Now I’m in my car, I got the radio on, I’m yellin’ at the kids in the back seat
‘Cause they’re bangin’ like Charlie Watts
I love the way this song kicks off with that jangly, ragged guitar riff. John’s voice fits this song perfectly as well. It’s rootsy, raucous, and real, a reminder that the best rock & roll doesn’t have to be flashy or fast to hit you in the gut.
A brilliant performer…he is a songwriter’s songwriter. The first time I heard this song, I loved it. When you mention Charlie Watts, you have my attention. John Hiatt always releases songs of quality, and they are all solid. Saying that, he is most remembered for his songs that other people cover. I don’t understand that because he has a fine, distinctive voice with a great band behind him. The keyword here is distinctive, I guess, which I look for.
He has a tremendous catalog with 24 studio albums. He released his first album in 1974! By the time John Hiatt released the album Slow Turning in 1988, he wasn’t some wide-eyed newcomer chasing charts; he was a survivor. Some of the songs he wrote and were covered were Angel Eyes, Sure As I’m Sitting Here, and Thing Called Love, just to name a few. Slow Turning is one of his best-known songs, with him singing.
I’ve seen a lot of Hiatt recently on live clips. He and his band are always great. It’s loose in the best way, the kind of groove that feels like it could fall apart at any second but never does. The rhythm section (Kenneth Blevins on drums and Dave Ranson on bass) just locks in with the kind of warmth that doesn’t come from studio perfection but from chemistry built from sweat on the road.
Slow Turning peaked at #22 on the Billboard Alternative Charts. The album peaked at #98 on the Billboard Album Charts. I thought it would have been higher in the charts. In my region, it got a lot of airplay.
Slow Turning
When I was a boyI thought it just came to youBut I never could tell what’s mineSo it didn’t matter anyway
My only pride and joyWas this racket down hereBangin’ on an old guitarAnd singin’ what I had to say
I always thought our house was haunted‘Cause nobody said “boo” to meI never did get what I wantedBut now I get what I need
It’s been a slow turnin’From the inside outA slow turnin’, babyBut you come about
A slow learnin’But you learn to swayA slow turnin’, babyNot fade away, not fade away, not fade away
Now I’m in my carOoh, I got the radio downNow I’m yellin’ at the kids in the back‘Cause they’re bangin’ like Charlie Watts
You think you’ve come so farIn this one horse townThen she’s laughin’ that crazy laugh‘Cause you haven’t left the parking lot
Time is short and here’s the damn thing about itYou’re gonna die, gonna die for sureAnd you can learn to live with love or without itBut there ain’t no cure
It’s just a slow turnin’From the inside outA slow turnin’But you come about, ya
A slow learnin’, babyBut you learn to swayA slow turnin’Not fade away, not fade away, not fade awayNot fade away, not fade away
A slow turnin’A slow turnin’A slow turnin’A slow turnin’
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