Junky Star

 (57 customer reviews)

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...Read more

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.

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...Read more