T Bone Burnett: A Life in Pursuit

Record producer, singer/songwriter, and film and television soundtrack designer Burnett's work has influenced and in some ways defined American music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Longtime popular music critic Sachs, whose outstanding work in the alt-country magazine No Depression deserves its own volume, tells Burnett's story and deftly analyzes his output in this work. The account is filled with such Burnett milestones as his Grammy Award-winning soundtrack for the Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou?? and collaborations with Jakob Dylan, Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, Sam Phillips, and Counting Crows. Written without Burnett's participation, the book is nonetheless authoritative. Appendixes annotating his frequent collaborators and a select discography are invaluable. Sachs's coverage of Burnett's film and television work details his methods and astutely evaluates his achievements in these media. A particular highlight is the author's consideration of his subject's contributions to the HBO series True Detective.