"Anything Goes" is the debut single by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Randy Houser Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes". It was a top 20 hit on the '' Billboard'' country singles chart a ...

, released in June 2008. It is the title track of his 2008 debut album of the same name. The song was written by

Brice Long William Brice Long (born August 25, 1971) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Signed to Columbia Records in 2005, Long charted one single on the ''Billboard'' country chart that year: "Anywhere but Here", which was also released by Ch ...

and John Wiggins.

Content

"Anything Goes" is a mid-tempo

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, mostly accompanied by

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

Hammond B-3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, with

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

flourishes. In it, the narrator recalls a

one-night stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

with a woman whom he has met a bar. He states that he does not feel guilty about the encounter, because his lover has left him.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was made for the song in October 2008. Directed by Vincenzo Giammanco, the video starts with Houser walking into a bar to drink a beer. Scenes also show him playing guitar in the bar. In the second verse of the song, Houser is seen sitting on a bed, with his one-night stand still asleep. At the end of the video, Houser places his guitar into a fire. This music video was filmed at the Star Lounge in Ventura, CA.

Critical reception

The song has received mixed reception from music reviewers. Brady Vercher of Engine 145, stated in his review of the album that Houser "showed a lot of promise" in this song. He also described it as "similar in theme to

Jamey Johnson Jamey Johnson (born July 14, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to BNA Records in 2005, Johnson made his debut with his single " The Dollar", the title track to his 2006 album '' The Dollar''. He was dropped from ...

's 'Mary Go Round', only from a slightly different perspective." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described "Anything Goes" as "melodic and tightly constructed, but not quite memorable." Allen Jacobs of Roughstock gave the song a mixed review, thinking that the verses "stumbled", but described Houser's vocal performance favorably.

Chart performance

"Anything Goes" was released in May 2008. It debuted at No. 56 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart dated June 21, 2008. It reached its peak of No. 16 on the country chart dated December 6, 2008.

References

{{authority control 2008 songs 2008 debut singles Randy Houser songs 2000s ballads Country ballads Show Dog-Universal Music singles Songs written by Brice Long Song recordings produced by Mark Wright (record producer)