America's answer to the early, acidic Elvis Costello spent his last two albums battling unsympathetic producers and a baffled record company, and he's clearly rejoicing at having found better times. Showing off his strongest vocals yet, Hiatt has turned generous and freewheeling: All of a Sudden's twelve songs range from Human League-style synthesizer workouts to twisted rockabilly to full-blown ballads.

Sadly, though, the lean, vengeful and driven personality that dominated Slug Line and Two-Bit Monsters has disappeared. All of a Sudden flits across the musical spectrum with admirable ease, but there's precious little here that bites with the force of the best of his earlier songs.

Even so, All of a Sudden provides plenty of reasons to believe that when Hiatt stops trying to indulge his every whim, he'll make frighteningly good records. He's still pissed off that "these days it's hard to have fun," and he doesn't spare anyone – including himself – in searing new songs like "My Edge of the Razor" and "The Walking Dead." John Hiatt's razor cuts both ways, and for all its lapses, this record shows that he's got it in him to make it cut deep all of the time. (RS 370)

STEVE POND