Robbie Fulks South Mouth CD

Feat.Skeletons W/Tom Brumley- Buck Owens' Steel Gutr Player

Personnel: Robbie Fulks (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Jim DeWan (vocals, acoustic guitar, bouzouki); Tuey Connell (acoustic & electric guitars, electric banjo, background vocals); D. Clinton Thompson (guitar); Steve Byam, Tom Brumley (steel guitar); Joe Terry (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, background vocals); Lorne Rall (acoustic & electric basses); Lou Whitney (bass); Bobby Lloyd Hicks, Dan Massey (drums).
Recorded at The Studio, Springfield, Missouri.
Personnel: Tom Brumley (steel guitar).
Unknown Contributor Role: Robbie Fulks.
Fulks uses a backing musician cavalcade on each track in this exploration of "the dark side of country music." Not strictly downbeat, there is plenty of humor here, too ("I Told Her Lies," etc.). Especially noteworthy are the steel guitar players (Steve Byam and Buck Owens' Tom Brumley) and the solid bass guitar from Lou Whitney of the Skeletons. These arrangements, bolstered by a mob of electric and acoustic guitarists, make for the salient entertainment on this disc. Fulks is no Hank Williams, in that Fulks can't often hold your attention with merely his material, voice, and guitar. However, the variety on this disc, from ballads like "Forgotten but Not Gone" to real insurgency like "F*ck This Town," and the rich instrumentation make it a fine contribution to alternative country music. ~ Tom Schulte
Chicago's Robbie Fulks may be the standard-bearer of alternative country, but you don't need a subscription to No Depression to enjoy his music. Any fan of real country will find cause to rejoice here. Fulks's second release, SOUTH MOUTH is a broader record than his first. The common threads connecting the Western Swing numbers, honky tonkers and sullen hill country ballads are witty lyrics, heartache, and a biting sense of humor. On "I Told Her Lies" his tongue is so far up his cheek it's a wonder he hasn't swallowed it. "You Wouldn't Do That To Me" and "South Richmond Girl" have a haunting vulnerability that is rarely evoked so effectively. Fulks's sardonic ode to Nashville, "Fuck This Town," serves as a reminder that he's doing his own thing and wants no part of today's "Nash Vegas".
Backed by Tom Brumley (formerly Buck Owens' steel guitar player) and members of the Skeletons, Fulks puts an original spin on the country traditions he has so seamlessly assimilated. He pays homage to these traditions without denying his 90's Midwestern wise guy persona. The result is an intelligent album full of timeless songs--the kind of record that never wears out it's welcome.

Spin (2/98, p.107) - 7 (out of 10) - "...A little to the left with acerbic lyrics, a little to the right with retro stylings, Fulks is good enough to validate the whole contrarian enterprise....his songwriting is crisp enough to get cut in Nashville if he wanted. Of course, he doesn't..."
Entertainment Weekly (10/24/97, p.67) - "Judging from the '50s-style hard-country sound of his second album, you'd swear 34-year old Fulks once traded beers with Webb Pierce..." - Rating: A-