So the great Jeff “It’s Me Barney” Bridges just released his second musical album Jeff Bridges, first since 2000’s Be Here Soon. This new album is sort of a continuation of Jeff’s work in the film Crazy Heart (2009), about a down and out country singer. He worked with highly successful producer T-Bone Burnett on the album. This album is definitely country, but it’s old school country, which is why the country music press hated it! I personally hate newer country, essentially everything made from Billy Ray Cyrus onwards. Anyway, Rolling Stone Magazine gave it 3 out of 5, which I’d probably agree with. Several of the songs were just way too slow and bogged down, although a few were very good, and one is now stuck in my damn head! Here’s a quick rundown of the tracks in the CD I got, with 2 Barnes & Noble bonus tracks:
- What a Little Bit of Love Can Do -> The signature track, very catchy, Bridges voice actually works quite well with this song.
- Falling Short -> This is a strange one, seems to go nowhere.
- Everything But Love -> Folksy, very pleasant.
- Tumbling Vine -> Like track 2, written by Jeff Bridges, in the tone of “The Dude,” and highly psychedelic.
- Nothing Yet -> Another slow one, put me to sleep.
- Blue Car -> A nice poppy folk song with a easy beat (though slow).
- Maybe I Missed the Point -> Easily my favorite track, and now stuck in my head. Wish he did the whole album like this.
- Slow Boat -> Spoken word? Why?
- Either Way -> Dullish love song.
- The Quest -> Old school country song.
- I Will Wait -> First B&N exclusive bonus, modest.
- Shotgun Bride -> Second B&N exclusive bonus, kind of falls off the cliff.
- Drag Me To The Party -> Amazon MP3 exclusive, more odd spoken words.
Oh, and surprise, I got to meet Jeff Bridges at the Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble in New York! Here’s his signed CD cover and my picture just before getting it signed. We’ll talk about the encounter in Episode 177.
