Junky Star

Ryan Bingham | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B003QTDEQ4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,800 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Poet

2. The Wandering

3. Strange Feelin' In The Air

4. Junky Star

5. Depression

6. Hallelujah

7. Yesterday's Blues

8. Direction Of The Wind

9. Lay My Head On The Rail

10. Hard Worn Trail

11. Self-Righteous Wall

12. All Choked Up Again

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist

"None of us need a hit single or be famous rock stars," he concludes. "Just to be able to make a living playing music and not having to work an eight to five job digging holes makes me feel fortunate enough. I see so many kids living on the street or going off to Afghanistan, so I don't feel comfortable saying I'd been down any tougher road. I'm just another person out here trying to make it."

Product Description

For some artists, winning an Oscar would represent reaching a pinnacle. For Ryan Bingham, who took home the Academy Award for "The Weary Kind," his hauntingly beautiful theme song for the acclaimed film Crazy Heart, it instead represented a crossroads and a decision about which path to take.

"When there are a lot of people around saying 'look, you have to capitalize on this and do something really commercial,' you might think about it for a second," admits the LA-based singer-songwriter. "But at the end of the day, there's not a chance in hell I could do that. It made me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I couldn't get up in front of people and play a bunch of stuff that didn't mean anything to me."

Bingham puts that philosophy to the test in a big way on Junky Star, his third album on Lost Highway, which was recorded in a matter of days with producer T Bone Burnett, his collaborator on the Crazy Heart soundtrack. The disc delivers a bracing fusion of pensive, gravelly ballads - like "Hallelujah," which is not a Leonard Cohen cover, but his own take on mortality, delivered from the other side of the veil - and raw, rock'n'roll cuts that showcase Bingham's incisive, darkly compelling lyrical bent.

Bingham channels a number of unique spirits over the course of the album, leading with his sensitive side on "The Poet" and kicking out the jams on the Waylon-meets-Keith Richards "All Choked Up Again." Elsewhere, as in songs like "Depression" - a vivid evocation of our current social climate that'd have Woody Guthrie nodding in approval - and the album's poignant title track, Bingham applies his wizened rasp with precise strokes, wringing emotion from every note.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More sun baked, dusty, whiskey soaked, cigarettes smoked music from Ryan, August 31, 2010

By 

John Terry "musiclikerguy" (Kansas City, Mo) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Junky Star (Audio CD)

It's hard to believe the man is just 29 years old. Ryan Bingham seems more like some grizzled, peyote addled, desert rat who emerged from a heat mirage on a lonely stretch of highway. I loved the first two albums but I always thought perhaps Ryan was trying to cultivate the image he was projecting. Seems he's been on his own since his teens in rural Texas bouncing back and forth betweem ranch work and rodeos before he turned his attention to music. He's come a long way from sleeping in his pickup truck to a bit part in "Crazy Heart" and an Oscar for "The Weary Kind". Ryan turns from Marc Ford who produced his first two albums to "Crazy Heart" musical mastermind T Bone Burnett. The terminally busy Burnett has the wisdom not to try and change Bingham and The Dead Horses. If anything, he strips away the excess and let's Bingham's lyrical strengths shine through. As much as I love James McMurtry and and his songwriting skills, Ryan Bingham is well on his way to challenging him for the title of poet laureate of Americana music. Maybe James owns the high plains and Ryan reigns over the desert. Highly recommended.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars let's get mellow, September 2, 2010

By 

dan c. "outlawwriter" (bath, me. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Junky Star (Audio CD)

I have to agree with everyone's opinion on Ryan Bingham. He is a great talent!!!

But one of the elements that drew me towards his music is missing on Junky Star.

That would be his "in your face" attitude that bucked the establishment and broke some rules with some rocking tunes that crossed, or at least blurred the lines between country and rock. This album contains no foot-stomping tunes like Bread and Water, Country Roads and even just a little toe tapping experienced in Ghost of Travlin' Jones. If soft, soulful country ballads are your thing, then give this one 5 stars and add it your collection. If your a Bingham fan as am I, then buy it anyway. We're seeing and listening to the creative evolution of a music icon for years to come. Just hoping for more gritty, harder edged stuff in the future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gifted young talent, October 3, 2010

By 

Dbob - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Junky Star (Audio CD)

I caught Ryan Bingham for the first time at the Americana Music Awards show at the Ryman in Nashville. He had won both the song of the year award for "The Weary Kind" as well as the artist of the year award. While I had the Crazy Heart soundtrack, I was not acquainted with his other work. In a night filled with incredible performances (for example Robert Plant did an unannounced 40 minute set of his new Band of Joy LP with Buddy Miler and Patty Griffin) Ryan Bingham blew me away with a stunning performance of "Hallelujah" from his new LP. While still sitting in the auditorium, I ordered the new LP as well as his first two releases on both cd and vinyl through the amazon app on my ipod. I have not been disappointed. I find both his songs and his voice to have a depth and maturity that belie his age. His songs have been in constant rotation on my turntable and on my car's iPod. I am planning to catch him live in the next few weeks. Along with artists like Hayes Carll and the Avett Brothers, performers like Ryan Bingham give me hope in the future of country music. It great to see a new stream of talent in the mold of Townes Van Zant, Guy Clark, Steve Earle etc. coming down the pike. I urge you to support Ryan Bingham and others like him by buying their music. It is folks like these that will keep quality songwriting alive in today's world of mass produced Muzak for the lowest common denominator.