California-based guitarist Rusty Anderson’s got a great gig. Since 2001 this pop texturalist has been in Paul McCartney’s band. Maybe you saw him on the Letterman show with Sir Paul, standing atop the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater just to the ex-Beatles’ right, soloing with his beloved 1959 ES-335 on “Back in the U.S.S.R?”
“That 335 is my go-to guitar,” Anderson says. “I play an SG and a few others, but that ’59 is sweet. I like 335s because they have a cool midrange quality and they can do everything I want from a guitar.”
Which includes a lot more than playing Beatles, Wings, and McCartney tunes. Anderson’s been a member of alt-rock hit-makers Ednaswap and the chops-intensive Animal Logic with Police drummer Stewart Copeland and bass monster Stanley Clarke. He’s also played on sessions for Gwen Stefani, Regina Spektor, and Nellie Furtado, among others.
But for a pure dose of Anderson’s expansive, expressive playing, check out Born on Earth, his brand-new solo album. This sonic explorer’s sprayed great tones all over its hooky 11 tunes about aliens, Julia Roberts, and living life large.
Beside the ’59, his red ’65 ES-335 also makes cameos, as does a prized white SG and a clutch of other guitars. Anderson’s choice of studio amplification is his collection of vintage Laneys, although he uses Divided by Thirteen amps with McCartney — two sets run parallel and, for some songs, in stereo.
You can hear his favorite ES-335 on the album’s title track, an epic slice of modernist psychedelic pop. “My ’59 has what I think of as the archetype of a guitar neck,” Anderson relates. “It’s got just the right depth and width, which really gives the guitar great sonic properties.”
Anderson signed on with McCartney after playing on his album Driving Rain. “If there’s anything I absorbed from playing with Paul it’s been by osmosis,” Anderson says. “Really, what’s struck me most about Paul is how good he is at wearing so many hats in terms of handling every aspect of business and music making.”
Nonetheless, the song “Born on Earth” could fairly be described as Beatles-esque. Anderson’s sweet arcing vocal melody and harmonies, edgy string arrangement, piano driven bridge, and distorted guitar hook have the epic feel of Sgt. Pepper’s.
“I was really going for a Wendy Carlos/Switched On Bach kind of thing initially on that song,” Anderson recounts. “I had recorded it with a lot of guitar tracks, and it sounded cool, but then I brought in my next door neighbor, who plays violin with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and she invited a friend who plays cello. It took on a whole different dimension.”
The album also blends plenty of acoustic and electric instruments, like the 12-string guitar and bass that twine at the beginning of “Private Moon Flower.” And the modulation effects on many of the tracks come from the old Leslie cabinet in Anderson’s home studio.
There’s a level of unpredictability to Anderson’s arrangements that keeps Born on Earth exciting. “Under a White Star,” for example, charges in like a refugee from Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien, then evolves into a folk-rock ballad. Next it turns into a psychedelic blues rave-up with shimmering delay lines and ripping slide before slimming down to just drums rocking out the backbeat and the climax: a powerhouse guitar finale.
“I’ve always been a fan of really creative players like Adrian Belew, Jeff Beck, Mick Ronson, and Jimi Hendrix,” Anderson says. “They were great at sort of otherworldly playing as well as pure rock tones without the use of any effects. They did it all, and they’re my role models.”