Private Radio: Billy Bob Thornton: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Dark & Mad

2. Forever

3. Angelina

4. Starlight Lounge

5. Walk Of Shame

6. Smoking In Bed

7. Your Blue Shadow

8. That Mountain

9. He Was A Friend Of Mine

10. Private Radio

11. Beauty At The Back Door

12. Lost Highway

Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

You wouldn't expect the man behind Sling Blade to turn out a pedestrian album, but Billy Bob Thornton's country debut, Private Radio, turns out to be surprising both for its risks and for its routine. To his credit, Thornton, with Marty Stuart producing, bypasses radio formula for a different kind of connection with his listener, veering from lengthy spoken verse to retro hillbilly deluxe. But does the listener want to hear what he has to say? In the opening song, "Dark and Mad", Thornton seems to telegraph the brooding danger of his most famous film role. Yet almost immediately he gets lost in ruminations so personal that he almost forgets there's an audience waiting to be involved. Past the kinky charm of "Forever", a bluesy, one-way telephone conversation in which he tells his main squeeze he's wearing the feathered pink panties she left in his car, there's a love song to his wife that's 180 degrees from passion, a revamp of Roger McGuinn's salute to John F Kennedy and a nine-and-a-half-minute piece of theatrical Southern gothic about witnessing a disturbing sexual encounter as a child. It's a weird trip, and totally unfocused, as if he just recorded whatever came into his head. But there's no denying Thornton's out-there charisma or the croaky appeal of his Arkansas twang. --Alanna Nash

Chronique amazon.fr

Il y a ceux qui essaient des années. Qui accumulent les albums médiocres à longueur de carrière. Et il y a ceux, comme Billy Bob Thornton, qui mettent dans le mille au premier coup. Avec ce disque, produit par Marty Stuart, docteur ès guitares, l'acteur metteur en scène montre qu'il a toute sa place derrière un micro, et au poste de songwriter. Il confie les musiques à son producteur ainsi qu'à son ami Dwight Yoakam – qu'il avait fait jouer dans Sling Blade, son premier long-métrage – pour le très sobre duo avec Holly Lamar, "Starlight Lounge". Et c'est un très crédible album de guitares et de voix qu'il nous offre, la voix étant déjà celle connue dans les films, en parfaite position au milieu des arpèges de Stuart et de Randy Scruggs, l'autre guitariste. Elle chante toutes les histoires que Thornton a écrites et qu'il raconte comme des images défilant sous ses yeux à l'instant où il les délivre ("Beauty At The Back Door"). Pour lui, la création artistique est un processus naturel dont le cinéma ou les chansons sont des formes étroitement imbriquées. Et pour signifier ses origines musicales, il reprend "He Was A Friend Of Mine" des Byrds ou "Lost Highway" de Hank Williams, comme une radio intérieure qu'il ferait marcher pour nous. Une private radio qu'on écoute avec délectation. --José Ruiz

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Private Radio a Must-Have!, Feb 9 2004

By

Graymalkin "uilleann piper" (Roanoke, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Private Radio (Audio CD)

Okay, I admit it: I bought this CD primarily out of curiosity. I've been a Billy Bob fan since Slingblade, and read that he had a CD. Heard a few cuts here at Amazon, and bought both Private Radio and Billy Bob's later recording, The Edge of the World. I must say that I prefer the former. Billy Bob Thornton comes across on Private Radio as a down-to-earth working guy who no doubt grew up listening to rock & roll, with some healthy doses of Waylon, Willie, Johnny and Merle. The lyrics are honest and heart-felt, and the music is as down-home foot stompin as you can get: Marty Stuart on acoustic guitar and mandolin, Gregg Stocki on drums, and Barry Beckett on Hammond B-3 organ and Wurlitzer piano (how classic can ya get?). Add the musicianship on selected cuts from Randy Scruggs, Hank Singer and Larry Paxton, and you've got a well-rounded album, indeed.
The music runs from the smoky barroom reflections of "Your Blue Shadow" and "Walk of Shame" to the intimate 'settin 'round the frontroom' story Billy Bob tells as the intro to "That Mountain" to Bluesy "Forever" to the narrative "Beauty at the Back Door" to the Rockin' "Smoking in Bed." And in every cut, Billy Bob bares his heart and soul.
I think it's the unpolished "Hey, y'all, let's get Marty over here and cut a record" intimate atmosphere that appeals most to me about Private Radio. Billy Bob comes across as a man you'd like to sit on the front porch with one summer evening and shares a few jokes, stories, and maybe pick a few songs with.
Overall, Billy Bob's lyrics reveal a down-to-earth yet deep and complex man; the music as real and varied as the characters he creates on the screen. Unpretensious, real, and honest.
Heck, just buy the CD. You'll dig it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, Feb 26 2003

By

Bill Allison "Bill Allison" (Southwest Missouri, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Private Radio (Audio CD)

I don't know what it is that keeps me coming back to this album. It's a masterwork by one of Hollywood's most well-known, but it also goes to show that you just can't lump a talented individual into one category alone. Just as he is in his movies, Billy Bob is all over the place. Whether it be the moody "Dark and Mad" or the lustful spoken-word of "Forever" or the more uptempo "Smoking in Bed" or the sad-but-true "Walk of Shame" he's telling a story and it's all great. If you take this album seriously, you will most certainly be rewarded and you'll also find yourself forgetting that this is the man who wrote, directed, and starred in Sling Blade.

His vocal range is pretty incredible and the music is great, but what truly shines is the songwriting and the delivery. Whether it be spoken word, or hillbilly twang, you'll get the message and don't be surprised if you catch yourself singing "Smoking in Bed" while you're at work. In short, there isn't a weak track to be found and what's here will make you long for more. It never gets old.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to believe it's already been a year..., Sep 25 2002

By

Bill Allison "Bill Allison" (Southwest Missouri, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Private Radio (Audio CD)

It's been a year already, and this album has only gotten better. Of course, by now, I've had time to memorize the whole thing, but what's really great is this album's staying power. I'm really not surprised at all, seeing how Sling Blade has been my favorite movie for nearly five years. What surprises me the most is how well it has been recieved, both with the critics and the fans. I admit that I was a little nervous about Billy Bob being lumped into what I call the "Hasselhoff/Shatner files" but this album has a genuine charm and brutal honesty that made it my favorite album of last year.

I wasn't lucky enough to catch him on tour, but hopefully, he'll come closer to my neck of the woods next time out. If you haven't picked this one up yet, it's high time to do so. I'm highly anticipating the next album (I hear it's a concept-album) but for now, I'm content to start it over and give it another spinning.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Billy Bob Rocks Out!
Now I'm no music critic. If I like something, I like it and don't need to attach some hoity toity critic lingo to WHY I like it. Read more

Published on July 9 2002 by Joanna Lavan

1.0 out of 5 stars Stick to Acting
I am not much of a country music listner, but what I have heard from this CD is terrible. Bill Bob has absolutley NO music talent whatsoever. Read more

Published on May 17 2002 by Jayson Wilson