Beneath This Gruff Exterior

Beneath This Gruff Exterior
Studio album by
John Hiatt & the Goners
ReleasedMay 6, 2003
StudioBlackbird, Berry Hill, Tennessee
GenreRock
Length50:00
LabelNew West[1]
ProducerDon Smith, John Hiatt, the Goners
John Hiatt & the Goners chronology
The Tiki Bar is Open
(2001) 		Beneath This Gruff Exterior
(2003) 		Master of Disaster
(2005)

Beneath This Gruff Exterior is singer-songwriter John Hiatt's sixteenth album, released in 2003. It was his first album with New West Records, and it was also the only album on which backing band the Goners received front cover credit along with Hiatt (although the Goners had previously backed Hiatt on 1988's Slow Turning and 2001's The Tiki Bar Is Open). "The Most Unoriginal Sin" was first recorded by Willie Nelson on his album Across the Borderline.

Recording and release

Beneath This Gruff Exterior was recorded live at the Blackbird Studios in Berry Hill, Tennessee.[2][3] It was produced jointly by Don Smith and John Hiatt and the Goners.[4]

Beneath This Gruff Exterior was released by New West on May 6, 2003.[4][3][5] The album debuted, and peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard 200 chart.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Guardian[8]
The Music Box[9]
Uncut[10]

AllMusic's Mark Deming writes "The vast majority of Hiatt's albums fall into one of two categories -- brilliant and real good. Beneath This Gruff Exterior falls into the latter file, which means it isn't a revelation like Two Bit Monsters or Bring the Family, but it's got good songs sang by a great songwriter, and played by a rockin' little band with a real fine guitarist up front, and if that's not what you're looking for, you're probably not much on Hiatt anyway."[3] Billboard writes "Though it doesn’t always occur, when singer/songwriter John Hiatt collaborates with his erstwhile backing band the Goners, magic tends to happen. This debut on New West is a case in point, with Hiatt’s top-shelf songwriting and expressive vocals and the Goners’ tough instrumentation making for a delicious gumbo."[11] T.J. Simon of The Music Box writes "the entire disc is chock full of the absorbing lyrics one would (and should) expect from Hiatt. For newcomers to the Hiatt party, this isn’t necessarily the disc with which I’d start — try Bring the Family first — but the already-converted will be generally pleased with the quality of this new release."[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Hiatt.

No.TitleLength
1."Uncommon Connection"4:11
2."How Bad's the Coffee"3:56
3."The Nagging Dark"3:15
4."My Baby Blue"4:35
5."My Dog and Me"3:15
6."Almost Fed Up with the Blues"4:36
7."Circle Back"4:30
8."Window on the World"3:36
9."Missing Pieces"4:06
10."Fly Back Home"4:44
11."The Last Time"4:53
12."The Most Unoriginal Sin"4:15
Total length:50:00

Personnel

  • John Hiatt – guitar, vocals

and the Goners:

with:

Technical
  • Don Smith – production, nixing, engineering
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Kimberly Levitan – art direction, design
  • Michael "Mick" Wilson – photography

References

  1. ^ "John Hiatt & the Goners: Beneath This Gruff Exterior, PopMatters". June 2003.
  2. ^ Newman, Melinda (February 22, 2003). "The Beat" (PDF). Billboard. p. 9 – via World Radio History.
  3. ^ a b c Deming, Mark. "Beneath This Gruff Exterior Review by Mark Deming". AllMusic.
  4. ^ a b Morriss, Chris (May 10, 2003). "Hiatt Gets Tribute Treatment Via Vanguard While Making New West Debut" (PDF). Billboard. p. 13 – via World Radio History.
  5. ^ PopMatters Staff (June 1, 2003). "John Hiatt & The Goners: Beneath This Gruff Exterior". PopMatters.
  6. ^ "Billboard 200 - Week of May 24, 2003". Billboard.
  7. ^ Deming, Mark. Beneath This Gruff Exterior at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 August 12.
  8. ^ Adam Sweeting (May 15, 2003). "CD: John Hiatt and the Goners: Beneath This Gruff Exterior | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "John Hiatt/Beneath this Gruff Exterior". The Music Box. August 2003.
  10. ^ "John Hiatt and the Goners - Beneath This Gruff Exterior". July 31, 2003.
  11. ^ Waddell, Ray (May 31, 2003). "Beneath This Gruff Exterior". Billboard.
  12. ^ Simon, T.J. (August 2003). "John Hiatt/Beneath this Gruff Exterior". The Music Box.


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