Rollercoaster (Anniversary Edition)＜限定盤/Red Vinyl＞

The second album by the Randy Rogers Band should sound oddly familiar to any rock fans whose first exposure to country music came in the New Traditionalist era of the '80s, post-Urban Cowboy but pre-Garth Brooks. Produced by Radney Foster (half of the duo Foster & Lloyd, one of the great country-rock acts of that time) in Rogers' hometown of Austin, Rollercoaster is country music performed with rock & roll spunk instead of the usual Nashville candy-coating. The fact that the album was recorded with Rogers' road band instead of the usual anonymous session musicians gives a casual, lived-in feel to the songs that suits Rogers' traditional style. First single "Tonight's Not the Night" is typical of the album, a slightly rueful song about a troubled relationship that sounds as much like the Eagles as it does Dwight Yoakam, although the album's high point is the harder-rocking "This Time Around," a ripping kiss-off to a former flame set to the album's catchiest tune. ~ Stewart Mason