The soundtrack for Arliss Howard’s directorial debut features two new songs from Tom Waits and performances by some of the most vital practitioners of Mississippi hill-country blues—R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour, Asie Payton, Kenny Brown—who know "how to unleash the style's backwoods, primal oomph" (Daily News).
The soundtrack for Arliss Howard’s directorial debut film Big Bad Love is highlighted by two new songs from Tom Waits and gives great prominence to some of the most vital practitioners of the hard blues of the Mississippi hill country including R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour, Asie Payton and Kenny Brown. The soundtrack also features two contributions from Tom Verlaine—including a new collaboration with the Kronos Quartet—and Steve Earle’s stirring “Goodbye.”
Arliss Howard, discussing music in his notes for the film, talks about driving out of Nebraska and into Missouri some years ago, hearing a voice over the radio and pulling over immediately to call the radio station and find out who it was. It was Death Bell Blues, by R.L. Burnside, and he’s been hooked on this music ever since. Howard linked the music of the North Mississippi hills with Larry Brown’s stories instantly, noting, “The drive of it, the throb and repetition, and something else; a sense of something coming loose. If you’ve ever torn bed sheets for binding in a rainstorm, this is what I mean.” Much of the music featured on the soundtrack comes from the Oxford, Mississippi-based Fat Possum label. The home of R.L. Burnside, the late Junior Kimbrough, T-Model Ford and many others, Fat Possum is certainly the most acclaimed blues label of the past decade. Based on the short-story collection by celebrated Mississippi writer Larry Brown, the film Big Bad Love is the tale of Vietnam veteran Leon Barlow (Arliss Howard), a struggling writer working to make fiction from his past, his dreams and the dim sound of the future bearing down on him. At the same time, he tries to balance his obsession to create with the needs of those around him, including the ex-wife (Debra Winger) who haunts him; a son on the verge of adolescence; a small daughter with an incurable illness; a war buddy and best friend (Paul Le Mat) puzzling over his own consuming love for a funeral home heiress (Rosanna Arquette); and his mother (Angie Dickinson) who sees in her son the return and demise of her beloved husband all over again. Big Bad Love, an IFC Films release directed by Arliss Howard, stars Howard, Debra Winger, Paul Le Mat, Rosanna Arquette, and Angie Dickinson. It was adapted for the screen by Arliss Howard and his brother James Howard and was produced by Debra Winger.
Boxcar Blues
Kenny Brown, guitar
I Love You
Asie Payton, vocals, guitar
Sam Carr, drums
Produced by Matthew Johnson and Bruce Watson
Recorded by Bruce Watson in August 1994 at Junior Kimbrough’s juke joint, Chulahoma, MS
Come on In
R.L. Burnside, vocals (3, 7), guitar (3)
Produced by Bob Corritore
Recorded at Rhythm Room, Phoenix, AZ
She Asked Me So I Told Her
T-Model Ford, vocals, guitar
Spam, drums
Produced by Matthew Johnson and Bruce Watson
Recorded and mixed by Bruce Watson at the Money Shot
My Baby’s Gone
Robert Belfour, vocals, guitar
Bryan Barry, drums
Produced by Matthew Johnson and Bruce Watson
Recorded by Bruce Watson at the Money Shot
Sleepwalkin'
Tom Verlaine, guitar
Patrick A. Derivaz, bass
Bill Ficca, drums
Produced by Tom Verlaine
Recorded in 1991 at Acoustilog Studio, New York City, by Mario Salvati
Everything Is Broken
James Cotton, harmonica
Teenie Hodges, Kenny Brown, Buddy Guy (first solo), Derek Trucks (last solo), guitar
Charles Hodges, Hammond B-3 organ
Leroy Hodges, bass
Howard Grimes, drums
Recorded at Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN, by Matt Martone; Will Driskell, assistant engineer
Buddy Guy recorded at Chicago Recording Company, Chicago, IL, by Chris Shepard; Bill Douglas, assistant engineer
James Cotton recorded at Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN, by Jason Latshaw; Pete Matthews, assistant engineer
Junior's Place
Junior Kimbrough, vocals, guitar
Kenny Malone, drums
Gary Burnside, bass
Recorded February 1996 at Lunati Farms, Holly Springs, MS
Long Way Home
Tom Waits, vocals, guitar
Larry Taylor, upright bass
Nic Phelps, French horn
Produced by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
Recorded and mixed March 2001 at Prairie Sun Recording, Cotati, CA, by Oz Fritz; Jeff Sloan, second engineer, production assistant; Gene Cornelius, assistant engineer
Goodbye
Steve Earle, vocal, guitar, high string guitar, harmonica
Peter Rowan, gut string guitar
Norman Blake, dobro
Roy Huskey, acoustic bass
Produced by William Alsobrook and Steve Earle
Recorded at Magic Tracks Recording Studio & Masterfonics, Nashville, TN, by Wayne Neuendorf; Mike Elliot, additional engineer
Spiritual
Tom Verlaine, guitar
Kronos Quartet: David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Jennifer Culp cello
String arrangement by Stephen Prutsman
Produced by Stephen Prutsman and Bob Levy
Recorded March 2001 at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, CA, by Bob Levy; Judy Kirchner, assistant engineer
Recordist and Pro Tools Editor: André j.h. Zweers
Jayne’s Blue Wish
Tom Waits, vocals, guitar
Produced by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
Recorded and mixed March 2001 at Prairie Sun Recording, Cotati, CA, by Oz Fritz; Jeff Sloan, second engineer, production assistant; Gene Cornelius, assistant engineer
Mastered by Paul Zinman at SoundByte Productions, Inc., New York City
Design by 27.12 design
Executive Producer of the Soundtrack Album: Debra Winger
Soundtrack Album Compiled by Arliss Howard, Jay Rabinowitz, and David Bither
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