A Country West of Nashville

(Little Dog Records) Many people today are probably most familiar with Pete Anderson through his work with Dwight Yoakam, both as guitarist in his band and as producer of his albums. However back in the eighties, Pete was a successful producer and musician in his own right. He's a multi-Grammy winning producer, and has helped shape the sounds of Americana, maverick country and alt-rock, working with artists that include not only Dwight, but k.d. Lang, Roy Orbison, The Backsliders, Michelle Shocked and the Meat Puppets to name a few.

In the late 80's, Pete worked on two acclaimed compilation albums for Enigma Records, A Town South Of Bakersfield, Vols. I & II. These compilations included up and comers who would go on to greatly impact the music scene: Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale and James Intveld. In 2000, Pete began his search for the next wave of talent who will hopefully have as great an impact as their predecessors. When undertaking his latest project, Pete had 3 requirements- a great song, no major label deal and the artist couldn't live in Nashville. Pete gathered together some of the best new country, folk, rock and pop singers and presents them on his latest compilation, A Country West Of Nashville.

Several of the artists that appear on West Of Nashville, I was already very familiar with, while the others are new to me. The disc opens with a mid-tempo ballad, "Nashville Rain" by BJ Thomas. Yes that BJ Thomas- of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" and "Hooked On A Feeling" fame, among his many other late 60's/70's hits. BJ counts here, as he doesn't live in Nashville (he calls Texas home) and is no longer on a major label. This is a wonderful track, BJ still sounds just great, and though it does have a lighter country-pop sound, it's also got a grittier sound to it making it very appealing. Gone is that cheesy 70's era production sound used during the height of his popularity, and there's none of that over processed/overkill production that's present in today's mainstream fare. In a stark contrast, next up is Mike Stinton with "Virginia." Mike's been getting a lot of great buzz. His voice is far from 'purty' and is more of a warble, but it's country to the bone. "Virginia" is a mournful, traditional, shuffling weeper about a man who's lost the love of his life because of his love of the bottle. Jody Evans contributes the cleverly written country/folk hard-luck ballad "Chances" which also proves him to be a strong vocalist. The melancholy tale of a woman's loneliness is told by Souvenirs with their nice blend of country-folk-pop and another strong vocal performance.

Cisco is a real standout with his blend of country-rock on the mid-tempo "Say A Prayer." He's got a raspiness to his voice that recalls Rod Stewart, and even the song's melody evokes a "Maggie May" feel- just countrier. Eugene Edwards' "I'll Be True Someday" falls somewhere between alt-rock and pop. The deceptively complex and captivating melody is too heavy to really be called 'pop' in places, and too hooky to be called 'alt-rock' in others, so we'll call it even and just say- great song and another strong performance. Popular (and with good reason) Texas country-roots rockers Reckless Kelly are up next with another knockout, "I Saw It Coming," telling the tale of the inevitable breakup of a relationship.

Mike Matt with his gruff and hard scrabble vocals delivers a powerful tale of a man bitter and angry over what he sees as life's injustices in "Bobby Kennedy." Brandon Jenkins is fast becoming one of the strongest songwriters to come out of Oklahoma, a double threat as he's also a strong vocalist. Starting out a few years ago as a 'hat act,' he soon ditched the hat, shaved his head and headed off in the opposite direction- one far closer to Ray Wylie Hubbard or Steve Earle than Garth Brooks. Here he contributes the outstanding fiddle driven "My Feet Don't Touch The Ground," a ballad of finding a true love. West Of Nashville closes with the torchy, lounge-pop-noir "Lazy Balloon" by Sherri Stanlyn. Her vocals are a little loopy, a bit in the vein of Lucinda Williams, and the song is sexy and intoxicating, making for a winning combination.

Pete Anderson has put together another winner with A Country West Of Nashville, that not only presents some very fine talent, but also showcases his own talent and diversity as a top notch producer. The disc is a great introduction to some very impressive talent and it'll be interesting to see which artists among those that Pete gathered together may go on to become the next Yoakam, Williams, Lauderdale or Intveld.