I've heard songs from here and there, and I've liked most of them. I'm planning on hitting the rekkid sto' today, so I visited AMG, which gives every damn thing a decent rating.

So it's up to youse guys. What's yer fave Vic record?

I didn't ask you. Besides, the Dusty Chalk era isn't exactly recent. Now run along and make a parody thread.

nice nose.

Heh. I didn't even realize it was you. Just replied. Heh heh. Now you hate me even more.

Fu, I know Derris is a big fan of "The Salesman and Burnadette" he also has a pretty good collabo with Widespread Panic called Brute.

I'll try to shoot you the song "I'm Through" which was on one of Bloor's recent year mixes. Its a lost Keef-led classic of the most slowcore jail possible.

Drunk and About To Choke kind of tie at the top of the heap for me. Salesman is very good also, as is Left To His Own Devices and Is The Actor happy. The last couple of releases left me kind of cold.

I saw him open for Bob Mould about 10 years ago.
All I remember is a baritone voice and a wheelchair.

I also remember thinking "When is Bob gonna start?"

If anyone has a song or two, I wouldn't mind giving the guy another chance.

Drunk is Vic at his most raw and, well, drunk. It's lo-fi and harrowing, but damn good.

The Salesman And Bernadette has more money in the production, and the songs are still sharp. I'm not entirely sure, but I seem to recall that he was backed on the album by Lambchop.

Brute (the collaboration with Widespread Panic that Loogs mentioned) put out two albums. Co-balt is arguably the better of the two.

Also, there's a good overview of Vic Chesnutt on the Sweet Relief II benefit Gravity Of The Situation. It's a collection of Vic's songs by bands like REM, Cracker, Garbage, Joe Henry (w/ Madonna), Sparklehorse, and Mary Margaret O'Hara. There's also a tracks by Soul Asylum, Live, and Hootie and the Blowfish (w/ Nanci Griffith), but even those are listenable - which is a huge testament to Vic's songwriting.

I have the same recollection. "Until the Led" on said album is the only Vic I've heard, but it's qual.

Athens, GA's resident weirdo on the outskirts of town.

It's a good thing for him that he lived in Athens because I get the feeling that none of his stuff would have seen the light of day had it not been for people like REM, Widespread Panic, Lucinda Williams, and others talking about him. I believe Michael Stipe produced his first couple albums.


My intro the him was The Salesman and Bernadette and I still love that record. It has tons of guest on it. Members of Widespread, Emmylou Harris, and mostly Lambchop, who provides the backing band for most of the album. Just crazy southern gothic type stuff that can only come from the poor rural south although this album is pretty accomplished musically. The lyrics are always interesting with thing about Arthur Murray, Woodrow Wilson, dogs barking, and duty free shops.


I then picked up Drunk and Is the Actor Happy?. Both are great and have probably some of his best songs. I've always meant to pick up West of Rome as well. His last one Ghetto Bells got great reviews also.

You can't go wrong with any of those albums he put out in the 90's. I think Drunk or Is the Actor Happy? are probably his best work but I'll alway have a soft spot for Bernadette.

All his stuff is very delicate but with bizarre imagery at times but very direct at times as well. Honestly, with the adveristy that this guy has had to go through and as DRUNK as he has been over the years, it's a miracle that some of these records exist.

I'll add a vote for The Salesman & Bernadette and About to Choke.

I'm also a fan of his last record, Ghetto Bells. Bill Frisell plays guitar on it.

Read Vic's AMG entry

My introduction to Vic's darkly humorous lyrics and unique voice was the debut record by Brute - Nine High a Pallet.
I never got into Cobalt (which Radcliffe mentioned), primarily because it hit at the height of my hate for Widespread Panic. In fact, I really need to pull Nine High... out. I probably haven't listened to it in 6 years and I used to love it.

Saw him at the 40 Watt once. He was (of course) very, very drunk. Played a beat-up old Fender Mustang on his lap, did some songs with Doug Hollingsworth (original guitarist for the Star Room Boys), then called backstage for the female singer he had coming out next, saying something along the lines of "where is that drunk cunt anyway?!" Awkward silence.

I think this show was him solo-ish, with Lambchop opening.

I'll up Bernadette and the second Brute album Cobalt for anyone who's interested. I'm a big fan of both. I really love "Expiration Date", Adirondacks", and "Cutty Sark" on the latter and almost everything on the former. (big fan of Lambchop too so the instrumentation is great IMHO)

I'd really like to hear Drunk if someone wants to hook a brother up.

'The Salesman & Bernadette' is as close to musical perfection as one can get. Such a good songwriter with flashes of absolute brilliance. Another record to consider is 'Merriment' which displays the way his sometimes off-putting humor can also be intensely touching and unironic.

Vic performed solo in the early afternoon at Amoeba SF around the same time 'Salesman' was released, which would have been late '98 or so. He was using an old beat-to-shit nylon string acoustic guitar with a pick-up that wasn't working properly, kept crappin' & cutting in & out, etc. He asked for help and I gladly volunteered. After a brief check I suggested changing the battery,which after waiting a few minutes to track one down worked just fine. The best part wasn't his personal thanks, but his apology to a record store that he wasn't fully awake, wanted some coffee and desperately needed his "morning fatty" to get things rolling. Beautiful.

Anyone remember his role in Slingblade ?

I saw him live at Schubas in 2002 or 2003 and was impressed. Sadly, I don't own any of his material except for a few compilations singles here and there. See him live if you can... he's really funny in addition to being a great singer/songwriter.

Absolutely.

I used to see him around Athens quite a bit. He is every bit the disheveled drunk that he appears to be.

Unfortunately that was my impression as well and that was eight years ago.

The thing I love about this place is dude's like caputo and radcliffe with the massive knowledge about BILLIES. You mention a disheveled drunk with an eight track and a sneer, and those dudes can tell you whatever you wanna know.


(Of course, in this case, all the Athens, Georgia heavies from The Golden Years chime in as well)