The Rubber Room

Porter Wagoner | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 4, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Omni
• ASIN: B000HOMTDU
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,492 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Out of the Silence (Came a Song)

2. The Rubber Room

3. George Leroy Chickashea

4. Cassie

5. Fairchild

6. Indian Creek

7. Lonely Comin' Down

8. Bones

9. Jim Johnson

10. Lonelyville

11. My Many Hurried Southern Trips

12. As Simple as I Am

13. Woman Hungry

14. First Mrs Jones

15. The Cold Hard Facts of Life

16. Shopworn

17. Julie

18. The Carroll County Accident

19. Let Me In

20. Wino

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pictures From Life's Darker Side, April 28, 2007

By 

K. H. Orton (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rubber Room (Audio CD)

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting Country Storytelling, March 29, 2007

By 

Kevin Fontenot (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rubber Room (Audio CD)

First off, this is not a greatest hits package, so if you are interested in that, you might want to look at some of the RCA packages that are excellent. But . . .
Storytelling has long been a basic facet of Southern life and country music strongly reflects the storytelling infleunce. There was a time when those stories weren't all happy, fluffy pieces like you will hear today. Go far enough back in country music history and murder songs abound, some repentant, others defiant. "Rubber Room" compiles a ranging collection of story songs recorded by Porter Wagoner. The truth is that these songs aren't always pleasant and they aren't feel good. But they plunge into the depths of the human condition with deep insight. What you get is a portrait of an extremely strong artist performing some powerfully written songs. Summarizing them is difficult so I would say they best thing you could do is experience this CD. Everything from miscegenation to adultery to the paralyzing impact of alcohol is explored here. And it helps to underscore what all of us Southerners have known, Porter Wagoner is a fine singer and interpeter of song.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrating 50 years of Porter Wagoner, December 10, 2006

By 

Mascorrolandia (Somewhere in Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rubber Room (Audio CD)

If the Power of Porter compels you, this is a must-have for your collection. Be warned that it's not your mama's Grand Ole Opry-fied version of Porter Wagoner, however - you'll be going from "Sorrow on The Rocks" to 'solitary confinement' here, but you'll love the mad, lyrical ride through Porter's world of pain, encapsulated in his murky morality tales dealing in drunkenness, jealousy, murder, complete mental erosion, just to name a few.