*Once Again On Jeff Bridges- The Songs Of "Crazy Heart"

Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of Townes Van Zandt performing If I Needed You.

CD Review

Crazy Hearts: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Jeff Bridges and various artists, New West 2010

I have already give kudos to Jeff Bridges for his Oscar-winning performance in Crazy Hearts elsewhere so we need not go into that one in detail. That one was easy. See it. Why? Well, if for no other reason that Jeff Bridges finally won an Academy Award for his lead role as Bad Blake in it, a role that he has been waiting for about forty years to cash in on. Every since I first saw Bridges as Duane Jackson in the screen version of Larry McMurtry’s great novel of the New West, The Last Picture Show, I have known that he had the righteous, good-hearted, hard-drinking, devil-take-the-hinter post, sexually energetic and troubled “old geezer” that he personifies in the Blake role in him. He has done other fine performances but there is something just a little extra that he brings to that good-ole-boy role, young or old.

Frankly Bridges, through the character of Bad Blake, an alcoholic, back roads traveling, down on his luck, hard living country singer, an “outlaw” singer for sure, carries the film. The story line, in film and in real life (think Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and half of male Nashville), has been done to death. So Bridges’ performance and the soundtrack are the important in redeeming the production. And part of that excellent performance by Bridges was his actually singing some of the material. That in itself was refreshing (and brave), somewhat akin to actors doing their own stunts.

Of course having legendary music man T-Bone Burnett on board never hurts. The CD is a mix of Bridges film songs (including variations on some of the songs, as was done in the film, including by Ryan Bingham on I Don't Know0 and other country and blues artists. Outstanding other songs, as always, are done by Lightnin’ Hopkins (Sam Phillips) and Townes Van Zandt (an outlaw singer/songwriter who could have been put of that list above, as well). If you are in an “outlaw” country mood get this. Hey, watch the film too, okay.