The first real new traditionalist, John Anderson took some odd twists and turns during his career. As new traditionalism dominated, he drifted from the Top 10, then came back strong in the early '90s. Later attempts at hot-country trendiness were dismal. There's none of that nonsense here. Instead, nearly 18 years after "Swingin'" established his stardom, Anderson offers an inspired, eloquent survey of a changing world and rural, small-town values bulldozed into oblivion. "I Ain't Afraid of Dying," "Appalachian Blue," and "Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons" confront those issues. "The Call," a sentimental minidrama about a lifetime of phone calls, is a song few singers under 60 could pull off. Anderson pulls every drop of emotion from these songs. He rocks hard on "Baby's Gone Home to Mama," waxes passionate on the self-deprecating "It Ain't Easy Being Me," and sardonic on "The Big Revival," which spoofs snake-handling preachers. The album's closer, Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City," may seem out of place given its urban setting, but it's actually a sly benediction, with its memorable chorus: "Everything dies baby that's a fact / But, baby everything that dies someday comes back." In the end, Anderson has created a masterpiece, Nashville's answer to John Mellencamp's Scarecrow. --Rich Kienzle