Customer Reviews

Nobody's Got It All

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I guess I'm not just "thanking" John Anderson for another fine set of songs, but for never "selling out" in an era where country music seems to cross over into pop music much too often.
With the truly great, classic country singers like George Jones and Merle Haggard heading into their senior years, fans of real country music are fortunate that they still have the voice of John Anderson to appreciate.

As someone who has been buying John Anderson LPs and CDs for over 20 years, I find that this set is up there with some of his best, although I think that 4 stars is an honest rating--he does have other discs that were even better.

My first impressions ? "The Call" and "Appalachian Blue" stood out for me, as well as a fine "rocker", " Baby's Gone Home To Mama "--however, most of the material here is strong.

Perhaps John doesn't sell as many discs as some artists who rely on cute videos and other gimmicks. Hopefully, there are still enough country fans out there who respect John's integrity, not to mention a very special voice. Country music radio stations who do not play his music should be ashamed of themselves.

A previous disc of John's was called "Country Til I Die"--amen to that, John--you are the real deal !

If some people are in despair that "there is no true country music anymore", this disc--in fact, John's entire catalogue--should correct that impression !

This is a solid, country effort from an artist who just, for some reason or another, can't buy a hit. His voice is still in top form, and he is a welcome artist in a genre that is way too "poppish" and watered down. On this album, I like "Nobody's Got It All" and "The Call". My favorites on the album, however, are "It Ain't Easy Being Me", a song about a man who just can't help but make mistakes that cost him dearly, and "I Ain't Afraid of Dying", which is another good song about the gloom and fear in today's society. The song's chorus is capped off with "Oh I ain't afraid of dying, Lord. It's the living that scares me to death." Very clever as well as accurate. I hope his career picks up again so he has a chance to make more albums such as this.

It makes me sad to think that the days when artists like John Anderson were the norm instead of the exception are over in Nashville. Joh has a voice and a style that is impossible to ignore. Love him or hate him, you know it is him when you hear him sing one note. This latest release is right on par for John in as much as the singing is stellar and the songs are solid. I like the looser accoustic approach on this cd. Producer Blake Chancey gets great sounding tracks on almost all of his projects.He has a way of letting you know what the artist sounds like live and for me that's what i want to know when i listen to a recording. My personal favorite on this particular cd is probably "IT AIN'T EASY BEING ME". Great song great performance. "FIVE GENERATIONS" AND "THE CALL" are also standouts. I know that "THE BIG REVIVAL" will probably offend some people in todays politically correct world in which we live but i absolutely love it. Bottom line,if you are already a John Anderson fan then you will love this record and if you are not then little that he can do by now will change your mind.

I've been waiting for this album to come out for a long time. I was lucky enough to see John at Eden Park in Cincinnati last year in May or June and he played a couple of his new songs. Both songs were great, and the full album is even better (although it's been a long time coming). This album seems to have more of a feel like the John Anderson of the '80s. The best song by far is "The Call", followed closely by "It Ain't Easy Being Me". "I Ain't Afraid of Dying" and "Appalacian Blue" are classic John Anderson at his best. Best Country Album To Come Out In A Long Time!

From the " Muscle - Shoals " sound of the leadoff track " You Ain't Hurt Nothin' Yet " to the dead on hard country take of Springsteen's " Atlantic City " John Anderson is back in a big way. John's soulful southern twang wraps around those well chosen covers as well as some strong Anderson originals, particularly the awesome " Go To Town ". He does it all and very well. Mixing maximum C & W with a healthy dash of Rock N ' Roll and Swampy R & B, Mr. Anderson & a crack band roll through self depreciating rockin' Americana " It Ain't Easy Being Me " & " Baby's Gone Home to Mama " Enviro- Country " I Ain't Afraid Of Dyin' ", crunchy guitar honky tonk," The Big Revival ", trad. sentimental C & W " The Call ", " Appalachian Blue ", country - folk cultural commentary " Nobody's Got It all ".Not a bad track on here! This is the best John Anderson album since some of his Warner Bros. releases from the 80's. His influences? Think Haggard,Jones and the Stones. Now if someone will reissue all that great Warners stuff!!! Enjoy and catch John Anderson live - fantastic.

John Anderson's latest is pure country fun, boot kicking at it's best. The songs remind me of Charlie Daniels in their messages. This CD took me by surprise. From the first song till the last, I am held captive by Anderson's vocals and lyrics. Some artists have the knack of making you hear every lyric - Anderson does this on "Nobody's Got it All". If you are in the mood for some fun country, you should give this a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Being an avid fan of Anderson ever since her debut CD for BNA Records, this CD disappoints. Anderson has been hopping around labels since he first came on the country scene. I was almost surprised Sony signed him, after all Anderson is not in his rovering 20s. So you would expect Anderson to cherish his contract but instead he releases a CD with songs that could hardly be categorized as hits. The first 2 singles "You Ain't Hurt Anything Yet" and the title cut are so ordinary that you wonder if this is the best he can do! This is why both singles failed to crack top 40! Then the new single "The Big Revical" which is a snap against evangelists is set to a rock beat that certainly doesn't belong to country radio.

With the exception of the midtempo "I Love You Again" and aforementioned "You Ain't Hurt," the rest of the songs do not deal with relationships. They all deal with issues like living and dying. That's okay but you don't want to hear about them in almost every song on this disc.

"The Call" is perhaps the best song here: it's a slow reflective ballads of making the call at the right times in life. I was initially excited to see Dean Dillon's cropping up on the co-writer's credits for 2 songs but unfortunately there's nothing memorable about them. Anderson's cover of Bruce Sprinsteen's "Atlantic City" is just apalling: it's not even country and Anderson's hillbilly voice seems so out of place on this rock song.

This is by no means a country album, it's more Americana/country with plesant but not outstanding songs. I am afraid Anderson may have to pack his bags and start shopping for a new label soon. But this time he may not be as lucky to be picked up by a major label. What a waste of opportunity, he could have made another hit album if only he would forget about dying and start living and seizing his opportunites!