Robbie Fulks

Artist Description

Singer/songwriter Robbie Fulks was one of the more heralded talents in the alternative country movement, displaying an offbeat, sometimes dark sense of humor in many of his best moments. As time passed, Fulks moved away from the country twang of his early work and into a crunchier roots rock hybrid.



Revenge! is the newest release from Robbie Fulks, a 2-disc, 23-track "live record" that invests that term with fresh thinking. One disc stars the songwriter's ferociously rocking four-man road band (and interpolates sound check and studio-grown material). The other has Robbie in an acoustic cabaret setting, and highlights his Carolina-bred flat picking and communicative dynamism. Together they form a singular document of the country contrarian's musical range - rock, bluegrass, honky-tonk, jazz - and spontaneity. Half the tracks are new ('Fixin' to Fall' with Casey Driessen's mind-altering violin; a flailing Carter Family drive-by with silken-throated Kelly Hogan at the wheel, an emotional read on Cher's 'Believe'), and all are newly fired, with an ideal blend of audiophile clarity and on-the-spot joy. More than sweet, Revenge! is a mid-career summation and vital addition from an artist who still looks curiously forward, and works best without a script.