...one of rock's most astute singer-songwriters of the
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John Hiatt - Paper Thin (2012)
[All Access AACD0102]

duration: 1:17:32
  1. Memphis In The Meantime    7:51
  2. Drive South    4:50
  3. Thank You Girl    5:21
  4. Tip Of My Tongue    6:17
  5. Tennessee Plates    4:09
  6. Alone In The Dark    5:46
  7. Ride Along    3:59
  8. Is Anybody There?    5:58
  9. Paper Thin    4:55
  10. Thing Called Love    6:30
  11. Have A Little Faith In Me    3:49
  12. Icy Blue Heart    4:28
  13. It'll Come To You    5:12
  14. Your Dad Did    8:27

The 1989 Canadian Broadcast
FM Broadcast Ottawa, Canada, January 4th 1989

once released as a bootleg more here

The 2012 U.K. release Paper Thin: The 1989 Canadian Broadcast purveys an oft-bootlegged concert by Hiatt and the Goners, performed in January of '89 at Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa and broadcast on local rock station CKQB-FM.
It's a fine musical snapshot of Hiatt during his watershed period, featuring seven songs apiece from the Bring The Family and Slow Turning albums. This was the point in Hiatt's career when he had finally developed his defining style, performing the unique brand of country-blues that helped him distinguish himself in the late ‘80’s.
It was also the time in his life when he found new fulfillment as a family man, and he had plenty to say about that topic during that evening. The Goners added their own Cajun-style dimension to the songs from Bring The Family while leaving the Mississippi Delta roots intact. Their playing on the Slow Turning selections is faithful to their playing on the studio versions without being too exact. Sonny Landreth's slide guitar adds emotional texture to the regretful "Tip Of My Tongue" and the frustrated "Icy Blue Heart". "Is Anybody There?" loses a bit of its Gospel flavor in this setting, but Hiatt makes up for it with plain old soul. As on the studio version, "Have A Little Faith In Me" needs only a piano and Hiatt's voice to achieve emotional heights.
Hiatt’s performances here are often soul-baring, especially during the closing track “Your Dad Did”, in which Hiatt ad-libs a psychodramatic conversation with his deceased father. Paper Thin is anything but paper-thin; it's a full-blooded example of a performer laying his heart open for an audience, and having fun in the process.

review by Rarebird's Rock and Roll Rarity Reviews