John Anderson

One of the first, and best, New Traditionalists during the early 1980s, Anderson had a string of hits throughout the decade; "Swingin'" was the biggest-selling country single in Warner Brothers history. "Wild & Blue," the other stunner on this collection (although all the tracks are great), deserved the same fate.

By now, his irreverent working-stiff warmth is both likable shtick and a precondition of his specialty, happy love songs whose notion of permanent fun combines conjugal self-sufficiency and downhome raunch. The best thing here is a rocking Georgia Satellites remake. The most surprising comes when he cops to his own careerism with a sad, loving song about a family that's functional but not altogether together. (Grade - B+)