T-Bone Burnett's producing credits include the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss collaboration Raising Sand, the Grammy-winning soundtrack albumO Brother, Where Art Thou, and the reinvention of the Beatles’ music for the Across The Universe soundtrack. With a list of success like that, it's hard to believe that he found the time to step out from behind the soundboard to make some music of his own. Well, we sure are glad he did. Burnett's latest LP, Tooth of Crime, picks up where Sam Shepherd's 1972 play of the same name left off. The album isn't in any way a soundtrack accompaniment, but the play did serve as the foundation for this stirring ten-song set.
Kicking off with the hauntingly magnetic track "Anything I Say Can and Will Be Used Against You" where Burnett sings, "People tell me I look like hell / Well, I am hell," the mood is set for a loopy ride through the dark side of things. But make no mistake; though you may be on edge throughout this rollercoaster of an album, you'll be ready for another go around the minute the last note fades. On the melancholy, country-tinged "Dope Island," Burnett duets with his ex-wife Sam Phillips to create a sparse, mesmerizing imagining of the end of mankind.
"Kill Zone," written by Burnett, Bob Neuwirth, and the late Roy Orbison, finds T-Bone borrowing Orbison's distinctive melodies and vocal patterns to create a song in which murder and heartbreak has never sounded so sweet. "I'll slit your heart while you are weeping" is how some of the lyrics go, but with the flowing melody shining a sunny light on things, you can bet the victim will never see or hear it coming. "The Rat Age" is a completely original gem of a song. It has an off-center, razzle-dazzle feel that has Pink Floyd-like elements filtered through what sounds like a Las Vegas lounge lizard's backing band. Track "Swizzle Stick" lifts the overall machismo feel of the album to new heights. The pounding rhythm backed by Burnett's monotone vocals lures the listener in as he intones, "I can jerk the world from under you."
Oh yes, T-Bone Burnett may "jerk the world" out from under listeners time after time on Tooth of Crime, but like all great artists, he also has the ability to catch you right before you hit the floor and leave you begging for more.
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