Robbie Fulks
Bluegrass Vacation
Compass Records
Brand New and Shinily Authentic Bluegrass For Unbelievers.
If this album had been by most anyone but Robbie Fulks I genuinely doubt I’d have even opened the cellophane that the CD was wrapped in; such is my feelings towards hardcore Bluegrass and generally Old Time Music …. it just doesn’t appeal to me.
But Robbie Fulks does and has for a quarter of a century now.
So; with an ‘open mind’ I put the disc in the office hi-fi and clenched my teeth in anticipation.
After four or five songs I felt my jaw easing and soon I was actually …. enjoying the music that Robbie Fulks was creating!
Starting with the opening track, One Glass of Whiskey, what I think I like best about these songs is that they are all new and from the pen of Mr Fulks who is channeling his own personal stories from the last 50 years or so; and many; this one included involve his relationship with Bluegrass Music.
The second song in; Molly and The Old Man all revolves around some very smooth fiddle playing from Shad Cobb and some mighty neat banjo picking from Alison Brown too; which are normally two things that send a cold shiver down my spine.
It’s as if Robbie Fulks wanted to make an authentic Bluegrass album (he has btw) but can’t help including his love of American Folk and Insurgent Country Music in the mix too; which makes songs like Angels Cary Me, Sweet L’il Corra-Mae and the nitro-fuelled Let The Old Dog In eminently listenable for someone like me who doesn’t normally like Bluegrass.
If we jump back to the early part of the album Lonely Ain’t Hardly Alive sounds like an A-Typical Robbie Fulks tale that can easily be converted to fit most Roots models; and here (again) the banjo is played as a lead instrument; as if it’s a guitar and sounds much easier on the ear than I’d normally expect; and mercifully Fulks voice isn’t made for yodelling so he contents himself by attempting to hit a couple of higher notes than normal.
As expected on a Bluegrass album there’s an instrumental; Silverlake Reel tucked away in the middle and even for untuned ears like mine; it’s sheer class!
There’s no surprise that Fulks keeps Old Time Music Is Here To Stay until last; as it’s just him and his banjo looking back at the music he’s created over the years that has brought him back to the music he grew up listening to and playing, before leaving the fold to make his fortune elsewhere in the industry.
Who’d have thought I’d ever have had a Favourite Bluegrass song; let alone having to select between three on one album? But that’s the case here; Momma’s Eyes is absolutely beautiful in every which way; and may go on to be one of Robbie Fulks best ever songs the more we play it; then it’s immediatly followed by the Polka style Nashville Blues which has had my toes tapping every time I’ve played it; and it does the song no harm that it reminds me of The Soggy Bottom Boys in Oh Brother Where Art Thou.
But there is one other that caught my attention the first time I played the album and quickly found myself scanning the Press Release for more info; and that song is Longhair Bluegrass which tells of a ‘game changing’ moment in Fulks young life; when he discovered that ‘longhairs’ and ‘hippies’ played this music too …. and man; it was Cool! Hence it’s my Favourite Song by a Country mile.
I’m not sure where I am now; I doubt I’m a convert to the mysterious world of Bluegrass and Old Time music ….. but Robbie Fulks may just have left the door open enough for me to poke my nose in every now and again.
Released April 7th 2023
http://www.robbiefulks.com/
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https://compass.audiosalad.com/?xurl=468268e2ea36df17e00e087edcd2c7aea7457813
https://robbiefulks.bandcamp.com/album/bluegrass-vacation
The Rocking Magpie 