Crazy Heart
Album | Various Artists
Classic ‘70s-style outlaw country meets contemporary alt-country.
Though producer/songwriter T-Bone Burnett didn’t quite manage to do for outlaw country with the Crazy Heart soundtrack what he did for bluegrass with O Brother, Where Art Thou, he came respectably close. The soundtrack landed in the upper reaches of both the pop and country album charts, and it's a pretty fine record to boot. Crazy Heart is the story of has-been country singer Bad Blake, played and sung by Jeff Bridges. Bridges’ gruff, gritty voice is perfectly suited to the part of his Billy Joe Shaver-esque character. The songs are mostly co-written by Burnett and the late guitarist and songwriter Stephen Bruton, who passed away just months before the film’s release. The pair's songs for Blake and his former protégé Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) are a solid, story-appropriate amalgamation of classic ‘70s-style outlaw country and contemporary alt-country. Folk singer/songwriter Greg Brown also contributes the ominous, low-key ballad “Brand New Angel.” Rounding things out and providing just the right musical context are tracks by Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams, Waylon Jennings, and other Americana icons.
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