With a title like that, what more is there to say? Except, perhaps, a few words to fill in the blanks for the Nashville noobs who still aren’t up to speed yet on the man, the myth and the living legend known as Wheeler Walker Jr.
Truth is, the the lewd, crude country crooner doesn’t really exist: He’s a crusty character created by comedian and writer Ben Hoffman, who also happens to be the older brother of Scissor Sisters bassist Scott (Babydaddy) Hoffman. Walker first arrived on the scene several years ago, armed with a twangy nasal drawl, a bad attitude and treasure trove of sophomoric but hilariously ribald honky-tonk fare like Save Some Titty Milk For Me, Finger Up My Butt, Sit On My Face and Ain’t Enough Dick To Go Around — all of which are remastered and collected on this anthology drawn from his three studio albums. Admittedly, he’s just following the same country-porn trail blazed back in the ’70s by the likes Chinga Chavin and Kinky Friedman. But clearly, he’s also learned a very important lesson: While all his dirty jokes and lascivious lyrics are the moneymakers, the songs are the steak that sells the sizzle — and keeps the gags from going stale. So to his credit, Walker smartly surrounds his X-rated rants with expertly crafted songs featuring authentically twangy guitar licks, shimmering pedal steel lines, boom-chikka country beats and even some searing southern-fried boogie-rock riffs. Walker may be one big joke — but Hoffman obviously takes his musical comedy seriously.
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In 2015, Wheeler had his Howard Beale moment: “Who says you can’t curse on a country album?”
Well, a lot of people, but fuck ‘em… so Wheeler reached out to his old Kentucky pal Sturgill Simpson for the name of a producer who would let him record his music the way he wanted to: Sturgill suggested Grammy Award-winner Dave Cobb. Wheeler emptied out his bank account, wrote a check to Cobb, and the rest is history. To say Wheeler Walker Jr. was mad as hell and wasn’t gonna take it anymore is an understatement. A decade of failure in country music (and life) made its way into every track of Redneck Shit. Walker created his own label and distributed the album through Nashville’s Thirty Tigers. What came next was the stuff of Nashville legend. With no songs that the FCC would even allow on US airwaves, the album debuted at #9 on the Billboard Country Album Chart. The album also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Comedy Chart and ended up being the 2nd best-selling comedy album of 2016, even though Wheeler says, “This ain’t no fuckin’ comedy record… this is real life”.
