If the song list on Greatest Hits looks familiar to longtime John Hiatt fans, it's because it virtually duplicates his 1994 live album. However, this studio best of is the better representation of this gifted singer-songwriter than the less polished arrangements found on Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan? Culled mostly from his four studio albums for A&M--Bring the Family, Slow Turning, Stolen Moments and Perfectly Good Guitar--this collection brings together on one disc most of his finest moments.

To the general public Hiatt may be known primarily as a songwriter, since many of these songs have been covered by other artists: "Thing Called Love" (Bonnie Raitt), "Through Your Hands" (David Crosby), "Feels Like Rain" (Maria Muldaur, Aaron Neville), "Tennessee Plates" (Mark Collie), "Rest of the Dream" (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), "Have a Little Faith in Me" (Joe Cocker, Delbert McClinton) and "Angel Eyes" (Jeff Healey). But those cover versions have nothing on Hiatt's own. Even Hiatt's live version of "Angel Eyes" provides a heartfelt interpretation.

In addition to being an excellent songwriter, he is a more than proficent guitar player and posseses one of the most distinctive voices in popular music. Standout tracks include everything from Bring the Family ("Memphis in the Meantime," "Thing Called Love," Thank You Girl," et. al.) where he was backed by drummer extaordinaire Jim Keltner along with bassist Nick Lowe and Ry Cooder on guitar.

While each of the four studio albums that this CD draws from would be a welcome addition to any John Hiatt fan's collection, this is an excellent place to start. But be forewarned: You will eventually want to buy the entire albums. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

That is too say, my interest in music. I've always enjoyed many different genres of music but about 5 yrs. ago everything was sounding old or re-hashed to me. For some reason I ended up with a John Hiatt CD(Perfectly Good Guitar). It sounded new and exciting to me. After picking up all his other post 1986 creations , I was certain I had stumbled upon a unique and intelligent artist. Anyone who loves great rock & roll music with even better lyrics should enjoy this compilation CD. This is a great mix of his work.

Like most Hiatt fans, I was disappointed with Capitol's compliation album. Don't get wrong: I love Riding with the King and The Way We Make a Broken Heart, but I wish that John wouldn't have remade Have a Little Faith in Me and Drive South and would have subsituted the new tracks for classics like Lipstick Sunset, Real Fine Love, and Something Wild. I'm glad that A & M had enough sense to release their own compilation to provide the aformentioned tracks.

When John Hiatt released "Bring The Family" in 1987, it was the culmination of decades of laboring in relative obscurity. He'd already been on and off three other record company rosters and had some great work disappear into the "Critical Darling" dustbin. But with Bonnie Raitt picking "Thing Called Love" and the near Joe Cocker emotional force of "Have A Little Faith In Me," Hiatt was suddenly in a commercially viable mode that also included some fabulous work.

"The A&M Years '87 - '94" is a fat free 18 song compilation from Hiatt's most consistent period and covers four studio albums and a live contract buster. He'd overcome personal problems that may have been clouding his focus, and that gave him the chance to experience life ("Real Fine Love" and the classic "Buffalo River Home"), love ("Lipstick Sunset" and "Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder") and the sheer joy of rocking out ("Tennessee Plates" and "Perfectly Good Guitar"). It's also likely that you'll recognize a few of the songs from their hit covers by The Nitty Grtty Dirt Band, Suzy Boguss, Aaron Neville and Raitt.

While I find it hard to recommend this set over any of the original albums -- especially "Bring The Family" -- there's no reason that you shouldn't have a little John Hiatt in your collection. Since this was the period when Hiatt was in his strongest and most consistent mode, "The A&M Years" is a perfect place to start. For the more adventurous, I'd recommend the Hip-o label's "Anthology," which covers all of John's material up to "Crossing Muddy Waters" and has a better set of liner notes.

This compilation was released shortly after Capitol's "The Best Of" (1998). In 2001, the HIP-O label released a 2-disc "Anthology"

Only four tracks on this disc do not appear on the Capitol & HIP-O sets:

6. Through Your Hands

15. The Rest Of The Dream

17. Something Wild

18. Angel Eyes (live from the "Budokan" album)

The audio on the Capitol & HIP-O sets is superior to the mastering on this disc. If you are looking for the best sound, skip this disc and consider the other sets.

I have posted a detailed review on the Capitol disc which details the differences between that disc and this one: