Consumer Guide Album

John Hiatt: Hangin' Around the Observatory [Epic, 1974]
Hiatt is a Midwestern boy who wrings off-center rock and roll out of a voice with lots of range, none of it homey. Reassuring to hear the heartland Americana of the Band actually inspire a heartlander. Reassuring too that one of the resulting songs can be released as a single by Three Dog Night. B