ROBBIE FULKS
''THE VERY BEST OF ROBBIE FULKS''
JANUARY 18 2000
42:29
1. Jean Arthur/2:44
2. Sleepin' on the Job of Love/2:10
3. Roots Rock Weirdos/3:53
4. May the Best Man Win/2:24
5. Hamilton County Breakdown/2:56
6. Gravid and Tense/0:30
7. Parallel Bars/3:07
8. Love Ain't Nothin'/2:42
9. I Just Want to Meet the Man/4:22
10. Wedding of the Bugs (live)/1:43
11. You Break it, You Pay/2:23
12. White Man's Bourbon/5:06
13. That Bangle Girl/3:00
14. Jello Goodbye/5:29
Greg Cahill /Banjo
Paul Carestia /Pedal Steel
Tuey Connell /Guitar
Jim DeWan /Guitar
Jerry Eliason /Bass
Brad Fordham /Bass
Robbie Fulks /Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Rob Gjersoe /Guitar, Vocals
Laura Lee /Loop
Randy Lee /Guitar
Dan Massey /Drums
John Mossman /Multi Instruments
Al Murphy /Fiddle
Marty Muse /Pedal Steel
Lorne Rall /Bass
Brett Simons /Bass (Upright)
Joe Terry /Piano
Clinton Thompson /Guitar
Grant Tye /Dobro
Dallas Wayne /Bass
Kelly Willis /Guest Artist, Vocals
REVIEW
by Matt Fink
Indicative of Robbie Fulks' sly sense of humor, The Very Best of Robbie Fulks is nothing of the sort, but a collection of tracks culled from EPs, promos, limited-release 45s, soundtracks, and various obscure compilations. While much of the material is probably meant to be a little more fun than serious, with Fulks adding humorous self-effacing humor in the liner notes, there is some truly first-rate material here. The very strong country ballad "I Just Want to Meet the Man" and the frantic mock rockabilly of "Roots Rock Weirdoes" make for very entertaining listening. "Parallel Bars," a nice duet with Kelly Willis, and the catchy straightforward rock of "Wedding of the Bugs" also should not be missed. "That Bangle Girl," which Fulks mentions as being a personal favorite, is an absolutely essential piece of sharp country-rock bliss that ranks well with anything he's ever written. While everything here may not always be in the best taste (the rather low-brow "White Man's Bourbon" comes to mind), the material is generally consistent enough for it to be possible that a few first-time listeners could mistake this for an actual greatest-hits collection.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Huey
Singer/songwriter Robbie Fulks was one of the more heralded talents in the alternative country movement, displaying an offbeat, sometimes dark sense of humor in many of his best moments. As time passed, Fulks moved away from the country twang of his early work and into a crunchier roots rock hybrid. Fulks divided his childhood between Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, and received his schooling at Columbia University. He moved to Chicago in 1983 and first served as vocalist and guitarist in bluegrass band the Special Consensus, appearing on their Grammy-nominated 1989 album A Hole in My Heart. He later performed in the musical revue Woody Guthrie's American Song and formed his own rock band, the Trailer Trash Revue, with whom he cut a locally popular single, "Little King" b/w "Jean Arthur."
Fulks got his first significant exposure via Bloodshot Records' 1994 compilation Insurgent Country, Vol. 1: For a Life of Sin, which included his track "Cigarette State"; the 1995 follow-up, Insurgent Country, Vol. 2: Hell-Bent, featured Fulks' "She Took a Lot of Pills (And Died)." Both cuts were produced by Steve Albini, who also helmed Fulks' Bloodshot debut, Country Love Songs, in 1996. The album received highly positive reviews and featured backing from roots rockers the Skeletons, as well as former Buck Owens steel guitarist Tom Brumley. The follow-up, South Mouth, took a similarly retro-minded approach, drawing from classic honky tonk and Bakersfield country. With a growing cult reputation, Fulks earned a major-label shot with Geffen, but many critics felt that his 1998 label debut, Let's Kill Saturday Night, undermined the organic strengths of his previous work with overly slick roots rock production. A merger between Universal and PolyGram shortly after the release of Let's Kill Saturday Night led to a gutting of the Geffen artist roster, and the album died on the vine as Fulks found himself without a label.
Fulks opted to start his own label, Boondoggle Records, distributed by his friends at Bloodshot, and launched it with The Very Best of Robbie Fulks, a facetiously titled collection of demos and unreleased recordings. In 2001, Fulks followed with 13 Hillbilly Giants, in which he covered a bakers' dozen songs of the 1950s and '60s, and later that year he issued his most ambitious set to date, Couples in Trouble, a bleak but compelling collection of original songs about a variety of failing relationships that found Fulks adding new dimensions to his interest in rock and left-field pop. In 2005, Fulks signed to the roots-oriented Yep Roc label and dug back into his country roots with his first album for the label, Georgia Hard. It was followed by the live collection Revenge in 2007.
''THE VERY BEST OF ROBBIE FULKS''
JANUARY 18 2000
42:29
1. Jean Arthur/2:44
2. Sleepin' on the Job of Love/2:10
3. Roots Rock Weirdos/3:53
4. May the Best Man Win/2:24
5. Hamilton County Breakdown/2:56
6. Gravid and Tense/0:30
7. Parallel Bars/3:07
8. Love Ain't Nothin'/2:42
9. I Just Want to Meet the Man/4:22
10. Wedding of the Bugs (live)/1:43
11. You Break it, You Pay/2:23
12. White Man's Bourbon/5:06
13. That Bangle Girl/3:00
14. Jello Goodbye/5:29
Greg Cahill /Banjo
Paul Carestia /Pedal Steel
Tuey Connell /Guitar
Jim DeWan /Guitar
Jerry Eliason /Bass
Brad Fordham /Bass
Robbie Fulks /Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Rob Gjersoe /Guitar, Vocals
Laura Lee /Loop
Randy Lee /Guitar
Dan Massey /Drums
John Mossman /Multi Instruments
Al Murphy /Fiddle
Marty Muse /Pedal Steel
Lorne Rall /Bass
Brett Simons /Bass (Upright)
Joe Terry /Piano
Clinton Thompson /Guitar
Grant Tye /Dobro
Dallas Wayne /Bass
Kelly Willis /Guest Artist, Vocals
REVIEW
by Matt Fink
Indicative of Robbie Fulks' sly sense of humor, The Very Best of Robbie Fulks is nothing of the sort, but a collection of tracks culled from EPs, promos, limited-release 45s, soundtracks, and various obscure compilations. While much of the material is probably meant to be a little more fun than serious, with Fulks adding humorous self-effacing humor in the liner notes, there is some truly first-rate material here. The very strong country ballad "I Just Want to Meet the Man" and the frantic mock rockabilly of "Roots Rock Weirdoes" make for very entertaining listening. "Parallel Bars," a nice duet with Kelly Willis, and the catchy straightforward rock of "Wedding of the Bugs" also should not be missed. "That Bangle Girl," which Fulks mentions as being a personal favorite, is an absolutely essential piece of sharp country-rock bliss that ranks well with anything he's ever written. While everything here may not always be in the best taste (the rather low-brow "White Man's Bourbon" comes to mind), the material is generally consistent enough for it to be possible that a few first-time listeners could mistake this for an actual greatest-hits collection.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Huey
Singer/songwriter Robbie Fulks was one of the more heralded talents in the alternative country movement, displaying an offbeat, sometimes dark sense of humor in many of his best moments. As time passed, Fulks moved away from the country twang of his early work and into a crunchier roots rock hybrid. Fulks divided his childhood between Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, and received his schooling at Columbia University. He moved to Chicago in 1983 and first served as vocalist and guitarist in bluegrass band the Special Consensus, appearing on their Grammy-nominated 1989 album A Hole in My Heart. He later performed in the musical revue Woody Guthrie's American Song and formed his own rock band, the Trailer Trash Revue, with whom he cut a locally popular single, "Little King" b/w "Jean Arthur."
Fulks got his first significant exposure via Bloodshot Records' 1994 compilation Insurgent Country, Vol. 1: For a Life of Sin, which included his track "Cigarette State"; the 1995 follow-up, Insurgent Country, Vol. 2: Hell-Bent, featured Fulks' "She Took a Lot of Pills (And Died)." Both cuts were produced by Steve Albini, who also helmed Fulks' Bloodshot debut, Country Love Songs, in 1996. The album received highly positive reviews and featured backing from roots rockers the Skeletons, as well as former Buck Owens steel guitarist Tom Brumley. The follow-up, South Mouth, took a similarly retro-minded approach, drawing from classic honky tonk and Bakersfield country. With a growing cult reputation, Fulks earned a major-label shot with Geffen, but many critics felt that his 1998 label debut, Let's Kill Saturday Night, undermined the organic strengths of his previous work with overly slick roots rock production. A merger between Universal and PolyGram shortly after the release of Let's Kill Saturday Night led to a gutting of the Geffen artist roster, and the album died on the vine as Fulks found himself without a label.
Fulks opted to start his own label, Boondoggle Records, distributed by his friends at Bloodshot, and launched it with The Very Best of Robbie Fulks, a facetiously titled collection of demos and unreleased recordings. In 2001, Fulks followed with 13 Hillbilly Giants, in which he covered a bakers' dozen songs of the 1950s and '60s, and later that year he issued his most ambitious set to date, Couples in Trouble, a bleak but compelling collection of original songs about a variety of failing relationships that found Fulks adding new dimensions to his interest in rock and left-field pop. In 2005, Fulks signed to the roots-oriented Yep Roc label and dug back into his country roots with his first album for the label, Georgia Hard. It was followed by the live collection Revenge in 2007.
No comments :
Post a Comment