What I’ve come to expect from Robbie Fulks is good songs. So when I saw an album advertising all of the guest stars on his latest, Bluegrass Vacation, I started to get a little nervous. A lot of times I’ve found advertising the guest stars means, “I don’t have anything to say, but boy look at who plays on this thing!” I’ve been a Fulks fan since 1998’s Let’s Kill Saturday Night found it’s way into my CD collection, probably sometime around 1999 or 2000 when I was eating alt-country for breakfast, bluegrass for lunch, 70’s country for a snack, indie rock for dinner and washing it all down with a copy of No Depression and a splash of rock and roll. Fulks checked a lot of those boxes. He was earnest, could play, and most importantly, wrote a good song. And he’s doing it just about as good or better than most in the country/bluegrass genre these days.
The 11 songs on the new record could stand up without all the guest stars which is what you want. The star playing is just an added bonus. But, I’ve always been a fan of doing things right, so since Robbie wanted to do an all bluegrass album, I’ll give him some props for bringing in the badasses. “Angels Carry Me” tells the story of the prodigal son who’s grown wise with age and is easily my favorite of the bunch. “Longhair Bluegrass” had me smiling and giggling and “Momma’s Eyes” could bring a tear to most. I would have liked another original besides “Nashville Blues” but it’s a fun romp. “Sweet Li’l Cora-Mae” was on his Bandcamp/Flashdrive Doberman release but this is a good double banjo version. But hey, who am I to tell you what’s good. I’m just here to ramble on about Robbie Fulks and to get you to go buy his stuff. It’s good. Want a recommendation of where to start in his catalogue? Email me.
RIYL: old dogs, children, watermelon Truly
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.