Search - Kinky Friedman :: Sold American

My Hero!

Michael Weber | Atlanta | 02/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If all of the songs on this album had been of the level of quality and/or cutting sarcasm as "Sold American", "We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You" or "Ride 'Em Jewboy" (to pick some of the better ones more or less at random), it would be a five-star effort.As it is, "High on Jesus" and "Top Ten Commandments", among others, drag it down one level -- these are neither truly believable as what they sound like, nor sufficiently satirical to actually make a point.That said, You Still Need This Album.You Need It because of "Sold American" and "Silver Eagle Express" -- two perfectly touching country ballads of lost youth, lost innocence and lost dreams.You Need It because of "Western Union Wire", a classic country honkytonk tear-in-the-beer song with a twist.You Need It because of "We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You", "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" and "Flyin' Down the Freeway", three deadpan sardonic takes on aspects of life from Kinky's twisted perspective.And You Need It because "Ride 'Em Jewboy" sounds as if it ought to be another piece of black humourous satire... and turns out to be a touching meditation on the Holocaust.Mostly, You Need It because it's a unique American voice at the peak of his talent, and you shouldn't miss it, no matter what kind of music you usually listen to."

The Kinkster is a true American musical treasure.

Greg Lew (glew@isd.net) | White Bear Lake, MN | 07/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Any serious renegade c & w fans: Add this one to your collection. The Kinxter at his finest, warbling in a true Texas barritone, shows us all the light with such timeless classics as " High on Jesus" and " Top Ten Commandments." Biting social invective reigns supreme with " The Ballad of Charles Whitman" and " We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You". These are the Texas Jewboys at their finest, a wonderfully offbeat, left of center, irreverent tentacle of country music. Long before the "pretty boy look" and "hat acts" were the norm, David Allan Coe, Commander Cody, New Riders, CDB, Kristofferson, and others scared the hell out of all the straights in Nashville. Down Texas way, we were diggin' it with Alvin Crow, Willis Allan Ramsey, Jennings, Nelson, and The Mighty Kinky Friedman! If you must have only one Jewboy selection, let this be the one."

The Kinkster Is A Classic

Nicky De Lange | Texas City, TX United States | 06/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this album (Sold American) by Kinky Friedman after borrowing a tape of it from a friend. It's from the early 1970s and has something from that era for everyone. Whether it is a humorous look at women's lib (Get Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In The Bed) or the simple country anguish of Western Union Wire, Kinky Friedman & the Texas Jewboys bring their own individual style to every song on this cd. The best song, evoking Kinky's Texas Jewish roots, is Ride 'Em Jewboy."