It's hard to review the soundtrack to Crazy Heart without reviewing the movie. Which was great by the way. Jeff Bridges inhabited the main character who is a once famous country & western performer and songwriter. The amazing thing though was how well he sang the songs on this soundtrack. As was amazing too, how well Irishman Collin Farrell sang. Collin Farrell played a character who essentially was a protege of Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) who now in the present day made fame on his own as a Top 40 country music performer. Anyway I digress about the music.
Primarily a T-bone Burnett project, he either wrote or co-wrote the original songs with up-and-comer Ryan Bingham (he and his band the Dead Horses have a cameo as a member of one of the bands that back up Bad Blake). The title song to the movie is called The Weary Kind is co-written with T-Bone and sung by Ryan Bingham. It has been nominated for an Oscar, so cross your fingers.
The songs are great road country done in the Bakersfield rather than Nashville style of AM 1960's country. Lots of Telecaster guitar licks to get the party and dancing going at any little club that Bad Blake may be playing, the flick really captured the road life of a country and western performer, which in this world is probably devoid of this kind of live traveling act unfortunately. Some of the live numbers are recorded in that concert style sound. I thought the performances were so good that when they are finished with a number you wanted to clap! The duet of Collin Farrell and Jeff Bridges on the tune Fallin' & Flyin' were just excellent. Another well represented country style on the original songs is the classic early 1970's Outlaw movement.
Sprinkled throughout the soundtrack are some great classics. Townes Van Zandt's If I Needed You, The Lovin Brother's My Baby's Gone, Kitty Wells's Searching, George Jones's Color of the Blues, Waylon Jennings's Are You Sure That Hank Done it That Way are a few of the great extras that round out an excellent soundtrack. Be sure and get the Deluxe Version of the soundtrack with all 23 rather than the economy 16 track version. You get a nice a capella version of Billy Joe Shaver's Live Forever, sung by big time country music fan and actor Robert Duvall.
See the movie and buy the soundtrack. Great traditional country and western will flow out your speakers.
Primarily a T-bone Burnett project, he either wrote or co-wrote the original songs with up-and-comer Ryan Bingham (he and his band the Dead Horses have a cameo as a member of one of the bands that back up Bad Blake). The title song to the movie is called The Weary Kind is co-written with T-Bone and sung by Ryan Bingham. It has been nominated for an Oscar, so cross your fingers.
The songs are great road country done in the Bakersfield rather than Nashville style of AM 1960's country. Lots of Telecaster guitar licks to get the party and dancing going at any little club that Bad Blake may be playing, the flick really captured the road life of a country and western performer, which in this world is probably devoid of this kind of live traveling act unfortunately. Some of the live numbers are recorded in that concert style sound. I thought the performances were so good that when they are finished with a number you wanted to clap! The duet of Collin Farrell and Jeff Bridges on the tune Fallin' & Flyin' were just excellent. Another well represented country style on the original songs is the classic early 1970's Outlaw movement.
Sprinkled throughout the soundtrack are some great classics. Townes Van Zandt's If I Needed You, The Lovin Brother's My Baby's Gone, Kitty Wells's Searching, George Jones's Color of the Blues, Waylon Jennings's Are You Sure That Hank Done it That Way are a few of the great extras that round out an excellent soundtrack. Be sure and get the Deluxe Version of the soundtrack with all 23 rather than the economy 16 track version. You get a nice a capella version of Billy Joe Shaver's Live Forever, sung by big time country music fan and actor Robert Duvall.
See the movie and buy the soundtrack. Great traditional country and western will flow out your speakers.
i loved this move AND the soundtrack rocked.
ReplyDeletet-bone is a musical genius.