Description: Various Artists – Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman Artist: Various Artists The success of a tribute album rests on three salient points: the artist being toasted, the material being covered, and the talent being assembled. Pearls In The Snow, coming nearly 30 years after Kinky Friedman’s debut album was released, succeeds on all counts and in fact is a long-overdue treasure. Back in the early ’70s, Friedman worked in similar vein as Loudon Wainwright III and Shel Silverstein, writing and performing smartass (emphasis on the “smart”) songs that detailed the mundane and the monumental with equal reverence. Friedman applied a heavier coat of country to his material, and never once let anyone forget his religious affiliation by, uh, christening his band the Texas Jewboys (the band included Billy Swan and Leroy Parnell, both of whom contribute to Pearls). Kinky capitalized on the freedom of FM and college radio and became a cult hero in the process with a handful of minor hits and endless club tours across the country, culminating in a support slot on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue. When the label deals dried up, Kinky turned to words without music, writing a string of offbeat and wildly hilarious mystery novels (Friedman recently released his eleventh book, Blast From The Past. Although he hasn’t written a song since his publishing deals and performs only rarely anymore, the time may be right for a Kinky Friedman revival. With a stellar array of talent including Willie Nelson, Delbert McClinton, Dwight Yoakam, Lyle Lovett and Tom Waits covering several of Kinky’s best (and long out-of-print) tunes (“Ride ‘Em Jewboy”, “Sold American”, “Rapid City, South Dakota”), Pearls is as much a reintroduction as a tribute. Kinky himself even shows up on a couple tracks — solo on “Marilyn And Joe”, and with the Texas Jewboys on “Medley” (a morphing of “They Don’t Make Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Homo Erectus”) and “Silver Eagle Express.” Friedman is every bit as obvious and faintly vulgar now as he was in the ’70s, but sensibilities have become calloused in the intervening years, and few will take offense as they did 25 years ago when these songs were slightly more scandalous. Still in all, Pearls In The Snow is great fun and a welcome return to the spotlight for the Texas Jewboy who would be the court jester of country swing. -- No Depression Combined shipping discount on all items unless otherwise noted. Just use the add to cart option and proceed to checkout when done. Please note that the Buy It Now button voids the discount. See the shipping link for more shipping options.
Price: 7.99 USD
Location: Old Saybrook, Connecticut
End Time: 2024-08-23T13:43:35.000Z
Shipping Cost: 4.25 USD
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All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Artist: Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart, Tom Waits, Willie Nelson, Various Artists, Delbert McClinton, Lee Roy Parnell, Asleep at the Wheel, The Geezinlaws, Guy Clark, Tompall Glaser, Chuck E. Weiss, Kinky Friedman, Billy Swan, Lyle Lovett
CD Grading: Good Plus (G+)
Record Label: Kinkajou Records
Occasion: Tribute
Release Title: Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman
Case Type: Jewel Case: Standard
Case Condition: Mint (M)
Inlay Condition: Good (G)
Catalog Number: 669291181821
Edition: Anthology, First Edition
Type: Album
Format: CD
Language: English
Producer: Kacey Jones
Release Year: 1999
Era: 1990s
Style: Alternative Country/Americana
Features: Compilation, Original Cover
Run Time: 64
Genre: Folk, Rock, Alt Country
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
