Rollercoaster (Smith Music Group, 2004)

It's hard to believe that music this good is being heard by so few people outside of his native Texas, but Randy Rogers has built up a big head of steam and is coming down the tracks toward wider recognition on this new "Rollercoaster."This is the group's third independent release. Yet, there's nothing homemade about the quality of the music or the production. The music and the vocals sound much more like Chris Knight and early Steve Earle than Radney Foster, who produced the album. The sound is a bit gritty and likely what the people who put together the terms alternative and country together had in mind.

Of the 11 tunes, few dial down the overall intensity that drives the music. The vocals are straight and to the point, matching the no-nonsense approach of the entire disc. The five musicians that make up the band bring two guitars, a bass, a drum kit and a fiddle. At times, just Brady Black's bowing is all that keeps this from falling into the roots rock genre.

"Rollercoaster" is yet another stellar collection out of Austin and ought to to lift Randy Rogers and his band out of national obscurity.