''Hangin' Around the Observatory'' is the debut solo studio album by American 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 music, new wave, blues, and country music, country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Gramm ...

. It was released in 1974 through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. The recording sessions took place at Columbia Recording Studios in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The album was produced by Glen Spreen. The song "

Sure As I'm Sittin' Here "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" is a song written and originally performed by John Hiatt. Hiatt released the original version of the song as a single in February, 1974, and included it on his debut album '' Hangin' Around the Observatory''. Hiatt's v ...

" was released as a single, and was covered that same year by

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

on their album ''

Hard Labor ''Hard Labor'' is the eleventh album by American rock band Three Dog Night, released in 1974. For this album, the band replaced long-time producer Richard Podolor with Jimmy Ienner, who was known for his production work with the Raspberries ...

'', and was a top 20 hit.

Reception

A ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine reviewer says that the album "showcases a young writer and vocalist of obvious promise," and that "Hiatt's rich, slightly crazed and occasionally overwrought vocals are sympathetically buoyed by Glen Spreen's production, ranging from buzz-saw rock to sweet country without losing its coherence." A ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' reviewer calls Hiatt an "unusually gifted writer and performer whose voice and songs are strangely compelling and often insightful."

Track listing

Personnel

– songwriter, arranger, design *Glen Spreen – producer, remixing *Gene Eichelberger – recording engineer *Stan Hutto – recording engineer and remixing *Ron Reynolds – recording and technical engineer *Mike Figlio – recording engineer *Ed Hudson – technical engineer *Jerry Watson – technical engineer *Charles Bradley – technical engineer *Freeman Ramsey – technical engineer *Lou Bradley – remixing *Bill Barnes – design *Peggy Owens – design *Wilbur "Slick" Lawson – photography

References

External links

* 1974 debut albums John Hiatt albums Epic Records albums {{1970s-rock-album-stub