The True False Identity

T Bone Burnett

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2006)
• Original Release Date: May 16, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000E6UWEE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,196 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

T-Bone Burnett has been hard at it since his last record of original songs in 1992: nominated for a songwriting Oscar, winning a production Grammy, composing movie soundtracks, and serving as one of his trade's most valuable studio musicians. But with those most fascinated by his remarkable resume, it's all about the songwriting, and on The True False Identity, Burnett substantiates his role as a composer and performer steeped in traditional American music. Backed by a scrupulous cast of players and drawing on his candidly innovative wordplay, Burnett not only has put the world on notice, he appears far from content with the outlook. "The cat's out of the bag/And it ain't going back," he pleads wearily over a machine-gun drum in "Fear Country," one of several tunes where Burnett enunciates more as dustbowl rapper than west coast songster. His relevant narrations include an undercurrent of religion in law ("Blinded by the Darkness"), the modification of history ("Every Time I Feel the Shift") and a cadenced appraisal of Frank Sinatra and his running buddies ("Palestine, Texas"). Teaming a Dylan-like poetry scheme with a searing guitar lead, "Palestine" begins as a mis chievous nursery rhyme, until Burnett aims his invective at the nation's leaders: "When you come out of this self-delusion/You're gonna need a soul transfusion." Listening to The True False Identity, we've already got ours. --Scott Holter

More from T-Bone Burnett

Twenty Twenty: The Essential T-Bone Burnett	The True False Identity (Dualdisc)	O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Produced by T-Bone)
Walk the Line (produced by T Bone)	King of America, Elvis Costello (produced by T Bone)	T Bone Burnett

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MAYBE HIS TRUE IDENTITY???, May 19, 2006

By	Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Do you know how long it has been since T-Bone Burnett has released an album of his own? I do. It's almost fifteen years, and I've spent a good deal of that time checking record bins and lists of new releases waiting for something new to appear from him. Now that it's here, I cannot say I'm surprised to discover that T-Bone Burnett's new album is unlike anything else he has previously released. Maybe the change is because he was influenced by a few of the artists he produced (Cassandra Wilson, Elvis Costello, etc.), or maybe he was inspired by some of his soundtrack work ("O Brother Where Art Thou" and "I Walk the Line" were both created under his guidance). Either way, the change is both profound and startling.
In the past, Burnett's work displayed a keen awareness of Americana, with an underpinning of pop structures that made his music both unique and contemporary. On "The True False Identity," Burnett seems to be unconcerned with pop, instead relying on his own instincts to provide the sonic palette. The result is an album unlike any other that I have heard. Each song on this collection plays like an aural depiction of a subconscious thought, structured to follow the whimsical paranoia of Burnett's inner voice. "Fear Country," "I'm Going on a Long Journey," "Earlier Baghdad," and almost every other track here has a sense of underlying menace that is offset by a nearly playful lyricism. "Palestine, Texas" is flat-out absurd, with a `name game' rhyme-ology that can make you laugh out loud, albeit uncomfortably ("Frank who is swank robbed a bank with a tank for a prank...").
Structurally, almost all songs here share an even-paced, loping rhythm and dark, film-noir-esque arrangements that are perfectly suited to Burnett's wry voice. Chord changes are minimal, as if any change in the tonal presentation would interrupt the authenticity of the mood. "Seven Times Hotter Than Fire" sits on one chord until the end of each verse, where the band continually modulates to build on the tension inherent in the words. Lyrically, "The True False Identity" is both confounding and entertaining, suggesting Bob Dylan at his most mystifying. Burnett also shares Dylan's penchant for oblique moralizing and judgmental observation. For example, check out this line from "Blinded By the Darkness," which Burnett talk-sings over a lava bed of clanking percussion and buzzed-out guitar noise; "Do we want to inject the concept of sin into the constitution? Is this really necessary?....Shouldn't it be left to the laws of God and to the laws of nature? Can we trust this to the legislature?"
Conceptually, "The True False Identity" is no easy ride, but it rewards multiple listens. I personally plan to spend a lot of time listening to this CD, but I hope I don't have wait another fifteen years to discover what comes next. A Tom Ryan

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Legend Returns!!!!, May 20, 2006

By	R. McNamee "The Conductor" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love this album! After more than a dozen years of producing other people's albums and creating incredible soundtracks, T Bone Burnett has returned with a great CD of his own music. The songs on True/False Identity reflect the accumulated wisdom an American legend. As you would expect from T Bone, the lyrics are compelling, with trenchant social commentary wrapped in biting wit.

The band that backs T Bone is terrific. Built on a foundation of Jim Keltner's drumming, the band delivers pulsating rhythms and compelling melodies.

True/False identity is a really important CD. Check it out.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars, 5 times over!, July 18, 2006

By	DirkL (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

"Disappointed" wrote a review giving 1 star after listening only twice? C'mon buddy, I wasn't sure of it after 2 listens either - give it a go. Quite a few listens later, my opinion of this wonderful recording is that it's stupendously good. Highly sophisticated musicianship, amazingly detailed and layered production, every song full of interesting sounds, melodies, rythyms and thoughts. Some rasping, blues-fuelled steamrollers live amongst these songs. Other tracks, just as arresting provide the space to breathe again. The closing song "Shaken Rattled And Rolled" sounds like an awakening disguised as a lament. This is exhilarating stuff and I don't expect there will be a better album in 2006. As classic as Bob Dylan's "Time out of Mind".