Robbie Fulks
13 Hillbilly Giants
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Robbie Fulks
13 Hillbilly Giants
Bloodshot, 2001
RiYL: Steve Earle, Moon Mullican, Will Oldham |
This from a man who recorded the scathing "Roots Rock Weirdos," a song blasting the No Depression hipsters that derided his efforts to expand from the straight-up country stylings of his early albums to a more experimental sound, displayed on the outstanding Couples In Trouble.
On Couples In Trouble, Fulks all but twisted a knife into the country hipster scene, effortlessly plowing through such genres as Appalachian folk music and the classic three-minute pop song. Fulks took some chances with his prior release, 1998's Let's Kill Saturday Night, but Couples is in a world of its own.
But before venturing into that world, Fulks recorded in a quick weekend session a helping of "golden age" hillbilly songs, as he explains in the liner notes. The selections range from traditional, flat-picking numbers like "Southern Comfort" to piano-driven 1950s bubblegum pop gem "Donna On My Mind."
The album sticks as close to its theme as possible: little-known songs by little-known songwriters. Or, as Fulks told a captive audience in Arlington, Virginia: "The idea was to put a bunch of songs by old obscure country singers [save the quietly haunting "Jeannie's Afraid Of The Dark," a tuned penned by one Dolly Parton] on an album by an obscure modern country singer so that in the end, no one gets heard."
Some of the songs are humorous, rockabilly rave-ups like "Lotta Lotta Women," "We Live A Long time To Get Old" and the off-beat "I Want To Be Mama'd." Others are more pensive, like "Burn On Love Fire" and "By The Law Of My Heart."
A particular stand out is "Knot Hole," a rollicking tale about a boy spying on his sister doing the "Hootchie-cootchie dance" for her teenage lover. "Knot Hole / Knot Hole / you ought to seen what I saw through the old Knot Hole," Fulks sings.
Of course, what classic country album would be complete without the requisite number of drown-in-your-beer heartbreakers? Certainly not one called 13 Hillbilly Giants, that's for sure. Fulks, known for some of the more crude country tunes of modern times -- see "She Took A Lot Of Pills And Died" and "Fuck This Town" -- sings the weepy barland tunes with reckless abandon, allowing his always unexpectedly soulful voice to shine on the remorseful "Cocktails" and "Bury The Bottle With Me."
"Cocktails tore up my family / cocktails tore down my home / I cheated, I lied, I swallowed my pride / And then I washed it all down with cocktails," he croons in "Cocktails."
But while Fulks allowed his voice to be the primary driver on Couples In Trouble, on this album he uses the old country tunes to showcase his impressive picking skills, a facet that may not have been fully appreciated or highlighted on previous efforts. Anyone who's seen the man live can attest to his formidable guitar picking, but it tends to get buried on his albums. He fixes that right off the bat with "Southern Comfort," a traditional instrumental romp that feels straight out of Nashville, about 50 years ago.
In fact, much of the album sounds like it could've been recorded for the Grand Ol' Opry radio show, once dominated by Roy Acuff, Porter Wagnoner and the other greats from country music's golden age. It's a surprisingly consistent traditional album, a refreshing batch of tunes from Fulks, a musician clearly moving on, but very aware of his past.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.