Crazy Heart wins for best song and best actor!
Well I was very pleased that The Weary Kind got Best Song at the Oscars last night and Jeff Bridges got Best Actor for his portrait of a Country & Western singer/songwriter, who`s in the twilight of his career. If you haven`t seen this movie yet, you`re in for a treat. And even better is the Deluxe Soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett and Stephen Burton.
As you listen to the soundtrack you may want to refer to my review of it.
It`s good to know these artists` biographies and something about their discographies. Country artists like George Jones have literally 100s of records out, along with many tall tales that are most interesting to chew on. One famous one is when George Jones drove a tractor lawn mower to town once just to get liquor. *(the photo is Bad goin` to a gig, I believe in New Mexico somewhere? Love that SUV and old tweed Fender amp-have one myself.)
Bad Blake is a composite of many Outlaw Country greats (check out theSOP.org too while you`re over there!). Can you name some of the artists who were included in his character?
“Crazy Heart” Soundtrack, just what the doctor prescribed
The Crazy Heart Soundtrack has just be released. I have been anticipating it since I saw the movie about a month ago. 24 tracks and I`m not disappointed. Stephen Bruton and T-Bone Burnett were the co-producers of the soundtrack. Stephen Bruton died of cancer on May 9, 2009 at the age of 60. Five of the songs from the movie were
co-written by Stephen: Hold On You, Fallin` & Flyin`, Somebody Else, I Don`t Know and Gone Gone Gone.
I sense that the movie about a washed-up country singer/songwriter is buildin` momentum. I predict that the music will build up even more momentum and will be a sure fire classic very soon. It`s that good. Love the theme, The Weary Kind, but my favorite is Fallin` & Flyin`. Old time country standards are mixed in with newer ones. Included are: Hello Trouble by Buck Owens and Mal Hombre by Lydia Mendoza. Oh, don`t forget George Jones` Color of the Blues.
Apparently, Stephen Bruton made a contribution to the screenplay also. The movie is based on a book, Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb. But some say the Bad Blake character, played by Jeff Bridges, is based on Stephen Bruton, who clocked in more than 40 years on the road playin` music.
With so much money on the line from future royalties, a law suit has been filed by Stephen`s ex, Mary Bruton. I`ll link you some details on that…I have a feelin` this one`s hit paydirt!
Crazy Heart has some great songs, like the “The Weary Kind”
I saw Crazy Heart yesterday and enjoyed it quite a bit. Yea, it dragged in places but the songs playin` in the background were its saving grace. And Robert Duvall helped it along as Wayne Cramer (a floundering bar owner), a good friend of Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges), who`s pretty much washed-up himself. But Wayne provides needed moral backbone for the alcoholic, downwardly mobile country singer/songwriter.
T-Bone Burnett was the producer and composer of the music for Crazy Heart, which had 
several authentic-style, 1970s progressive country songs in it. The two that I can still remember are Fallin` and Flyin` and The Weary Kind. The Weary Kind (written by T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham), the theme song of the movie, won an award yesterday at The Golden Globes for Best Original Song. I don`t believe the soundtrack has been released yet (hope it comes out soon), but you can hear a bit of it on the trailer.
Okay, so the scene where Bad Blake sleeps with a whiskey bottle is a little over the top. But the gig at the Bowling Alley was my favorite scene. And the scenes in Houston were nice too, maybe because I`m familiar with the city. The Bad Blake character is suppose to be a hybrid of some of our legends of the 1970s Outlaw Country scene. Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings are the two, I`ve heard, that were used as role models. The screenplay comes from a 1987 novel by Thomas Cobb. (sources-Wiki and my own viewing) *(photo of Jeff & Maggie is by Lorey Sebastian`s-AP) P.S. I forgot to mention that Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jean Craddock) is fantastic as a music reporter and new love of Bad Blake.