Veteran alt.rock/pop icon Chris Stamey (dB’s, Sneakers, etc.) marks his latest album Anything is Possible as inspired by his teenage love for the innocent pop music on sixties A.M. radio. The way he channels this affection is by essentially combining the two sides of his twenty-first century personality: the sixties-informed power pop that made his name while in the dB’s (and for most of his solo career), and the Great American Songbook-infused balladry of recent albums like New Songs For the 20th Century. Given his skill as a musician and composer and his long-refined acumen as a producer, he doesn’t so much balance these two approaches as find the commonalities between them. Thus guitar-driven songs like “In a Lonely Place” and the title track sit comfortably alongside gentler new-school standards like “After All This Time” and “When My Ship Comes In,” with no whiplash-inducing differences. Many musicians have attempted this kind of highwire act and failed, sometimes miserably, but Stamey’s exceptional musicality and pure love of each style make the record absolutely seamless. Impeccably produced, confidently performed, and with melodies for miles, Anything is Possible is a delight.
