John Hiatt: Same Old Man

On his 19th studio album, John Hiatt has rediscovered his muse—more wrinkled and greyer than before, but central to a musically unvarnished song cycle tracing the ups and downs of a long-term relationship. The model appears to be his greatest ballad, 1987’s “Have a Little Faith in Me,” its tug of war between devotion and self-doubt offering further hard-earned insight with the passage of time. Two of these songs rank with Hiatt’s best work. “Our Time” presents a series of aural snapshots. It’s a measure of the artist’s focus that he can sing about Chinese takeout and pu-pu platters without going for a cheap laugh. Even more gripping is the title song, an unflinching self-examination set in terms of his worthiness in the eyes of his beloved. The final verse is the clincher: “You start out tryin’ to change everything / You wind up dancin’ with who you bring / I loved you then and my love still stands / Honey I’m still the same old man.”