Neither Twenty Twenty nor The True False Identity, then, hold the key to the great mystery of T Bone Burnett. But they do represent something which is in my opinion far more valuable: here are thirty years' worth of work by one of the richest and most brilliant minds in music today. It may not always be the easiest pill to swallow; there's a reason why Burnett rarely shows up on critics' "Best Of" lists, and that's because he has the audacity to challenge his listeners. But to let these three discs slip by, to refuse the challenge when it has never been laid before our eyes so purposefully, is to do a disservice to ourselves. Maybe T Bone isn't "wandering in the desert" anymore with the rest of us; but with songs like these, whose footsteps better to follow than his?
Reviewed by Zach Hoskins
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Very well-written. Usually when I disagree on a point or two, I tune out, but this kept my interest.
True False is so good that I wonder if I should skip The Essential and just get his other albums instead, so I don't miss anything.
"Best-ofs are for housewives and little girls"
- Bruce McCullough
2 - Joan Hunt
Perfectly done, Zach. Bravo!
3 - Andrew
The song "Palestine Texas" should not have a comma.
4 - Zach
Thanks for the compliments (and corrections - I can't make the change here but I did it on my own site). Another reason why critics don't seem to pay much attention to T Bone Burnett, which I neglected to mention in the review, is that he's an absolute bitch to write about. So I'm glad you guys think I did okay.
And yeah, El Bicho, I thought pretty much the same thing; there aren't even that many T Bone records out there, and the overall quality seems so high, so I'll probably be picking up the individual albums myself.
5 - Robin Riebe
Twenty-twenty has me outraged. Being a big T bone fan, when I heard it was coming out I got very excited. Mainly because I was looking forward to hearing many of the songs from Truth Decay (my favorite T Bone album) on CD for the first time. Then when I saw the song list I was stunned. So many throw aways (Disney and Hefner to mention one) instead of Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk. T Bone, I love ya, but ya let me down.
PS - Review, and thanks.
6 - El Bicho
Correction:
"greatest hits albums are for housewives and little girls"
- Bruce McCullough