Talking about soundtracks as anything other than marketing tools is often ludicrous, but once in a while there’s one that matters. Like the music from Black Snake Moan (which was also released by New West Records), many of the dusty tracks from Crazy Heart are performed by the characters in the movie. This means that alongside incidental tracks by Buck Owens, The Louvin Brothers and Sam Phillips, there are originals penned by Ryan Bingham, sung by an Oscar-nominated Jeff Bridges and tweaked by Grammy heavyweight T-Bone Burnett. Regardless of the source, all the music succeeds separately from the film and the album is so cohesive that it plays like a well-loved back-road mixtape. The biggest surprise (other than how credible Bridges is as a country crooner) is Bingham’s voice. It’s raw as can be and brings a decidedly modern edge to the country tradition that is honoured throughout the album.
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