Some More Highs and Lows From Hiatt

Singer-songwriter John Hiatt’s long career is highlighted by some great tunes, but he has never been consistent. While his latest collection starts off promisingly, it proves to be a typical mixed bag.

Hiatt and his band, the Nashville Queens, swagger out of the gate with the salacious title track, letting their chops (and their sense of humor) hang out. Raunchy blues-rock riffs cut the sentiment of “Pirate Radio,” a paean to the rock of yore, and Hiatt evokes the Traveling Wilburys in the wry, Dylan-esque lost-youth lament “Graduated.”

Given the funny-sad emotion of those more rocking tunes, it’s surprising that the ballads don’t rise to the occasion. Hiatt’s spare vocal resonates in the simple farewell “Far as We Go,” but the other ballads are maudlin (“Runaway”) and trifling (“My Sweet Girl”). The lesser songs create so much drag that “Little Head” eventually runs out of steam.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).