CD reissue. John Hiatt mixed pop, folk, rock, R&B, country and gospel on his debut album Hangin' Around The Observatory, released in 1974. The title indicates his position: Hiatt's songs show him an acute observer. Hiatt earned critical kudos for this album, and Three Dog Night (who knew good songwriting when they heard it) covered 'Sure As I'm Sittin' Here' on their album Hard Labor getting a Top 20 hit out of it.