Upland Stories [Vinyl], Robbie Fulks, Vinyl

Limited vinyl LP pressing. 2016 release from the singer/songwriter. Upland Stories continues and - with sprinklings of pedal steel, drums, electric guitar, and keyboards - expands the sound of his last acoustic set. Fulks's richly emotional storytelling is illuminated by his instrumental prowess and emotional voice. At 53, he is philosophically reflective, writing "with clear eyes and a full heart" (Ken Tucker, NPR). Don't get us wrong, his wit is still as quick as his picking; but it's reflected through the lens of fatherhood, marriage, middle age, and the literary voices he is drawn to and draws from: Flannery O'Connor, Anton Chekhov, Mary Lavin, Frank O'Connor, Javier Marias, James Agee. Three new songs-"Alabama at Night," "America Is A Hard Religion," and "A Miracle" - are meditations inspired by Agee's 1936 trip to Alabama, the sojourn that fueled his furious polemic on American poverty, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.