Eye of the Hurricane

by j. poetEye of a Hurricane slowly made its way up the country album charts, despite the fact that it only spawned one Top Ten single, "She Sure Got Away with My Heart," a sassy tune that was as much soul as country. Anderson followed the template of All the People Are Talkin' with an album that included rock and soul as well as traditional country tunes. The bluesy rocker "One Shot Deal" features a playful vocal from Anderson, soulful female backing vocals, and some gritty sax work from an uncredited player. "Eye of a Hurricane" opens with hokey sound effects, but the R&B feel of the tune implies Motown and Memphis as much as Nashville with its greasy horns and pedal steel. "Take That Woman Away" is the rockin' tale of a womanizing cad who gets driven crazy when he pairs up with a chain saw totin' gal who makes him pay for his sins. On the country side, we have three strong Anderson originals: "I Wish I Could Write You a Song" is a painfully earnest love song, full of the longing one feels after the end of a relationship, with Anderson's vocal full of sorrow and yearning; "The Sun's Gonna Shine (On Our Back Door)," another country-soul hybrid, and "Lonely Is Another State" a typical babe-I-gotta-leave-you-'cause-I'm-a-travelin'-man ballad given a bit of pop appeal by its string chart. Anderson's downbeat vocal keeps it from sounding too clichéd. It's not a bad album, but most of the songs just aren't as strong as those on his previous albums.