Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kickin’ Team: Back and Stronger Than Ever
Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kickin’ Team: Back and Stronger Than Ever
The OAKTeam deliver their best album in years - maybe ever - with Got to Be Strong.
First published March 1, 2024.
“I moved next to a chainsaw repair shop / I couldn’t believe the rent was so cheap.” So opens the new album from Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kickin’ Team, Got to be Strong. “Chainsaw Repair Shop” takes a one-liner worthy of Henny Youngman and stretches it over two-and-a-half minutes of glorious rhunka-rhunka rock’n’roll. It’s the kind of noise the OAKTeam can make in their sleep, but it’s the perfect way to reintroduce one of the best all-out rock’n’roll bands the Tar Heel State has ever produced.
Got to be Strong emphasizes that TA and the OAKTeam are so much more than rhunka-rhunka, however. After the fist-pumping opener, almost as if they’re getting the rawk out of their system, the OAKTeam settles into their front-to-back overall best album ever. Anderson’s pen and drums guide the band through some of the strongest power pop - with a sprinkle of soul and R&B - they’ve ever committed to tape. This is punctuated by “Best Day Ever”, the most the OAKTeam has ever sounded like their heroes, NRBQ, but centered with Anderson’s signature cleverness.
Elsewhere, it’s obvious that the fun they had paying tribute to ELO during (local Raleigh bar) King’s annual Great Cover Up transitioned to the studio for “Magnificent”, whose chorus rings like one of Jeff Lynne’s best unused ideas. Shades of Cheap Trick and Big Star are heard in gems like “My Bandana” and “Doesn’t Exist”, respectively.
Throughout Got to Be Strong, what’s apparent is the OAKTeam has deepened and expanded their sound, without sacrificing what makes them such a powerful yet lovable unit. Different textures are used. “Box Wine Row” is propelled by Dave Bartholomew’s hypnotic two-chord guitar stab that underscores the nostalgic sorrow in the lyric. Closer “Ride Along”, well, rides along cheerily on a George Harrison-esque slide guitar line.
Anderson’s vocals are also the best they’ve ever been, as he digs down deep to his lower register on the ballads, a side rarely heard on record before now. Greg Rice fills spaces with the taste and agility of Ian McLagan, while Jack Cornell is as reliable as ever on the low end and in the producer’s seat.
The highlight is the title track. The legendary Don Dixon shows up to tag team with Anderson on a song that’s pulled right from the studios of Memphis. It acts as the missing link between Stax and Royal, two of that city’s most soul-filled houses. You can tell they’re having a blast as they Sam-and-Dave-it up to Southern Soul Heaven.
Ultimately, having a blast is what the OAKTeam is all about; Got to Be Strong proves it, and we’re all the better for it.
