This is a good cd you might have overlooked in January when it came out. It comes from Grammy-winning producer/guitarist Pete Anderson. All those great guitar lines snaking through those songs by country/rockabilly artist Dwight Yoakum, that was Pete Anderson. They worked together from 1986-2003. Now Anderson has re-released this "Deluxe" version of his fourth solo cd, with 4 additional songs cut live at the Starry Plough in Berkeley California last August.
Anderson sings, plays guitar and harmonica. He also plays drums on "Stop Me." He is backed by co-producer Michael Murphy on keyboards, drummers Herman Matthews and Jeff Donovan, and horn section Lee Thornburg and David Woodford, among others. All the songs are written or co-written by Anderson except "Room With a View," written by Michael Murphy & Lynn Coulter and sung by Murphy. The flavor of the disc is agreeably eclectic, veering from straight blues on "One and Only Lonely Fool" and the live "110 In The Shade" and "Live in Mississippi" to a jazzy turn on "Wes' Side Blues" to the Steely Dan-ish "Booker Twine" and the Tonight Show band-sounding "Dogbone Shuffle." Anderson acquits himself masterfully throughout--I like his vocals, and his guitar work is delicious. I love the instrumentals here, where the band gets to play and they all make some truly beautiful music. But the best song here is "Still in Love" presented twice--once in a studio setting with Anderson on vocals, and once in a live setting with Bekka Bramlett singing. I've played this song for three or four friends and their first response is to love it, then they all want to hear it again.
If you like recent releases by Dave Gross or Robben Ford, or if you liked Steely Dan, this record might be right up your alley. There's a lot here to like. Good musicianship, tasteful playing. I have a feeling this one will be in my cd player for quite a while.
You can buy this cd at http://www.vizztone.com
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