Porter Wagoner - The Rubber Room

Porter Wagoner is a much misunderstood artist. Singing about the peaks and troughs of the human experience from inside a purple sequinned Nudie suit he has created the most extraordinary catalogue of any country music artist, and quite possibly any popular performer, ever. Don't believe me? Then check out the skull cracking and heart rendering reverberations of The Rubber Room, the troubled soul of George Leroy Chickashea, the desperate howl that is Lonely Coming Down and the seething hurt that is Fairchild. Yet amongst this human train-wreck there are jewels of burning pathos and profound spirituality like Moments of Meditation and Little Boy's Prayer. It is indeed this collision of an image that is at times admittedly pure kitsch, with songs and a delivery that are soul-shakingly sincere, that makes Porter Wagoner perhaps the most compelling recording artist of all time. Still not convinced? Then go now, right now, and listen to The Party by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. For the first time the darker, more poetic highlights of Porter Wagoner's astounding career have been compiled with love and care, featuring a slew of tracks never before sighted on CD. Once you have heard this album you will never be quite the same ever again!Psychotronic, dark, heartfelt country... with a touch of showbiz! First time on CD! Deluxe collectors 16 page package featuring original LP artwork and exclusive liner notes. All tracks are remastered in 2006 from the original master tapes! Compiled and curated by noted musician (Snog, Soma, Black Lung) and film composer David Thrussell. Album Description

Doom gloom zoom boom doom the rubber roooooooom

Man, I love me some Porter Wagoner. I don't know why they didn't use the cover of the original Rubber Room LP though. I suppose he looks a little more dignified on this cover. On the original he looks positively psycho.

I used to stare at that album cover for hours on end. October 15, 2008

NO THIS AINT UNCLE PEN OR OLE SLEWFOOT !

This is the rubber room and I love it ! Porter Wagoner is one of my all time favorites because he's one of those truly rural singers that you just don't hear anymore. His singing and narration have a sincere , genuine quality that cannot be imitated. I was already familiar with "The Caroll County Accident" , "The Cold Hard facts Of Life" , "Jim Johnson" and "My Many Hurried Southern Trips" all of which are excellent.The other 25 songs on this disc are really good as well.I enjoyed "George Leroy Chickashea" and "Indian Creek" which would both be considered politically incorrect by today's standards.This disc includes a booklet that features the album covers from which the songs on this compilation were selected.This is a great package of Porter Wagoner's more adult themed material.I also highly recommend the new album,Wagonmaster. July 28, 2007

RUBBER ROOM

This was a very good C D. Music like it used to be real glad I got it July 17, 2007

Pictures From Life's Darker Side

The fact that Porter Wagoner brought non-other than James Brown in to perform at The Grand Ol' Opry should give you some indication that he is much more than a pompador & purple Nudie suit.

Johnny Cash once remarked, "No one tells a story like Porter Wagoner" & the likes of "Fairchild" & "Jim Johnson" are all the proof you need. Murder, lust, madness,& sheer unmitigated heartbreak abound here. In short, this as macabre as Country Music gets. With perhaps, just the right amount of unintentional kitch thrown in to sweeten the deal. Regardless of that, the sincerity of of "Moments Of Meditation" & "Lonely Comin' Down" cannot be denied.

Though perhaps somewhat overshadowed by a certain tall haired protege, many of the songs here reveal not only a consummate craftsmen, but also someone willing to push the boundries of his genre. I'd be hard pressed to find another song quite like "Rubber Room" filed under "Country". At times, it borders on 60's Psyche. Fortunately, Wagoner's forays into Disco have not been included.

Songs like, "Fairchild" & "The First Mrs. Jones" have more in common with the Pulp Noir novels of Jim Thompson than anything you might have seen on Hee Haw. Despite sometimes lush arrangements, these songs capture the true bleakness lying behind Country's shopworn cliches. Many of the songs here bring a chill as they tickle the funnybone.

While Hank Williams Sr.'s Luke The Drifer recordings are an obvious influence, I'd say it all lies somewhere inbetween a Countryfied Serge Gainsbourg & Leon Payne's "Psycho".

Maudlin, macabre & heartfelt, this is one of the finest Wagoner collections on offer. Not to mention some of the darkest stuff to ever come out of Nashville. It's rapdily becoming one of my favorite Country albums of all time. Much more than the man who introducted us to Dolly Parton, here's proof that Wagoner is truely one of the most underrated figures in Country Music. April 28, 2007

Who knew life was so desperate in the country?

Desperation, poverty, adultery, insanity, murder... they're all present and accounted for. Vintage country music is great stuff! An excellent collection from one of country music's unsung greats. Hipsters will love this... April 19, 2007

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