With Christmas approaching, it's no surprise to see the quantity of greatest hits collections coming out. It only makes sense. For example, you are shopping for a friend who's a fan of a particular artist and can't remember which album has that one song your friend really likes. With a greatest hits collection, your chances of it having that song are greatly improved. Another thing to think about is that it's been a few years since country music surged into its current popularity. In that time, many of country's hottest stars accumulated several albums under their belt enough material to merit a collection of "hits." Gibson endorsee John Anderson (who's been making records since the '80s) is one of those individuals. And guess what? He's got a greatest hits album, containing songs recorded since he switched to BNA records. Anderson is one of this reviewer's favorite country artists. At first, it was hard to put a finger on why, but the answer became clear as a bell while listening to "Long Hard Lesson Learned." Anderson likes to write music in minor keys. A song that might sound a bit happy and hokey all of a sudden has weight and power when put in the context of a minor key. The all-time master of this dark sounding style of country-rock is Mark Knopfler. Therefore it's not surprising that the Dire Straits frontman is both a big fan and penned some of the tunes on this collection. He played a little guitar too, but it's hard to say exactly where, since the liner notes don't say who played on what very frustrating. Regardless of who played on what, the star attraction is Anderson's voice. He is comfortable belting out a rocker like "I Fell In The Water" and the Georgia Satellites classic "Keep Your Hands To Yourself." At the same time, he can do the sensitive thing on "I Wish I Could Have Been There." This is not an album for those craving profound lyric poetry "I wish I had a bass boat and a Z28" is a prime example of the down home verbiage to emanate from the speakers. However, songs like "Swingin'" (a newly recorded version of his 1983 hit) make up for this shortcoming through raw energy, solid musicianship and clever production. Highlights are "When It Comes To You" and "Long Hard Lesson Learned," hands down. Both these tunes were written or co-written by Knopfler and it shows in the flowing melodies and memorable hooks. On the other hand, Anderson has a better voice than Mark. Maybe they should start a band and release an album together. Now THAT would be a Christmas present.