Finally, T Bone Burnett has a new album. Actually, on May 16, Columbia released two Burnett collections: his new CD, plus an extensive two-CD set for those who’ve missed his 30-plus years as a recording artist.
He hasn’t been tending his own garden much lately—his last album was 1992’s The Criminal Under My Own Hat—so it’s been a long wait. In the ’90s he was highly sought as a producer by such artists as The Wallflowers, Counting Crows, Bruce Cockburn and Roy Orbison. More recently he has also been busy with his Grammy-winning work for music-centred Hollywood films including O Brother Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain and the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line.
Burnett has been renowned for his less-is-more approach to production—trimming away anything that detracts from the pure music. Consider his production of bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley that highlighted the emotion behind his aging voice, rather than disguising it as a lesser producer might do—or the bare-bones sophistication of Sam Phillips’ recent albums.
Twenty Twenty, as the title indicates, is a two-CD collection of 40 songs from his significant career. It’s not arranged chronologically, yet the songs flow into each other in a way that demonstrates the consistency of his output. The earliest cuts are from his days with The Alpha Band in the late ’70s—although their blatantly Christian album, The Statue Makers of Hollywood, isn’t represented.
Interesting treats
For those of us who already have most of these songs, there are some interesting treats: some “newly produced” versions of several songs from his 1983 album Proof Through The Night, three previously unreleased songs, a blues number from the Wim Wenders film The Soul Of A Man and the single “The People’s Limousine,” which Burnett recorded with Elvis Costello under the pseudonym of The Coward Brothers.
On The True False Identity, a dominant upright bass undergirds most tracks. The sound usually has much in common with the soul of Dylan’s Time Out of Mind, but also veers into harsher rock territory reminiscent of recent Peter Gabriel. All you’ll hear are the primary rock elements of guitar, drums, bass and keyboards—yet they avoid stereotyped patterns; nothing is added just to thicken the mix.
Burnett often writes abstract poetry that seems to be about something significant, but may leave the listener hanging on the edge of what he’s saying.
“Palestine Texas” begins with Dr. Seuss-style rhymes about seedy criminals interspersed with the repeated name of the Texas town where the returning space shuttle exploded.
Although T Bone Burnett is openly a Christian, he’s even more openly critical of western religiosity. “Presidents come and presidents go/They rise like smoke ,they fall like snow.” The same song continues, “What is this faith that you profess/That led to this colossal mess...When you come out of this self-delusion/You’re going to need a soul transfusion.”
This is one of the few albums I would recommend spending the little extra for the “Dual Disc.” The DVD portion shows Burnett alone in a velvety theatre, gently picking edited versions of two songs, plus the bonus track “An Acquired Past.” Interspersed you’ll find scenes of him drolly reciting his playful poetry from behind dark glasses. “We think we think/we don’t know we don’t know/we’re afraid we’re afraid/we believe we believe...”
Identity is a significant theme, particularly on “Hollywood Mecca of the Movies” where Burnett says, “He is a personality not a person,” “Honesty is the most subversive of all disguises” and “Someone stole my identity and I feel sorry for him.”
There are many great songs on this album. “There would be Hell to Pay” is an expansion of the story from the old Blind Willie McTell song. “Little Delia” and “Every Time I Feel the Shift” slide from abstract lines about facing truth into a chorus of “We’re marching up to Zion/That beautiful city of God” over an exquisitely distorted guitar.
Years from now The True False Identity will be recognized as one of the finest albums of the decade. You can quote me on that.
D.S. Martin is a Canadian poet and writer. For years he has been fascinated with both the many roots and branches of contemporary music, particularly from a Christian perspective.
