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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
More than 2 decades after the "height" of his career (that is, when he did the album-tour-collaborate with famous people thing), here is what stands out as maybe his most complete piece of work ever. He was always a bitter, witty and tender songwriter, and you have it all here, to the brim. No soft edges. "Fear country" might be just the best thing he's done since he showed how "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" was actually supposed to be performed
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
my favorite album of 06,if u bought robert plant/alison krauss this is the original,fantastic band ,great songs,this one of the albums everybody needs to hear.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
24 reviews
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
MAYBE HIS TRUE IDENTITY???
19 May 2006
Format:Audio CD
Do you know how long it has been since T-Bone Burnett has released an album of his own? I do. It's almost fifteen years, and I've spent a good deal of that time checking record bins and lists of new releases waiting for something new to appear from him. Now that it's here, I cannot say I'm surprised to discover that T-Bone Burnett's new album is unlike anything else he has previously released. Maybe the change is because he was influenced by a few of the artists he produced (Cassandra Wilson, Elvis Costello, etc.), or maybe he was inspired by some of his soundtrack work ("O Brother Where Art Thou" and "I Walk the Line" were both created under his guidance). Either way, the change is both profound and startling.
In the past, Burnett's work displayed a keen awareness of Americana, with an underpinning of pop structures that made his music both unique and contemporary. On "The True False Identity," Burnett seems to be unconcerned with pop, instead relying on his own instincts to provide the sonic palette. The result is an album unlike any other that I have heard. Each song on this collection plays like an aural depiction of a subconscious thought, structured to follow the whimsical paranoia of Burnett's inner voice. "Fear Country," "I'm Going on a Long Journey," "Earlier Baghdad," and almost every other track here has a sense of underlying menace that is offset by a nearly playful lyricism. "Palestine, Texas" is flat-out absurd, with a `name game' rhyme-ology that can make you laugh out loud, albeit uncomfortably ("Frank who is swank robbed a bank with a tank for a prank...").
Structurally, almost all songs here share an even-paced, loping rhythm and dark, film-noir-esque arrangements that are perfectly suited to Burnett's wry voice. Chord changes are minimal, as if any change in the tonal presentation would interrupt the authenticity of the mood. "Seven Times Hotter Than Fire" sits on one chord until the end of each verse, where the band continually modulates to build on the tension inherent in the words. Lyrically, "The True False Identity" is both confounding and entertaining, suggesting Bob Dylan at his most mystifying. Burnett also shares Dylan's penchant for oblique moralizing and judgmental observation. For example, check out this line from "Blinded By the Darkness," which Burnett talk-sings over a lava bed of clanking percussion and buzzed-out guitar noise; "Do we want to inject the concept of sin into the constitution? Is this really necessary?....Shouldn't it be left to the laws of God and to the laws of nature? Can we trust this to the legislature?"
Conceptually, "The True False Identity" is no easy ride, but it rewards multiple listens. I personally plan to spend a lot of time listening to this CD, but I hope I don't have wait another fifteen years to discover what comes next. A Tom Ryan
In the past, Burnett's work displayed a keen awareness of Americana, with an underpinning of pop structures that made his music both unique and contemporary. On "The True False Identity," Burnett seems to be unconcerned with pop, instead relying on his own instincts to provide the sonic palette. The result is an album unlike any other that I have heard. Each song on this collection plays like an aural depiction of a subconscious thought, structured to follow the whimsical paranoia of Burnett's inner voice. "Fear Country," "I'm Going on a Long Journey," "Earlier Baghdad," and almost every other track here has a sense of underlying menace that is offset by a nearly playful lyricism. "Palestine, Texas" is flat-out absurd, with a `name game' rhyme-ology that can make you laugh out loud, albeit uncomfortably ("Frank who is swank robbed a bank with a tank for a prank...").
Structurally, almost all songs here share an even-paced, loping rhythm and dark, film-noir-esque arrangements that are perfectly suited to Burnett's wry voice. Chord changes are minimal, as if any change in the tonal presentation would interrupt the authenticity of the mood. "Seven Times Hotter Than Fire" sits on one chord until the end of each verse, where the band continually modulates to build on the tension inherent in the words. Lyrically, "The True False Identity" is both confounding and entertaining, suggesting Bob Dylan at his most mystifying. Burnett also shares Dylan's penchant for oblique moralizing and judgmental observation. For example, check out this line from "Blinded By the Darkness," which Burnett talk-sings over a lava bed of clanking percussion and buzzed-out guitar noise; "Do we want to inject the concept of sin into the constitution? Is this really necessary?....Shouldn't it be left to the laws of God and to the laws of nature? Can we trust this to the legislature?"
Conceptually, "The True False Identity" is no easy ride, but it rewards multiple listens. I personally plan to spend a lot of time listening to this CD, but I hope I don't have wait another fifteen years to discover what comes next. A Tom Ryan
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
The Legend Returns!!!!
20 May 2006
Format:Audio CD
I love this album! After more than a dozen years of producing other people's albums and creating incredible soundtracks, T Bone Burnett has returned with a great CD of his own music. The songs on True/False Identity reflect the accumulated wisdom an American legend. As you would expect from T Bone, the lyrics are compelling, with trenchant social commentary wrapped in biting wit.
The band that backs T Bone is terrific. Built on a foundation of Jim Keltner's drumming, the band delivers pulsating rhythms and compelling melodies.
True/False identity is a really important CD. Check it out.
The band that backs T Bone is terrific. Built on a foundation of Jim Keltner's drumming, the band delivers pulsating rhythms and compelling melodies.
True/False identity is a really important CD. Check it out.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
T Bone ushers in a storm
19 July 2006
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Disappointed" wrote a review giving 1 star after listening only twice? Fair go, I wasn't sure of it after 2 listens either. Quite a few listens later, my opinion is that it's very good indeed. Highly sophisticated musicianship, amazingly detailed and layered production, every song full of interesting sounds, melodies, rythyms and thoughts. Some are rasping, blues driven steam-rollers while other songs provide the space to breathe again. The closing song "Shaken Rattled And Rolled" sounds like an awakening disguised as a lament. This is exhilarating stuff and I don't expect there will be many better albums in 2006. As good as Bob Dylan's "Time out of Mind" (but TOOM is kind of easier to listen to).
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