Robbie Fulks
Revenge
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Robbie Fulks
Revenge
Yep Roc, 2007
RiYL: Steve Earle, Buck Owens, George Jones |
It is not quite clear just who Fulks is taking revenge on, other than just about everyone. Fulks has never been easy to pin down, although most everyone lumps him into the so-called alt.country genre, an overused generalization that has completely lost all meaning over the past five years or so.
So although you might find his albums like 2001’s underrated Couples in Trouble or 1998’s Let’s Kill Saturday Night wrongly lumped next to Whiskeytown or Rhett Miller in the record store, one listen to either of those records will make your ears spin and your mind ache, as you will swear you have just stumbled onto one of the best true country music singer/songwriters in a long time.
To top it off, put on 2005’s outstanding Georgia Hard. That one will knock you out and make clear that the only thing keeping Fulks from playing such legendary venues like the Ryman in Nashville or even the Birchmere outside Washington, D.C., is himself. His distaste for all things pop-country are clear and well known, but damn does he sometimes sound like the second coming of George Jones or Buck Owens.
Revenge, then, is appropriately titled. He takes swipes all over, not the least of which himself and the music industry. On the opening faux-swing number “We’re on the Road,” Fulks and his band, in perfect harmony, set the picture:
“Springfield/Salt Lake/Champaign, Urbana/ Farmer City/Fairbanks/Gary, Indiana/ West to East/Portland/We’re all across the land/We’re never home/ We’re gone/ What is it that we’re on?/ We’re on the road/ When we’re not onstage/ we’re in a chrome cage/ We’re on the road”
From there, Fulks introduces the band, one by one: “I’m lead guitar and I sing down low,” sings Grant Tye, “I write the songs and get most of the dough,” Fulks croons.
The song is rudely interrupted by a cel phone call from a slimy, cajun-sounding record executive supposedly from Yep Roc, who wants a “fast and cheap” album to follow up his “artistic triumph,” Georgia Hard. Artistic triumph being code-speak for a lousy seller.
From there, his “fast and cheap” Revenge, so to speak, starts out as a traditional live album. Pulling from his usual live repertoire, with songs like “You Shouldn’t Have,” “The Buck Stops Here,” and “Let’s Kill Saturday Night” to close, Disc One captures Fulks’ usual enthusiasm and energy on stage.
Aside from “We’re on the Road,” nothing really stands out on Disc One, as it pretty much follows the traditional Robbie Fulks show. Disc Two is considerably better. From the opening introduction, which turns into a seminar in acoustic picking, right on to the end, Fulks takes the live album concept to a completely new level.
Not only are most of the songs new--Fulks calls live albums “a fuckin’ ripoff’ halfway through the disc--they are performed in an intimate, personal setting. Even though you know there’s several hundred people in the audience, Fulks breaks the live album code by talking at length with the crowd, it almost feels like he’s singing directly to the listener.
Things even get a bit surreal with his spot-on cover of Cher’s “Believe.” I don’t think I ever thought I’d write this in any review, but knowing Fulks’ penchant for pulling out the strangest and most unlikely cover tunes, it is not surprising that he can perform “Believe” as if he wrote it. Performed with just his acoustic guitar, Fulks’ powerful vocals strain slightly during the bridge, but otherwise the tune demonstrates his incredible--and surprising--range.
Of the new tunes, “That’s a Good Enough Reason,” “On a Real Good Day,” and “The Bluebirds are Singing For Me” stand out, but none as much as “I Like Being Left Alone,” a hilarious take on turning middle aged.
He introduces the song by detailing a bout with writer’s block, which made him think about when he was younger, he’d write songs about things he liked--women, alcohol, being young. But now that he is past 40, he realized that he doesn’t really like anything anymore, except being left alone. Hence the song.
“I like being left alone/ I like chocolate pie/ clear blue sky/ a glass of Coke to roam/ I like summer/ I like fall/ I like music/ but most of all/ I like being left alone,” he sings over a casual strumming guitar.
The song then hits home: “I’m talkin’ ‘bout sales reps/ talkin’ ‘bout the government/ I’m talking ‘bout the children/ I’m talkin’ ‘bout you, you and you.”
Revenge does have its disappointments, as he wastes an appearance by the talented Kelly Hogan on the final cut, “Away Out on the Old Saint Sabbath,” an A.P. Carter, old-school country classic, straight out of Appalachia. Hogan is one of the premier harmony vocalists and on this tune, she makes a fleeting appearance and doesn’t get a chance to wail.
Disc One, meanwhile, contains a few too many Fulks standards from his earlier records, so fresher tunes like “Countrier Than Thou” and “Dancing on the Ashes” get left out for “Rock Bottom, Pop. One” and “Cigarette State.”
Still, this is just quibbling, as Revenge rewrites the books for live albums. It can be an exhaustive and frustrating listen, but a few times through will no doubt be worth the trip.
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.