Rescue Me

You have to admire Collector's Choice Music founder Gordon Anderson's tenacity for sticking to his guns. At a time when record label's are reluctant to dig in to their vaults and reissue old catalog items as physical product, instead looking at digital-only, his reissue label is still pumping out stuff that label's have forgotten about. Whether it's the Nat King Cole catalog or the the Rascals, major labels like Capitol and Warner Brothers have shown little interest in reissues as albums. So, I was thrilled when 5 vintage John Anderson albums from the early to mid-80's arrived. Country acts have been hit the hardest by labels. You can find a million compilations but few actual albums from many legendary acts. I'm thinking of Loretta Lynn or Conway Twitty. Even Tammy Wynette. Remarkably Anderson has yet to get a career defining compilation of his own. But these reissues fill in a much-needed gap. Of the 5 I'm most partial to Tokyo, Oklahoma and I Just Came Home To Count The Memories. And unlike a reissue on say, Collectables or Wounded Bird Records (the other 2 companies that rescue obscure titles), CCM have liner notes. I wonder how long Anderson can keep a monthly catalog and forgotten titles in print. But his actions are nothing but heroic.