Terry Anderson - I'll Drink To That (2000)

The third album from multi-instrumentalist Anderson (drums, guitar, farfisa), a Nashville ex-patriot frustrated with the music city's commercial songwriting, is a loose and spirited affair, inspired by a memory of a Dave Edmunds concert that knocked him out. A member of the similarly styled Yayhoos along with ex-Satellite Dan Baird, with whom he has written in the past, Anderson whips through 45 minutes of happy-go-lucky American roots rock with nods to Chuck Berry, Edmunds, the Georgia Satellites (who had a hit with his "Battleship Chains" back in the day), and NRBQ, whom he calls the best band in the world, and whose ex-guitarist Al Anderson (no relation) guests on some tracks. With a nasal voice and lyrical style somewhat similar to Joe Walsh, Anderson sings about the "Nastiest House" in the whole wide world, his "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" who'd rather listen to LPs and cassettes from 1973 instead of anything on MTV, and a humorous Bo Diddley-fueled yarn about driving "37 Miles in Reverse." This won't change the world, of course, but it's all good, relatively clean fun (with the possible exception of "Safety First," an upbeat ditty about condoms), featuring snappy word play and a feisty attitude that sounds like he and his equally energetic backing musicians were having a blast recording this no-frills album. Recommended for fans of boozy, down-to-earth guitar rocking and anyone else looking for a rollicking time.