Country Crossing
2009
Bigger Hands
About This Album
Country singer and songwriter John Anderson came roaring back to the front lines on his 2007 star-studded, John Rich-produced album Easy Money. Bigger Hands is a sound horse of a different color. Being on the independent Country Crossing label, Anderson didn't have the same budget he had on Easy Money. In addition, Anderson co-produced the set with James Stroud and wrote or co-wrote everything on the set. While Bigger Hands is not as flashy as its predecessor, it may be a more consistent recording. Anderson does his rowdy, rollicking "too much to drink the night before" thing -- which so many of contemporary country's aces like Trace Adkins have "borrowed" wholesale -- on "How Can I Be So Thirsty." But the album's true strengths lie in the ballads and midtempo honky tonk songs such as "Hawaia in Hawaii," "The Greatest Story Never Told," and "Missing Her Again." That said, some of his honky tonk songs are among the best he's written. Check the single "Cold Coffee and Hot Beer," "What Used to Turn Me On," and "Fade Out." There's also a killer anthem for the end of the industrial economy in "Shuttin' Detroit Down," another single on the set. While the tune is a midtempo two-step, it's really a modern labor and protest song that goes far beyond party implications or the North-South divide and deserves to be heard far and wide. Anderson is at the top of his game here, and it would be a real shame if Nash Vegas radio didn't sit up and take notice again. Everything about this record is contemporary, from the sound of its production to its instrumentation, yet Anderson's songcraft is timeless country music traditionalism. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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