American singer songwriter John Hiat has proved quite popular. And from the earthy rock'n'roll tinged rhythm'n'blues here, it's easy why his songs are popular to cover.

'Memphis In The Meantime' is a strong rocker that gets you moving, and while 'Alone In The Dark' lacks energy and bite, it does feature some neat slide guitar.

While the songs are well written, with some decent melodies and rhythms, the performance is a little 'easy'.

If the term Middle Aged Spread could be applied to music it would be relevant here. The reliance on strumming and a commercial country sound is probably what makes him so popular. Rather at the MOR end of singer songwriter. The audience are so polite it fits with the MOR image well.

The performance is from Germany, October 1987; the German company obviously making the most of their archives.

Interesting but far from essential.

**½

Review by Joe Geesin

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly