Unlike many of his solemn alt-country contemporaries, Fulks has a sense of humour to go with his sense of tradition. First, he names this compendium of singles, out-takes and B-sides The Very Best Of, then claims in the liner notes that the tracks come from non-existent albums given hilarious titles. (My fave: I Loathe My Fans.) Oh, he does get down to some serious business. May The Best Man Win and I Just Want To Meet the Man are the sort of menacing, love-gone-wrong honky-tonk songs we used to get from Merle Haggard and George Jones when Nashville was making real country music. Hamilton County Breakdown is a short but spirited bluegrass instrumental -- Fulks is a formidable flat-picker -- while Parallel Bars is a smart, sizzling he said-she said duet featuring the high-lonesome vocals of Kelly Willis. Fulks' lighthearted, mischievous personality seeps into the rollicking rockabilly number Roots Rock Weirdoes, which pokes gentle fun at his staunchly traditionalist peers, and the hummably poppy That Bangle Girl, a love song inspired by a member of the '80s all-girl quartet. Chip in an unlisted cover of Leaving on a Jet Plane -- and I've yet to hear a better, more emotive version of this John Denver song -- and you have a collection that's as entertaining and essential as his "proper" albums.

Track Listing 1. Jean Arthur
2. Sleepin' On The Job Of Love
3. Roots Rock Weirdoes
4. May The Best Man Win
5. Hamilton County Breakdown
6. Gravid And Tense
7. Parallel Bars
8. Love Ain't Nothin'
9. I Just Want To Meet The Man
10. Wedding Of The Bugs
11. You Break It -- You Pay
12. White Man's Bourbon
13. That Bangle Girl
14. Jello Goodbye
15. Leaving On A Jet Plane (hidden track)