JEFF BRIDGES

Jeff Bridges
Blue Note / EMI

Current history is littered with actors who have cashed in on their fame to dabble in music. It can be hard to watch when some of those artists appear to not be content with being famous the once, but are hoping for two bites of the cherry. Keanu Reeves, Juliette Lewis and Russell Crowe come to mind as people who have put out albums with appalling results, but then there are those like Jeff Bridges who make a more than worthy contribution.

Bridges’ serious foray into a recording career has been a long time coming. From the time of upper high school, Bridges and his buddies would jam every Wednesday night for the next 15 years. Although claiming to have recorded all of these sessions, it was not until he portrayed country music singer Bad Blake in the film Crazy Heart that the seed for the self-titled album was sewn.

After being around T Bone Burnett on film sets, Bridges took to the studio with the masterful producer. It is when Bridges writes the songs as well as sings them that he finds himself deep in Kristofferson territory, yet his finest moments come with the smooth as silk What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do and the songs penned by his grade school friend John Goodwin in Everything But Love and The Quest.

Bridges claims that music was always his passion, but it is film that paid the bills. If he keeps up with tunes like these, then either way he is unlikely to starve.

_CHRIS HAVERCROFT