The Very Best of Robbie Fulks
The title is, of course, a put-on, since the closest Robbie Fulks has come to a hit was the never-be-ready-for-prime-time "Fuck This Town," from his 1997South Mouthalbum. This collection gathers 14 unreleased cuts--some old, some new--and the best songs here reaffirm Fulks's status as one of the most imaginative and provocative (not to mention politically incorrect) songwriters working within a twang-based aesthetic. "Jean Arthur" turns the guitar lick from the coda of "Layla" into a country tune. "That Bangle Girl" is a pure-pop collaboration with theSkeletons, while "Parallel Bars" is a good-humored honky-tonk duet withKelly Willis. "Hamilton County Breakdown" showcases Fulks's bluegrass flat-picking skills, but best of all is "White Man's Bourbon," which gleefully picks up where "Ubangi Stomp" and "Brown Sugar" left off.--Rick Mitchell