Robbie plays by nobody’s rules, except the ones he hears in his head. He is prodigiously talented, with the soul of a country singer and the mind of a vaudevillian.
Widely regarded by those who monitor such things as one of the most gifted songwriters to ever ply the trade, he can sing the kids ditty “Eggs” and Haggard’s “Sing a Sad Song” back to back and mean ’em both. While it is true he started off a honky tonk smartass, it quickly became evident that Robbie was a monster talent and some of his early Bloodshot albums have been rightly elevated to the status of “classic” and serve as their own Greatest Hits collections. Seriously.
It is a damning condemnation of our world’s musical taste that he has not been elevated to the ranks of the multi-faceted giants of songwriting like Nick Lowe, Dave Alvin and Harlan Howard. He damn well should be. Robbie’s cross-genre antics would have had him revered in times gone by; such artists used to be coveted, now they confuse. We take it personally that he’s not more famous and consider it evidence of our world’s moral and aesthetic decline.
Lost in the deserved accolades for being a fabulously unique, clever, and heartfelt writer is the fact that he’s also one of the best guitarists around. The chameleon-like tall guy can whip it out in honky-tonk, country, bluegrass, power pop, or whatever strikes his ample whimsy at the time.
“Fulks is a gifted guitarist, a soulful singer with an expressive honky-tonk tenor, and a natural performer. But what really sets him apart is his songwriting, which is one part artful country, one part artful sendup of country and one part a little of everything else… It’s sort of country meets David Lynch.” – The New York Times
NPR’s Fresh Air just gave Robbie’s new album a great review – you can read or listen to it here.
Join us this Friday, May 13 at 8:00pm (doors open in 7:30). Tix and info here.