''Underground Album'' is the 21st studio album by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

musician

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. He ini ...

. ''Underground Album'' is Coe's follow-up to his 1978 album '' Nothing Sacred''. The album's music and vocal style was similar to other country acts of the era, but the lyrics are unusually explicit. Coe intended the album as ribald satire, inspired by his friendship with

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...

who wrote the comedy album ''

Freakin' at the Freakers Ball ''Freakin' at the Freakers Ball'' is a studio album produced by Ron Haffkine written by Shel Silverstein originally released November 15, 1972. The title track was covered by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show on an album titled '' Sloppy Seconds''. ...

''. As mainstream record labels would not release an album with such content, ''Underground Album'' was independently produced and recorded, and was not sold in stores. The album was available only through mail order via advertisements in the motorcycling magazine ''

Easyriders ''Easyriders'' is an American motorcycle magazine, founded in 1970. It was published monthly by Paisano Publications for over 50 years. In addition to its coverage of motorcycles (particularly Harley-Davidsons) and related activities, ''Easyrid ...

'', and in the merchandise stand at Coe's live performances.

Reception

The album was little noticed in the mainstream until the songs began circulating on early

file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include ...

websites, leading to a 2000 review from

Neil Strauss Neil Darrow Strauss (born March 9, 1969), also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American author and journalist. His book ''The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists'', describes his experiences in the seducti ...

in the ''New York Times''. Strauss described the album's material as "among the most racist, misogynist, homophobic and obscene songs recorded by a popular songwriter." After Strauss, other commentators described the album as being profane, racist, and crude.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, which did not review the album, gave it three out of five stars. The song "Nigger Fucker" resulted in Coe being accused of racism. It has also led to many of Johnny Rebel's songs being misattributed to David Allen Coe given that many of Johnny Rebel's songs also contained racial slurs in the titles. Coe responded to the accusations by stating: "Anyone that hears this album and says I'm a racist is full of shit", and by noting the drummer in his band was Kerry Brown, a black man and the son of musician

Gatemouth Brown Gatemouth is an affectionate name for one who talks too much. Gatemouth can refer to: * Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown U.S. R&B singer * Arnold "Gatemouth" Moore U.S. singer * Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July ...

. Additionally, Coe has also noted he was friends with black singer

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, shouting vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...

, who encouraged him in writing the songs for his first album '' Penitentiary Blues''. Coe also objected to the fact that Strass's article was published without the ''New York Times'' asking for his commentary. He contacted Strauss during the writing of the article, but Strauss only acknowledged talking to Coe's manager, who would only comment off the record.

Track listing

All songs written by

. #"Rock n Roll Fever" - 3:10 #"Panheads Forever" - 3:09 #"Nigger Fucker" - 2:28 #"Coffee" - 5:28 #"One Monkey" - 3:14 #"One More Time" - 3:13 #"Little Sussie Shallow Throat" - 2:57 #"Pick Em, Lick Em, Stick Em" - 2:56 #"Don't Bite the Dick" - 2:27 #"Fuckin' in the Butt" - 2:11

References

External links

David Allan Coe Underground CD
{{Authority control David Allan Coe albums 1982 albums LGBTQ-related controversies in music Race-related controversies in music Anti-black racism in the United States