DOWNLOAD: Rusty Anderson - "Where Would We Go"

I wish that I could claim that I was hip enough to have known who Rusty Anderson was prior to receiving a copy of his second CD but that wasn't the case. For those in a similar position, Anderson is probably best known as being Paul McCartney's lead guitarist. Going back a few years, Anderson was the guitarist in the band Animal Logic (which was made up of Anderson, Stewart Copeland and Stanley Clarke) and the post-grunge band Ednaswap (who originally penned "Torn" which was later covered by Natalie Imbruglia.) In addition to these starring roles, Anderson has played with a who's who list that ranges from Elton John to Miley Cyrus.

Anderson describes his sophomore disc, Born on Earth, as a loosely conceptual look at modern life and what it's like, as individuals and in communities, to be alive in this era and on our planet. Musically, the disc ranges from power-pop to mellow So. California rock. After listening to this disc, it is little surprise that Anderson has spent the better part of the last decade recording and touring with Macca as you can hear The Beatlesque/McCartney influence loud and clear.

Similar to artists like The Beatles and Steely Dan, Born on Earth benefits from a rich production where each instrument is clear and distinct in the mix. The song arrangements are also fairly complex and switch gears mid-stream on some occasions. A prime example is the lead-off title track which starts with orchestral strings before heading into Macca-style power pop but with a harder-edged guitar sound. This track is then followed by the dream-pop tune "Timed Exposure". While this is an easy disc to get comfortable with, there is enough gear-shifting to keep the listener engaged. Lyrically, Anderson's songs are mini vignettes which are predominately focused on love, loss and romantic fantasy.



As I'm preferential to the rockers on this disc, "Under A White Star" is one of the tracks that immediately caught my ear with its 60's style power pop sound.



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Rusty Anderson