Fulks uncovers obscure gems

I can honestly say that I've never heard of any of the songs on Robbie Fulks' new album, 13 Hillbilly Giants. But, in many ways, that's a good thing.\nBy covering songs by some of country's more obscure artists, Fulks reveals that some of the best country music is not found in the mainstream. In fact, only one song on the album -- Dolly Parton's "Jeannie's Afraid of the Dark" -- is by a "famous" musician.\nOf course, Fulks himself isn't famous either, perhaps because the songs he writes -- like "She Took a Lot of Pills (And Died)" and "God Isn't Real" -- are often quirky, disquieting or laced with a dark humor that most fans of mainstream, cookie-cutter country wouldn't like.\nOn 13 Hillbilly Giants, Fulks has apparently found some kindred spirits. His version of Bill Anderson's "Cocktails" is a lament about the dangers of alcohol that's sung with a bit of a yodel, while Jimmie Logsdon's "I Want to Be Mama'd" into a steel-guitar rave-up punctuated by Fulks' wailing of "I'm a big baby."\nHe also covers a range of musical styles. "Burn on Love Fire" contains a subtle Latin tinge, while Jimmy Arnold's "Southern Comfort" takes on a rightfully bluegrass feel. There's also a few heartbreaking ballads, such as "Jeannie's Afraid" and "Bury the Bottle with Me," a poignant cover of a Hylo Brown's song that painfully points out, "The bottle is the Devil… It's the bottle that took my soul and petrified my brain."\nOverall, 13 Hillbilly Giants is not only a good introduction to Robbie Fulks, but also to the world of real country music, where pain doesn't always come in 12-bar form and emotions aren't easily summed up in a three-minute pop format. Those lessons can be a bitter pill to swallow, but you'll be better off for doing it.\nRating: 8