It's John Rich, of the duo Big & Rich, who's been writing with and producing Anderson. "I might add that he's a great young producer," said Anderson. "We met and got to be friends, and we started writing together. The songs we were doing got to being real good, and people got interested.
"This (his new stuff) has been talked about around town for a while, but you know how talk is. The heat didn't get turned up until three or four weeks ago."
Now, with a hip young producer, a batch of new tunes, and a major-label signing that appears to be imminent, one of country-music's most distinct and consistently intriguing artists may soon be back on the airwaves for, amazingly enough, a third go-round.