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Review: ‘Crazy Heart‘ shows classic country

Review: ‘Crazy Heart‘ shows classic country

Staff and agencies



By MICHAEL McCALL, For The Associated Press Michael Mccall, For The Associated Press – 56 mins ago

In the film "Crazy Heart," actor Jeff Bridges plays a hard-drinking country singer struggling to maintain a career long after he‘s stopped having hits. The soundtrack leans on the bluer side of country music, ignoring modern country‘s slick surfaces for a compilation of classic country, acoustic blues, and hard-bitten singer-songwriter fare.

The actors don‘t have the distinct vocal character of the established singers, but Burnett gives their songs an earthy resonance befitting the film‘s honky-tonk ambiance. "Crazy Heart" makes a convincing argument that there are certain country music traditions that remain timeless.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "Crazy Heart" likely will raise the profile of Ryan Bingham, a whiskey-voiced Americana singer from New Mexico, who appears in the film and whose song "I Don‘t Know" is a highlight of the soundtrack.





Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.



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