (Audio, July 2021)