At long last the voices inside Eugene Chadbourne's head can be heard by the public at large. Country Boobs is a fantastically odd chunk of country protest and a great piece of multi-trackery. Chadbourne essentially performs the whole album himself (including bajo sexto and some relaxed drumming), with vocals by daughters Molly and Lizzie, some of his finest collaborators. On the one hand, the record is familiar ground for the doctor: cover songs, some rewritten (Roger Miller's "Dang Me" cast as "Saddam Me"), others surprising (Billy Idol and Cyndi Lauper), and some right good, timely originals ("The only kind of rice that I don't like ... Condoleeza Rice"). The daughters do a great take on Malvina Reynolds's "We Don't Need the Men" and June'n'Johnny's Jackson is strong enough to eclipse any incestuous concerns.

But beyond being a great set of songs, Chadbourne's crafting makes Country Boobs stand out among his frequent releases. "Saddam Me" is a lazy swing with Chadbourne calling and responding and muttering to himself. "Condoleeza Rice" repeats the vocal mishmash theme with a montage of Rice speeches playing under the length of the song. In more subtle ways, the multi-tracked instruments pair off nicely, like a friendly, unrehearsed session with different personalities at play.

The truly great thing about Country Boobs (and it does stand with such Chadbourne greats as There's Be No Tears Tonight and LSDC&W) is that it works on both levels, as country'n'western oddity and as a rare example of Chadbourne really producing. Sound quality is not always his first concern, and when he gets wrapped up in studio experiments he often goes so mad it's hard to tell quite what's up. But as familiar as this new disc feels, he's never done anything quite like it.

Eugene Chadbourne: Country Boobs Is On Sale at Squidco!