The Bay Area is home to myriad musical legends and Rube Waddell is another in a long line of them. Rube Waddell is not a person, but a state of mind, consisting of Cap’n Feedback, Rev. Wupass, Mahatma Boom Boom and Max A. Million. This compilation of “Greatest Hits” is a 17-cut rundown of some of their best and also it is a collection of some of the most underrated music around. What Rube Waddell are all about are the results of an amalgam of musical influences and stylings, what with an admixture of tuba, accordion, ukulele and other assorted instruments, they bring a unique spin to rock and roll. I can recall their name from assorted spots when I lived in San Francisco and I’m glad now to have this collection of their “Greatest Hits” to remember the good old days by. Track #6, “Spongiform Encephalopathy” has a Tom Waits vibe to it, but my two favorites are #3, “Here’s to You” and “Jesus Didn’t Die For Me”, but each song rocks, hence the title, “Greatest Hits”. Their music is a perfect mirror to the interactive diversity and forward, expressionistic thinking that is the epitome of the Bay Area.

Q:What do you get when you combine 4 parts evil genius, 1 part Delta Blues, 1 part Irish Folk, 1 part Zydeco, 1 part Johnny Cash, 1 part Leon Redbone, and 1 part Sabado Gigante Internacional in a rusty bucket all topped off with a wicked sense of humor and a bit of self-deprecation? A:You get Rube Waddell and bucket load of musical madness and pure entertainment! Cap’n Feedback, Reverend Wupass, Mahatma Boom Boom, and Max A. Million are the 4 musical geniuses whom serve as the base to this delightful musical concoction. Their style is best described as a rich array of earthy folk styles with whacky lyrics based on bizarre topics (Spongiform Encephalopathy). I can’t help but think Rube Waddell’s music is some of the best damn “beer and a shot” music I’ve ever heard. While listening I can think of nothing better that I would like to do than get stinkin’ drunk, puke on my shoes, and start all over. Unfortunately, I am no longer physically capable of performing such feats (at least frequently). The suffering that follows endures longer than any pleasure received from afore mentioned acts (if you’d like to help me overcome this affliction, please send cash). I’m sure as soon as I’m able, I’ll crank this eclectic collection at my next party. It will fit in well with any party mix on my iPod. I’m sure it will go great with some Jimmy Buffet, a couple Van Morrison tunes and a couple of crazy techno tunes (to get the chicas to dance). Frankly, not everyone is going to appreciate Rube Waddell. They are to music what Monty Python is comedy; only the brightest and the best will get it. That’s why I refer to them as evil geniuses. They are base yet sophisticated. They appeal to the lowest common denominator in an Encyclopaedia Brittanica sort of way.

When the hardest-working rabble-rousing, sousaphone-toting junkyard band in San Francisco announced the release of their first new album in five years, you'd better believe I was first in line to snap one up. A cursory glance at the track titles might fool a fair-weather fan into thinking that some of these songs have been released before. In fact, this compilation of "greatest hits" is a collection of never-before recorded tunes. They are, however, familiar songs.The album opens with perennial crowd-pleaser "Tamale Lady," a ranchera-style ode to that legendary purveyor of bar eats, and proceeds to "Hobo Luv," a paean on Rube Waddell's favorite subject matter. Much like the group's live performances, Greatest Hits giddily lurches all over the stylistic map, with nods to rockabilly ("Jesus Didn't Die for Me"), sea shanties ("All for Me Grog"), and mad cow disease ("Spongiform Encephalopathy"). As usual, once you think you've got their sound pinned down, they wriggle away and do some other damn thing you weren't expecting. Although these songs lack some of the more inspired lyricism that made ballads like "Mawson's Will" on Stinkbait (Vaccination, 1998) such enduring favorites, I have no doubt that many of these hits are here to stay. For indeed, they are great.

This album is a twisted and delightful excursion into the realm of hobos, butchers, and eels. Truly wonderful and bizarre music -- "Yolanda", "Bottom Feeder", "Hobo Luv", and "Here's to You" are my highlights. The production of this album is fantastic; nicely produced and polished, but not overworked into a soulless Phil Spector blasphemy.