IN THE NEWS:
Photos from day three (8/7) of Lollapalooza 2011 at Grant Park in Chicago; Foo Fighters, The Cars, Deadmau5 and Explosions in the Sky among others.
Ryan Bingham's name recognition skyrocketed when he won the best song Oscar for his work on "Crazy Heart" with producer T Bone Burnett, with whom he is reunited on "Junky Star." Bingham's first two records were made with former Black Crowe Marc Ford at the helm and their sonic sprawl -- amps-to-11 rockers, campfire tales and everything in between -- positioned the singer/guitarist as multi-faceted but not necessarily focused.
A gritty Texas barroom rocker unafraid to expose a few soft spots, Ryan Bingham's second album for Lost Highway is a worthy successor to his label debut, "Mescalito." Bingham is cut from the same cloth as The Black Crowes of the early '90s, some of which owes to his producer, former Crowes guitarist Marc Ford, who also handled "the new album's predecessor. The vocal presentation, however, is more down and dirty; Bingham's got the voice of a dusty backroad that makes no concessions to citified polish.
