{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = The Eclipse Sessions | type = studio | artist = John Hiatt | cover = The Eclipse Sessions.jpg | alt = | released = October 12, 2018 | recorded = August 18–October 8, 2017 | venue = | studio = The Rock House, Franklin, Tennessee | genre = *Roots rock *Americana *blues rock<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hynes|first=Jim|date=|title=JOHN HIATT GETS STRIPPED-DOWN AND BLUESY ON "THE ECLIPSE SESSIONS" (ALBUM REVIEW)|url=https://glidemagazine.com/215076/john-hiatt-gets-stripped-down-and-bluesy-on-the-eclipse-sessions-album-review/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-10|website=Glidemagazine.com}}</ref> *folk rock | length = 42:13 | label = New West | producer = Kevin McKendree | prev_title = Terms of My Surrender | prev_year = 2014 | next_title = Leftover Feelings | next_year = 2021 | misc = {{Singles | name = The Eclipse Sessions | type = studio | single1 = Cry To Me | single1date = August 10, 2018<ref name="TESS1">{{cite web |title=Cry to Me - John Hiatt |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/cry-to-me-mr0004930204 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> | single2 = Over the Hill | single2date = September 7, 2018<ref name="TESS2">{{cite web |title=Over the Hill - John Hiatt |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/over-the-hill-mr0004930206 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> | single3 = Poor Imitation of God | single3date = September 28, 2018<ref name="TESS3">{{cite web |title=Poor Imitation of God - John Hiatt |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/poor-imitation-of-god-mr0004930211 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> }} }} '''''The Eclipse Sessions''''' is singer-songwriter John Hiatt's twenty-third album, released in 2018. It is his eighth studio release on the New West Records label. The album was partly recorded in August 2017 as the solar eclipse travelled across the U.S., hence the album title.<ref name=album>The Eclipse Sessions (album insert).</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Jim |date=October 21, 2018 |title=Today’s Troubadours: 7 New Releases You Need to Know |url=https://www.culturesonar.com/todays-troubadours-7-new-albums-you-need-to-know/ |website=Culture Sonar}}</ref>
With Hiatt on lead vocals and guitar, he is joined by long-time collaborators Kenneth Blevins on drums and Patrick O'Hearn on bass. New to the team is producer and musician Kevin McKendree joining in on keyboards. McKendree has worked with Delbert McClinton, Lee Roy Parnell, Tinsley Ellis and Brian Setzer. McKendree's son Yates, who was only 16 at the time, adds lead guitar.
== Release == ''The Eclipse Sessions'' was released by New West on October 12, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ingalls |first=Chris |date=October 15, 2018 |title=The Effortless Charm of John Hiatt Is Alive and Well on ‘The Eclipse Sessions’ |url=https://www.popmatters.com/john-hiatt-the-eclipse-sessions-2611911269.html |website=PopMatters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Brittney |date=October 10, 2018 |title=Stream John Hiatt’s Back-to-Basics New Album ‘The Eclipse Sessions’ |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/john-hiatt-new-album-the-eclipse-sessions-stream-735455/ |website=Rolling Stone}}</ref> The album debuted, and peaked at No. 162 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Billboard 200 - Week of October 27, 2018 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2018-10-27/ |website=Billboard}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=John Hiatt Chart History: Billboard 200 |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/john-hiatt/chart-history/tlp/ |access-date= |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> "Cry to Me,"<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Brittney |date=August 6, 2018 |title=John Hiatt on New Album ‘The Eclipse Sessions’: ‘I’m in Different Territory’ |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/john-hiatt-on-new-album-the-eclipse-sessions-im-in-different-territory-706786/ |website=Rolling Stone}}</ref> "Over the Hill,"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Betts |first=Stephen L. |date=September 7, 2018 |title=Hear John Hiatt Explore Aging in Funky New Song ‘Over the Hill’ |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/john-hiatt-new-song-over-the-hill-720560/ |website=Rolling Stone}}</ref> and "Poor Imitation of God" were released as singles. A music videos was made for "Over the Hill."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Graff |first=Gary |date=September 12, 2018 |title=John Hiatt Wanders Through Nashville In ‘Over the Hill’ Video: Premiere |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/john-hiatt-wanders-through-nashville-in-over-the-hill-video-premiere-8474815/ |website=Billboard}}</ref> Hiatt toured the US in support of the album.<ref name=":0" />
== Critical reception == ''The Eclipse Sessions'' was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on four reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Critic Reviews for The Eclipse Sessions - Metacritic |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-eclipse-sessions/john-hiatt/critic-reviews |website=Metacritic}}</ref> {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-eclipse-sessions-mw0003200020 |title=John Hiatt: The Eclipse Sessions |last1=Deming |first1=Mark |website=AllMusic}}</ref> | rev2 = All About Jazz | rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-eclipse-sessions-john-hiatt-new-west-records-review-by-doug-collette |title=John Hiatt: Terms of My Surrender |last1=Deming |first1=Mark |website=All About Jazz}}</ref> | rev3 = Daily Vault | rev3score = B<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=10826|title=John Hiatt: | Daily Vault|website=Dailyvault.com|access-date=January 5, 2026}}</ref> | rev4 = ''PopMatters'' | rev4score = 8/10<ref name="PM">{{Cite web |last=Ingalls |first=Chris |date= October 15, 2018 |title=John Hiatt: The Eclipse Sessions |url=https://www.popmatters.com/john-hiatt-the-eclipse-sessions-2611911269.html |website=PopMatters |language=en-US}}</ref> | MC = 82/100<ref name="MC">{{Cite web|title=Critic Reviews for The Eclipse Sessions|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-eclipse-sessions/john-hiatt/critic-reviews|website=Metacritic|language=en}}</ref> }} AllMusic's Mark Deming writes "The Eclipse Sessions rings true as the work of someone who has been thinking a lot about human frailty and the consequences of the choices we all must make. Hiatt is too smart to pretend he has answers to any of the emotional puzzles he's working in these tunes, but he sounds fearlessly honest as he ponders it all, and the grain in his voice gives the right texture to his contemplative delivery. And the arrangements and production on The Eclipse Sessions are well matched to the material."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deming |first=Mark |title=The Eclipse Sessions Review by Mark Deming |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-eclipse-sessions-mw0003200020 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> Eric R. Danton of Paste Magazine writes "At its core, ''The Eclipse Sessions'' shows that Hiatt remains a songwriter worth listening to: He’s a skillful lyricist with a singular voice. Yet anyone who’s been releasing albums for as long as Hiatt has tends to bury themselves under the weight of their earlier work, which fans have been imprinting on their souls for decades. If his latest album doesn’t quite rise to the level of ''Bring the Family'' or ''Slow Turning'', well, that’s a high bar, and Hiatt is not the same person as he was in his mid-30s. But the past is past, and ''The Eclipse Sessions'' is strong enough to make an impression of its own."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Danton |first=Eric R. |date=October 11, 2018 |title=John Hiatt: The Eclipse Sessions - Paste Magazine |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/john-hiatt/john-hiatt-the-eclipse-sessions-review |website=Paste Magazine}}</ref>
==Track listing== All tracks are written by John Hiatt.
{{Track listing | extra_column = Recording date | total_length = 42:13 | title1 = Cry to Me | length1 = 3:56 | extra1 = August 18, 2017 | title2 = All the Way to the River | length2 = 4:30 | extra2 = August 18, 2017 | title3 = Aces up Your Sleeve | length3 = 3:22 | extra3 = August 18, 2017 | title4 = Poor Imitation of God | length4 = 2:57 | extra4 = October 4, 2017 | title5 = Nothing in My Heart | length5 = 4:04 | extra5 = August 21, 2017 | title6 = Over the Hill | length6 = 4:21 | extra6 = October 4, 2017 | title7 = Outrunning My Soul | length7 = 3:43 | extra7 = October 8, 2017 | title8 = Hide Your Tears | length8 = 3:15 | extra8 = August 21, 2017 | title9 = The Odds of Loving You | length9 = 4:06 | extra9 = October 7, 2017 | title10 = One Stiff Breeze | length10 = 3:41 | extra10 = October 5, 2017 | title11 = Robber's Highway | length11 = 4:24 | extra11 = October 4, 2017 }}
==Personnel== * John Hiatt – acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, electric guitar, vocals * Kenneth Blevens – drums * Patrick O'Hearn – bass * Yates McKendree – guitar, slide acoustic guitar * Kevin McKendree – piano, electric piano, organ
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{John Hiatt}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eclipse Sessions}} Category:2018 albums Category:John Hiatt albums Category:Roots rock albums
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