We heard an interesting juxtaposition of styles this morning on the kid commute to school and back. From the top of the library stack I grabbed Robbie Fulks‘ 13 Hillbilly Giants and Countrypolitans‘ Face of My Hometown.

Listening to them back-to-back was like watching a couple of kids on the playground teeter-totter. On one side, high in the air, a wisp of a girl, a pixie weighing no more than 30 pounds soaking wet. On the other side is the bear, the big-boned kid, glued to the ground, cueing in at over 100 pounds thanks to inactivity, video games and a diet devoid of vegetables. He hasn’t the strength, she hasn’t the weight to balance the beam on which they sit.

When I first slid Countrypolitans’ Face of My Hometown into the CD player, I wasn’t sure the folks at the library had filed the record correctly when they put it in the “country” section.

Sure, the singer said “ain’t” a few times in the first verse and there’s a steel guitar over there in the background, but otherwise it sounded more like a 90’s-era post-modern soft rock tune. The inclusion of an electric sitar floating behind Elisabeth Ames’ voice was a nice touch, but it lead me even further away from feeling like I’d gone country.

Maybe that’s what Ames and her songwriting partner and bass player Roger Conley had in mind. Maybe the “countrypolitan” sound they envisioned was to be a mix of country and, well, politan, that wouldn’t feel like  a country record.

I’m all for mixing styles and influences. But rather than giving me something new and exciting, this mix of styles just sits there. It’s pleasant enough: Ames has a beautiful voice, the record is well produced, the musicianship competent, the songs well crafted. But, in the end, it was no more or less than a pleasant listen, a lightweight pixie on the end of a teeter-totter.

You might’ve guessed that Robbie Fulks is the heavyweight on the other end of the board. On 13 Hillbilly Giants, he knocks out 13 covers of classic, albeit somewhat obscure country tunes. Pure country tunes, like Bill Anderson’s Cocktails (which my kids found amusing), Bakersfield boy Wynn Stewart’s Donna On My Mind and Gordon Terry’s Lotta Lotta Woman.

If you’re at all familiar with Fulks’ alt-country-in-the-raw style, it’s pretty easy to imagine him pounding out these tunes. There are some slow cuts, as well, ‘cuz remember: fast songs sell records, sad songs sell beer. But they’re not my favorites. I’m partial to the uptempo numbers.

I figure the faster songs might inspire the big-boned kid to run somewhere (anywhere). But, first, ease that little pixie down to the ground, y’here?

Countrypolitans – After You’re Gone
Countrypolitans – Designated Driver
Countrypolitans – Face of My HomeTown
Robbie Fulks – Cocktails
Robbie Fulks – Donna On My Mind
Robbie Fulks – Lotta Lotta Women