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John Hiatt: Terms of My Surrender

Holly Gleason, Paste, 15 July 2014

"SOMETIMES LOVE CAN BE SO WRONG/ Like a fat man in a thong/ It walks shamelessly away," John Hiatt intones over the sauntering acoustic blues of the title track on his 22nd studio recording in 40 years. As the man who once wrote, "She says help the starving children to get well/ But let my brother's hamster burn in hell," this turn of phrase is hardly shocking; but where 'Your Dad Did' was an ironic look at Ozzie and Harriet family values, 'Terms of Surrender' plumbs the depths of doubt, love and commitment with temerity.

Total word count of piece: 425

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