Back in April, I reported that award-winning actor Jeff Bridges had signed a record deal with Blue Note/EMI Records. Well, now I have official word on a release date, tracklisting as well as album artwork. This is pretty awesome, if I don’t say so myself. Produced by Bridges collaborator on Crazy Heart, T Bone Burnett, his self titled album is due out on August 16th. Burnett, himself a multiple Grammy Award-winning songwriter, musician and producer, is ready to take his 30 + year friendship with Bridges to the next level…and that next level is a professional singing career. Who would have thunk it? The “Dude” recording an album? I can tell you that I for one, am excited and thrilled.
The album was recorded in LA and Brooklyn and features songwriting from a whole slew of talented artists including the late Stephen Bruton and John Goodwin (both of whom collaborated with Burnett on Crazy Heart), as well as Greg Brown and Bo Ramsay. Bridges himself contributed several tracks to the mix, including “Falling Short,” “Tumbling Vine,” “I Will Wait” (co-written with Burnett and John Goodwin) and “Slow Boat” (co-written with Burnett and Thomas Cobb). As if a team of world-class songwriters wasn’t enough, Burnett also managed to get a great band together and some terrific guest vocalists. Joining Bridges on the album are keyboardist Keefus Ciancia, guitarist Mark Ribot, bassist Dennis Crouch, pedal-steel guitarist Russ Pahl and drummer Jay Bellerose. Guests vocalists include Rosanne Cash, Ryan Bingham, Sam Phillips and Benji Hughes. Sounds like a world class lineup if I’ve ever heard one. No word yet on a single but you can check out the album artwork (ABOVE) and the tracklisting (BELOW) while you wait. Bridges recently appeared on the cover of Esquire Magazine‘s music issue so see if you can’t track that down as well.
Tracklisting:
“What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do”
“I Will Wait”
“Falling Short”
“Maybe I Missed The Point”
“Tumbling Vine”
“Nothing Yet”
“Blue Car”
“Slow Boat”
“Either Way”
“Everything But Love”
“The Quest”