I've found myself over the years collecting different things, sometimes quite accidentally. In the last thirty years or so, I've amassed what, for me, I think is a pretty impressive collection of coffee mugs, shot glasses, hats, neckties, and canes--not that I ever intended to collect any of those things--except maybe the hats. Bear in mind, I'm not complaining about this aspect of my life, nor am I ashamed of it. If nothing else, the shot glasses, mugs, and other tchotchkes make for nice decorations around my house. As for the ties... well, if I ever need to dress up for any occasion, I'm certainly prepared.
It's no big secret that I am a (conscious) music collector. I have a fairly vast library of LPs and CDs. I have 7-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch vinyl singles. I even have a smattering of cassettes and 78 RPM records here and there. And while I know that there are people out there that are even geekier than I am with bigger and deeper collections, I'm still kind of proud of what I've got. And one of the odder things I collect is actually a subset of the music library. I collect music--often full albums, sometimes just songs--performed by actors.
It's not unusual to see a singer start acting at some point in their entertainment careers. Cher and Frank Sinatra both have won Oscars for their acting work. And while Lady Gaga has also won for co-writing a song used in a motion picture, she was also nominated for Best Leading Actress for that same film. But, for some reason, actors who release music are often not taken as seriously. After having seen the movie Paint Your Wagon, in which Clint Eastwood sings "I Talk to the Trees," maybe I can understand why. But perhaps that's why I also collect these bits and pieces. I champion the idea of trying something new or different, especially on a creative level.
(SIDE NOTE: Although his singing voice leaves a little something to be desired, Eastwood has actually proven himself to be quite the composer. A self-taught pianist, he's written pieces and composed whole scores for many of his films over the last 40 years. Since 2008, he's been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for scores he composed and/or songs he wrote or co-wrote for three different films--one of which he neither starred in nor directed. In 1999, Warner Brothers even named one of their state-of-the-art recording facilities the Eastwood Scoring Stage.)
Sometimes the results can be quite amazing--for example the song "She's Like the Wind" which Patrick Swayze not only sang but also co-wrote for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Other efforts--even decent ones--have tended to be something of a punchline over the years, such as Bruce Willis's 1987 album The Return of Bruno. Incidentally, if anyone has a copy of Don Johnson's 1986 album Heartbeat (either in LP or CD) and wants to get rid of it, I'm happy to give it a good home. I'm pretty sure the second-hand cassette I found some years back was warped and didn't play properly.
In 2011, I noticed a lot of these albums being released around the same time--all of them really good. Seth MacFarlane, it turns out, is a hell of a crooner--although I was kind of hoping he'd do at least one song as Stewie Griffin. And while we would occasionally get a sense of Hugh Laurie's abilities as a pianist on his long-running medical drama "House," I certainly wasn't prepared for how much I still enjoy his album Let Them Talk.
But the biggest surprise to me was Jeff Bridges who released an eponymous album featuring his band, The Abiders, that August. I wasn't surprised by the album, or even how good it was. I wasn't surprised that it distinguished itself from the others by having a decidedly more country feel to it. After his Oscar-winning performance as a country singer in the movie Crazy Heart, it seemed like the next logical step. What surprised me was the overall response to it. Everybody acted like this was some new thing for him. It wasn't. He's been singing and playing for years.
This week's "Film of the Week" selection made me want to revisit this week's album... and provides a nice segue into that.
Jeff Bridges actually recorded his first album in 1999 and released it in January of 2000, penning six of the album's nine songs himself. His core band consisted of Chris Pelonis on electric guitar and backing vocals, Todd Smith on bass, Brian Zsupnik on drums, Michael McDonald (yes, that Michael McDonald) on keyboards and backing vocals, and The Dude himself on guitar, vocals, and a little bit of keyboard. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that David Crosby even sings on a couple of tracks. This week, please enjoy Be Here Soon.
I'll be taking the next two or three weeks away from writing these, just to recharge my own creative batteries a bit. Until I return, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember that if at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
Yours in peace, love, and rock 'n' roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
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