R. Crumb's Music Sampler (MQ Publications Ltd., 2005)

I'm not big on hero worship, and from what I understand, Robert Crumb is often uncomfortable with the adulation that he receives from overzealous fans. Be that as it may, I find him to be one of the most interesting as well as admirable people alive today, and not just because of his uncompromisingly magnificent artwork. As a result of his well-documented fondness for vintage Americana, Crumb is one of the most instrumental figures in helping to develop my passion for prewar blues, jazz, and country music.


For me, it all started sometime in high school when I received a set of his Heroes of the Blues trading cards from my aunt as a Christmas present. I don't think that I had even heard of the guy, let alone most of the musicians featured in this set, prior to receiving one of my most treasured holiday gifts. At this point in my development, my interest in the blues was pretty much limited to the electric Chicago variety, so the opportunity to learn about then-obscure figures like Frank Stokes, William Moore, and Barbecue Bob was quite a revelation. The combination of Stephen Calt's eloquent thumbnail biographies and Crumb's finely-detailed etchings certainly piqued my curiosity, to say the very least. I used these cards as a sort of checklist of 1920s and 1930s blues artists whose recordings I needed to acquire, and I don't think that I could have had a better introduction to the genre. It wasn't until I was in college and started to get into the music and history of the 1960s that I began to understand the cultural impact that Crumb has had not only on American society, but for that matter, world culture.

R. CRUMB ON TENOR BANJO (THANKS TO MYSTERY JIG FOR THE TIP)

This CD comes with the strongly recommended R. Crumb Handbook, which was co-authored with Peter Poplanski. In combination with Terry Zwigoff's excellent documentary, this hardcover provides the most comprehensive biographical overview on Crumb currently available. As the sleeve indicates, this disc covers more than 30 years of recordings from his "long, half-assed musical career." At first, it might be tempting to dismiss these performances as novelties, especially when the 1979 version of The Rolling Stone Record Guide had this to say about one of his Cheap Suit Serenaders LPs from the 1970s,

Artist R. Crumb, well-known for inventing Mr. Natural, Angelfood McSpade and other such endearing comics figures, actually thinks he's a 1930s bandleader. He doesn't do badly with his little quartet here, doing nice ragtimes. Especially endearing is Robert Armstrong's performance on saw. This album gives the word "charming" new credence.

This superficial but not necessarily dismissive review probably came from a critic who knew next to nothing about prewar music. If the opposite were true, he would understand that such performances are not just "charming" but instead are examples of a passionate enthusiast committed to keeping this aspect of American culture alive. Had Crumb not devoted himself to visual art, he quite possibly could have had a successful career strictly as a revivalist musician capable of playing banjo, guitar, and piano. In similar fashion to the recently-reviewed John Miller, R. and his cohorts stay away from intense downhome blues and instead focus on more blithe material such as rags, hot jazz, hokum, Hawaiian hulas, and 1920s-1930s pop music. In many cases, old melodies are supplemented with goofy new lyrics more applicable to modern-day listeners, which simultaneously helps keep things jovial and prevents the performances from becoming academic musical exercises or instrumental wanking.

R. CRUMB UNPLUGGED

Fans of Crumb's best-known aggregation, the Cheap Suit Serenaders (check out their entertaining second and third albums here on one of my favorite places in the blogosphere), will be delighted to find that this disc includes an abundance of rare tracks from this unit, some of which are different versions of songs that appeared on their three LPs from the 1970s for the Blue Goose label. The Keep-on-Truckin' Orchestra, with multi-instrumentalist Al Dodge and saw player Robert Armstrong, are something of a proto-Serenaders as demonstrated by two performances from 1972, "River Blues" and "Wisconsin Wiggles," whereas the 1974 recordings (with the addition of bass fiddler Richard Oxtot) - "Get a Load of This" (based loosely on Charley Jordan's "Keep It Clean"), "Cheap Suit Special," the riotous "My Girl's Pussy," and "Suits Crybaby Blues" - feature the genuine article. A newer version of the Suits (minus Oxtot but with the addition of guitarist-violinist Tony Marcus and multi-instrumentalist Keith Cary) is represented by this CD's most exquisite batch of songs - "Fine Artiste," "Hula Medley," "Wild Horse," "Three-in-One Two-Step," "Creole Belles," and "Georgia Camp Meeting" - which come from a 1998 Amsterdam radio broadcast. Crumb's respective 1999 and 1997 collaborations with Les Primitifs du Futur ("Cruelle Tendresse" and "Valse d'Amour") and the Fiddlin' Ian McCamy Quartette ("Mazurkas" and "Schottische") reflect the influence of his time living in Europe and a relatively more recent interest in Continental folk music. Wife Aline Kominsky-Crumb and daughter Sophie join in on the fun in a 2003 live performance from Hamburg, Germany that finds them returning to the traditional American music of "In the Pines," "St. James Infirmary," "Little Buttercup," and "Baby Face."

Sure, listening to these performances might not be a life-changing event. Nevertheless, it's still quite entertaining to hear the otherwise curmudgeonly Crumb obviously having fun playing songs that are so near and dear to his heart. For a great artist, he also makes a pretty damn good musician.

1. River Blues - R. Crumb and his Keep-on-Truckin' Orchestra
2. Wisconsin Wiggles - R. Crumb and his Keep-on-Truckin' Orchestra
3. Get a Load of This - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
4. Cheap Suit Special - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
5. My Girl's Pussy - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
6. Suits' Crybaby Blues - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
7. Fine Artiste - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
8. Hula Medley - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
9. Wild Horse - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
10. Three-in-One Two-Step - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
11. Creole Belles - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
12. Georgia Camp Meeting - R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders
13. Cruelle Tendresse - Les Primitifs du Futur
14. Valse d'Amour - Les Primitifs du Futur
15. Mazurkas - Fiddlin' Ian McCamy Quartette
16. Schottische - Fiddlin' Ian McCamy Quartette
17. In the Pines - The Crumb Family
18. St. James Infirmary - The Crumb Family
19. Little Buttercup - The Crumb Family
20. Baby Face - The Crumb Family