Jeff Bridges

 

Although his dad was famous film actor Lloyd Bridges, seen every week on the '50s TV underwater action series “Sea Hunt,” Jeff Bridges' head was always swimming in daydreams of becoming a rock 'n' roller. But first there was that long detour following in his father's footsteps, creating many memorable characters including the beloved bowling-hippie hero “the Dude” in the Coen Brothers' “The Big Lebowski,” racking up four Oscar nominations and finally winning the coveted mantelpiece for his performance as country singer Bad Blake in 2009's “Crazy Heart.”

Having handled his own playing and singing quite impressively in that film must have put him in the mood for another shot at his boyhood ambition (his 2000 album debut “Be Here Soon” got mixed reviews). His self-titled sophomore collection of country-rock covers and originals is smooth as the finest Southern sippin' whiskey, thanks in no small measure to Bridges' longtime buddy, producer/musician extraordinaire T Bone Burnett.
Bridges' Everly Brothers-inspired reworking of Stephen Bruton and Gary Nicholson's “What a Little Bit of Love Can Do” (harmonizing with Ryan Bingham) makes for a promisingly upbeat opener, while the Bridges original “Falling Short” is a wistful, almost delicate blend of high-string acoustic and cello-like baritone electric guitars and leather-voiced existential musings that can only be described as an elegant chamber-country hybrid.
Rosanne Cash adds a soothing woman's touch to the harmonies of the melancholy, pedal-steel embroidered John Goodwin ballad “Everything But Love” and the dreamy, dirge-like Bridges-Burnett composition “Slow Boat,” which also features a searing, low-register solo from much in demand session guitarist Marc Ribot.
In all, it sounds like the Dude could quit his day job any time he wants and find all the nighttime gigs he can handle.