I didn't remember Charlie Burton when he wandered into my record shop in Austin, Texas, looking for a job. Turns out, I had read about him in record guides (Trouser Press, Robert Christgau), but his records were scarcely available outside his native Nebraska. Charlie moved here after an appearance at South-By-Southest, and his residency yielded three CDs and a 45 ("Spare Me The Details") before Charlie packed it up and moved back home - sadder in some ways, happier in others, but a whole lot wiser all around. Lately, some of Mr. Burton's early music has become (sporadically) available on CD - lost classics like Puke Point At The Juke Joint and Green Cheese.

Charlie's music, humorous as it often is, is frequently reviewed in contrast to such sophomoric buffoons as Mojo Nixon and Billy C. Wirtz. The comparisons, however favorable, just aren't fair. Charlie's music, as represented by his 1997 Lazy SOB release Rustic Fixer Upper, uses humor to ward off the existential gloom, the inevitable disasters of life and love. His musical palette is timeless without being tradition-bound and utilizes some of Austin's best roots players (Dave Sanger, Ian MacLagen, Erik Hokkanen, Vic Gerard). One Man's Trash (on Bulldog - if you can find it) surveys Charlie's previous life as a wiseass punk with a kickass band, extending through his Texas sojourn. Containing such marvelous Burton-isms as "Breathe For Me Presley" (an Elvis tribute written from Dr. Nick's perspective), "Without My Woman (I'd Be A Hopeless Sack Of Shit)," and the title song (Charlie's nightly James-Brown-in-therapy finale), it's the perfect companion to Fixer Upper.

Learn more about Charlie Burton at MusicAustin.com