''Riding with the King'' was singer-songwriter

John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...

's sixth album, released in 1983. It was his second of three albums with

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

Ron Nagle Ron Nagle (born February 21, 1939) is an American sculptor, musician and songwriter. He is known for small-scale, refined sculptures of great detail and compelling color. Nagle lives and works in San Francisco, California. Life Born in San Fr ...

and

Scott Mathews Scott Mathews (born July 25, 1955) is an American music producer, composer, performer, and entrepreneur. He has appeared as a musician, songwriter or producer on recordings with sales of more than 40 million units which earned more than 20 gol ...

(credited as "Scott Matthews") produced side one of the album at The Pen in San Francisco, with Mathews himself playing all instruments (except guitar) and providing all the background vocals. The second side of the album was produced by

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Eden Studios Eden Studios was a commercial recording facility in west London. It opened in 1967, originally at 11 Eden Street in Kingston upon Thames (now under the Eden Walk shopping centre), before moving to 20-24 Beaumont Road in Chiswick in 1972. It was ...

in London with a group of crack pub rock musicians backing Hiatt. "I always kind of look at ''Riding with the King'' as the first album where I really put it altogether. I finally figured out what I was all about and found three or four styles I liked to work in", Hiatt observed about the album. Although the album failed to chart in the US, it received considerable critical acclaim with Robert Christgau observing "...this is his best album because the songs are so much his catchiest and pithiest. Most of them reflect smashed hopes." The album's title track was taken from an odd dream Scott Mathews had, although he was never credited as a co-writer. It was later covered by

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

on their album of the same name. Hiatt reworked the lyrics for the King and Clapton collaboration.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except as indicated

Side one

#"I Don't Even Try" – 3:25 #"Death by Misadventure" (Hiatt, John Hadley) – 3:29 #"Girl on a String" – 3:11 #"Lovers Will" – 4:00 #"She Loves the Jerk" – 3:38 #"Say It with Flowers" – 3:06

Side two

#"Riding with the King" – 4:18 #"You May Already Be a Winner" – 3:35 #"Love Like Blood" – 3:55 #"The Love that Harms" – 2:49 #"Book Lovers" (Isabella Wood, Hiatt) – 3:04 #"Falling Up" – 3:35

Personnel

*John Hiatt – vocals, guitar *

– producer, drums,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals (side one only) *

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Martin Belmont Martin Belmont (born 21 December 1948) is an English rock and country-blues guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Graham Parker & The Rumour. Life and career Belmont was born in Bromley, Kent, England. After working as a roadie ...

– guitar (side two only) *

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

– keyboards, backing vocals (side two only) *

Bobby Irwin Bobby Irwin (23 March 1953 – 8 May 2015) was an English drummer, record producer and songwriter. He is known for working in close collaboration with Nick Lowe as co-songwriter and drummer and as a member of Lowe's band the Cowboy Outfit, as w ...

– drums (side two only) ;Technical *Neill King – engineer *Brian Griffin – cover photography *Phil Smee – sleeve design

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums John Hiatt albums Albums produced by Nick Lowe Geffen Records albums