Robbie Fulks - South Mouth (1997)

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.