As George Jones signaled a shift back to traditional country sounds with 1980’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today” John Anderson released his self-titled debut on Warner Brothers Records announcing his traditional style and distinctive voice with cuts like “Your Lying Blue Eyes,” “She Just Started Liking Cheatin’ Songs” and the Top 10 single “1959.” John Anderson 2 stood out from the Urban Cowboy obsessed competition with more traditional songs including the classic Billy Joe Shaver penned “I’m Just An Old Chunk Of Coal (But I’m Going To Be A Diamond Someday).”

Anderson would go on to great chart success paving the way for the neo-traditionalists to come before the fickle public taste shifted and radio no longer honored the music of those traditionally minded among us. Due to Anderson’s traditional reputation, a few eyebrows raised when he announced his 2007 album, Easy Money, would be produced by Big and Rich’s John Rich, noted for his use of in-your-face Rock sounding guitars and other unconventional sounds. Collector’s Choice Music has reissued five early Anderson albums that serve to illustrate that that decision wasn�t as far left field as it might seem in the beginning.
First up is 1981’s I Just Came Home To Count The Memories, Anderson’s third album which sets the classic country tone with the title track, the story of a man revisiting his past by revisiting his old home. The perfect vehicle for Anderson’s expressive vocals, “I Just Came Home To Count The Memories” hit the Top Ten and was followed by “Would You Catch A Falling Star.” Telling the story of a once popular country stars’ descent from public acclaim the song, written by Bobby Braddock, co-writer of “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” stalled out at No. 6 but lifted Anderson public profile.
Anderson displayed a softer, more contemporary side with the electric piano driven “When Lady Is Cloudin’ Your Vision” showing his interests span the gamut of musical tastes. Those tastes also provide a fine take on Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” featuring a fantastic acoustic guitar break by Fred Carter. He turns and ends the album on a classic note with the 1952 Delmore Brothers tune “Trail Of Time.”

All The People Are Talkin’, Anderson’s fifth album was released in 1983 and featured his second No. 1 hit, “Black Sheep.” (His first No. 1, “Swingin’” was included on the 1982 “Wild And Blue” which has previously been reissued) Fred Carter returns on this album as a songwriter contributing the title track as well as the lilting “An Occasional Eagle” while the showcase tune, even though it languished in the Top Ten, is the anti-drunk driving anthem “Let Somebody Else Drive.”

Anderson shows his love for the oldies with his cover of the 1950s Halloween song “Haunted House” and revels in his Rock and Roll side with “Things Ain’t Been The Same Around The Farm.” With those few exceptions Anderson stays closely to traditional country sounds throughout the album.
Tradition remains the line for 1984’s Eye Of The Hurricane, featuring two Top 20 songs and a Top Ten hit in “She Sure Got Away With My Heart” featuring a more uptown sound with wailing sax and lush background singers.
After nearly 6 years of, somewhat reluctantly, carrying the flag for traditional country, Anderson was now joined on the charts by the likes of “neo-traditionalists” Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam and fringe artists like Steve Earle who brought the focus back to the song.
1985’s Tokyo, Oklahoma changes things up a bit kicking off with a raucous version of “It’s All Over Now,” a song most closely associated with the Rolling Stones. Before his country music success Anderson spent many years in bar bands playing whatever soothed the crowd, from country to Rock to R & B. Tokyo, Oklahoma exhibits Anderson’s diverse musical tastes and talents with rockers like the lead track and “Willie’s Gone” to blues numbers like “Twelve Bar Blues” to the traditional county of “Down In Tennessee” and “Till I Get Used To The Pain” to the strange and quirky “Tokyo, Oklahoma.”

The diversity of the album could be interpreted in several ways. Perhaps, as Colin Escott notes in his excellent series of liner notes, Anderson felt the need to reconnect with his bar band roots. Or perhaps he felt the need to differentiate himself from the competition and display his versatility to retain his fan base associating more with the popular sounds of Hank Williams, Jr. Whatever the motive, Tokyo, Oklahoma succeeds as one of Anderson’s most eclectic albums while still managing to pull all of them together under his distinctive style.
Anderson’s final album of the 80s, Countrified, kicks off with the proud proclamation that although he might like many things associated with the city, he is still “countrified.” Possibly directed at critics of the rocking turns of Tokyo, Oklahoma, the song sets the tone for the album.
“Yellow Creek” tells of the Native Americans and the unjust treatment they had received over the years, foreshadowing future such songs in Anderson’s catalog. While “If I Could Have My Way,” “Honky Tonk Crowd” and “Wife’s Little Pleasures” planted themselves firmly in country tradition, Anderson returned to his Rock side with “Do You Have A Garter Belt” and the Bo Diddley classic “You Can’t Judge A Book (By The Cover)” Anderson again proved he could stand with a foot planted firmly in both camps and still exemplify his distinctive style.
To undergird the roots of his music Anderson includes two covers from country music legends, the first is a virtual note-for-note take on Merle Haggards’ “Fightin’ Side of Me.” The second cover reaches back in to country music history covering the Thomas Dorsey penned “Peace In The Valley,” which Red Foley made his signature song in 1951. The song serves as a declaration that Anderson was satisfied with his place in country music at that point, but the ‘90s would propel him to even greater heights.
All five of these reissues are long overdue and it is great to have them released so that new fans will be able to discover the signature style of John Anderson. Colin Escott’s detailed liner notes not only illuminate the songs on the record, but also piece together the life and career of one of country music’s most underappreciated artists.