Sings Country Winners

Neil Hamburger: Dave Gleason (guitar); Joe Goldmark (pedal steel guitar); Atom Ellis (ukulele, bass instrument); Prairie Prince (drums, percussion); Rachel Haden (background vocals).
An interesting experiment that takes faux-throwback comic Neil Hamburger away from his usual booze-juggling standup act, COUNTRY WINNERS is more notable for its musicality than for its architect's lyrical musings. Not that he isn't hilarious when insisting in his raunchy nasal-game-show-host baritone that one doesn't frivolously throw things (including his career) in the recycle bin. But it's fairly remarkable that everyone from the Rentals' sweet-voiced Rachel Haden to Atom Ellis (a late-era Link Wray bassist) provides some serious country plucking, galloping, and harmonizing (well, one-part harmonizing).
As in headlines from satirical newspaper THE ONION, a good dose of the humor comes from the song titles themselves. Anyone familiar with Hamburger's abstract entry into a routine will laugh at the mere notion of what lies behind "How Can I Be Patriotic (When They've Taken Away My Right To Cry)" and "Zipper Lips Rides Again." And ultimately his comedic contributions elicit more than their share of chuckles, even if they lack the audience-interaction component of his superlative live act.