You may think you don’t know T Bone Burnett, but I’m willing to bet that you know his work. Since 1975, when he toured with Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, Burnett has been leaving his mark in virtually every corner of the music world.
The Past 14 Years
In recent years, Burnett has collaborated with an eclectic mix of musicians that includes Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison, Warren Zevon, Arlo Guthrie, Los Lobos, and the list goes on and on. He has written and produced movie soundtracks (think O Brother Where Art Thou?), and trained Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix to sing like Johnny and June Carter Cash in Walk the Line.
Burnett’s own recording career has been on the back burner since 1992’s The Criminal Under My Own Hat, his twelfth album, which he released 20 years after his first (as J. Henry Burnett) The B-52 Band & the Fabulous Skylarks. The drought ends with the release of The True False Identity and his first tour in nearly two decades.
Now, About This Album
(Courtesy Special Ops Media)
Because of Burnett’s often complex lyrics and melodies, this is not an album that lends itself to casual listening. Don’t try to categorize him. Burnett is a one man genre. There’s a voodoo feel to the opening track, “Zombieland” where “we’re gonna stomp that devil beat.” Other tracks are a mixture of spoken word, blues, film noir and metal. Lyrical themes range from “this is fear country” to “the concept of sin.”
Complex and quirky though it may be, The True False Identity is engaging, and just a little bit addictive. It’s the kind of music in which you hear something different each time you listen. Like his buddies Dylan and Costello, Burnett is nothing if not an original.
In case you want to delve deeper into the history of his career as a solo performer, a 40-track compilation, 20/20: The Essential T Bone Burnett is being released at the same time as the new CD.
Who Should Buy The True False Identity
- Anyone who isn’t familiar with T Bone Burnett but who likes Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie or Elvis Costello
- Anyone who is familiar with T Bone Burnett who wants to hear how the past 14 years have influenced his approach to recording original material
- Anyone who likes music that is unique and interesting on its merits, regardless who the artist is
Release Date:
May 16, 2006
Track List:
1. Zombieland
2. Palestine Texas
3. Seven Times Hotter Than Fire
4. There Would Be Hell To Pay
5. Every Time I Feel the Shift
6. I'm Going On A Long Journey Never To Return
7. Hollywood Mecca Of The Movies
8. Fear Country
9. Baby Don't You Say You Love Me
10. Earlier Baghdad (The Bounce)
11. Blinded By The Darkness
12. Shaken Rattled And Rolled
