Various - Bottle Let Me Down

  by Geraint Jones

published: 15 / 11 / 2002

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Review

This excellent compilation- yet another consistently rewarding set from Bloodshot-has been around for several months now, but although not specifically festive, Christmas is perhaps an appropriate time to catch up with its irresistible charms. The concept behind the album was apparently sparked by the realisation that a number of fans of the label and its artists were being seen less and less at their gigs and only being spotted at rare daytime shows. The reason for their sudden change of habit – they had all been blessed / afflicted (delete as appropriate) with parenthood. Now before that frightens you off – hold on! Whether you’re a parent, a child or neither, even though the album might be loosely targeted at parents and their children, the press release actually confides that this album is for the amusement of children...and arrested adolescents everywhere. I’m only guessing here of course, but I reckon that covers most bases! It’s undeniable that the songs are nominally aimed at children and range from versions of old nursery classics (most, more likely familiar to US children I suspect) to originals written specifically for the project. Some of these though, whilst they could be enjoyed by kids, also have a subtext that’s undoubtedly for the arrested adolescents! Robbie Fulks’ sinister and weird ‘Godfrey’ might seem like fun initially, but listen to the lyrics, clearly the work of a dark and twisted imagination, but very funny with it. Kelly Hogan’s positively steamy ‘Rubber Duckie’ is very hot stuff indeed and definitely not kids' stuff! As a party album, it could entertain anyone from age one to one hundred. There’s really not a duff track on it and the highlights are numerous - Rosie Flores’ sprightly, swinging’ ‘Red, Red Robin’;Cornell Hurd’s cautionary tale of what’s acceptable behaviour from his children, ‘Don’t Wipe Your Face On Your Shirt’; Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys take on the Sesame Street staple ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green’; Carolyn Mark’s fun story-telling on ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’’ and The Waco Brothers rambunctious charge through the Welsh folk tale, ‘The Fox’. It's all fantastic stuff and doesn’t even take into account similarly impressive contributions from the Handsome Family, Alejandro Escovedo and Freakwater amongst many more. ’The Bottle Let Me Down' is damn good fun from start to finish andvirtually flawless as pure entertainment. If you have kids, pretend you bought it for them, then keep it for yourself. If not buy it anyway, regress, make a mess and party like you just turned 9. Fabulous fun.

Track Listing:-

1 Rosie Flores– Red, Red Robin
2 Kelly Hogan– Senor El Gato
3 One Riot One Ranger– Hinky Dinky Dee
4 Alejandro Escovedo– Sad & Dreamy (The Big 1-0)
5 Robbie Fulks– Godfrey
6 Jon Rauhouse & Norm Pratt– Camptown Races
7 Jim & Jennie And The Pinetops*– Down In The Arkansas
8 The Cornell Hurd Band– Don't Wipe Your Face On Your Shirt
9 The Handsome Family– Snowball
10 Jane Baxter Miller– On Top Of Spaghetti
11 Asylum Street Spankers– I Am My Own Grandpa
12 Rex Hobart And The Misery Boys– It's Not Easy Being Green
13 Jon Rauhouse & Norm Pratt– Cartoon Chicken
14 Jon Rauhouse & Andy Hopkins– Three Little Fishes
15 Chris Ligon– Crazy Dazy
16 Split Lip Rayfield– The Weasel, The Bean, The Frog, & The Dog
17 Waco Brothers– The Fox
18 Nora O'Connor & Steve Frisbie– Cheese, Peas, Pickles & Bananas
19 Jon Rauhouse & Norm Pratt– Turkey In The Straw
20 Devil In A Woodpile– Funky Butt
21 The Meat Purveyors– The Crawdad Song
22 Kim Lenz– Down On The Farm
23 Kelly Hogan– Rubber Duckie
24 Trailer Bride– Lullaby