Minnie Driver turns pockets inside out, music falls out

If I had never heard Minnie Driver actually sing, I would have dismissed her album out of hand at the mere mention of it. With the track record of celeb albums being what it is, could anyone blame me? I guess all I have to do is mention captain Kirk singing, and leave it at that. His “music” if you will, is like one of those movies that’s really funny, but it was never meant to be funny if you know what I mean. Actually, I kind of dig “Has Been” so maybe that’s just a bad example.

I think everyone not living in a cave at least knows who Minnie Driver is. But what most people aren’t aware of is that for actress Minnie Driver, the music came years before the acting. Minnie started singing at a very early age in church, and by the time she was a teenager, Minnie was actually signed to Island records. To make a long story short, Minnie says the record was terrible, “kind of like the Fugees” with Minnie chiming in with some sweet vocals. So that early start was a false one, and everyone knows that the acting thing is what really took off. Now Minnie’s got something to say, and share and Everything I've Got In My Pocket is the title of her first album.

The title couldn’t be more fitting. On her debut, Minnie shares so many sweet little stories and thoughts from all aspects of her life. After soaking in Pocket it’s obvious that while there are at least a brace of tracks that could survive in the mainstream given the chance; the record as a whole is rather quiet, gentle, and dreamy in its presentation. It’s just one reason so many records get lost and overlooked. Given the chance, like say Damien Rice’s “O” there are smart, affectionate and heartfelt moments to be enjoyed in a quiet place, free of distraction. But before I delve into this record what really has me excited is that Driver not only wrote every single song (minus one cover) but she also wrote most of the music.

I've never made it a secret that some big names annoy me with their dependence on professional writers (Norah Jones and her 47 Grammy awards) and knowing that Driver penned everything just had me jazzed. Of course going sans writing team could prove disastrous, but I'm happy to report that Pocket is anything but. The final vibe of Pocket is a smooth blend of Pop, Jazzy, blues-y tunes with a country streak. Unfortunately, what I would judge the three (maybe four) strongest tracks reside on the front side of Pocket making the presentation a bit uneven, but honestly, that's a nit-pick.

Pocket kicks things off with the title track, and it’s a dreamy Norah Jones number with vibes and lap steel giving off ever so slightly blues-y sounds. Driver’s vocals are reassuring and caressing when she sings “I know you’re sad, but it won’t last, I’m betting everything I've got in my pocket.” Invisible Girl a toe-tapper that could easily hang out on FM radio speaks of a young girl making her way home from a late night party.

On Invisible Girl, Driver conveys a overly confident young lady when she sings “She’s the queen of the night.” It also happens to be incredibly spooky how Driver sounds exactly like Aimee Mann at the opening of “Invisible Girl”. Of the more upbeat tracks, Invisible Girl is probably the strongest, and it also happens to rest up against the best slow-cooker in the bunch Fast As You Can. Leaning more toward dive bar country/blues, Driver mixes in a little Cowboy junkies, Gillian Welch, and (um snapping fingers in the air) something else I can't quite put my finger on.

Throughout Fast as you can Driver urges a man to grow up as fast as he can, to love an older (and slightly bitter) woman. Driver really floored me with something so strong and refined on her first record. In the middle of Everything I've Got In My Pocket “Home” is very heavy on the ‘lap steel’ and country sounds. Deeper Water is dreamy while still retaining the rustic thread that seems to run throughout. The only track not penned by Driver is a cover of Springsteen’s Hungry Heart. It’s a very simple, sleepy, almost acoustic version of said song, and Driver’s interpretation is heartfelt, and sweet, and thankfully, not butchered in any way. I almost forgot to mention that Minnie Driver will be singing in front of the biggest audience of her life when she sings at the 2005 Academy awards.

Bottom line thankfully, there are no real track-skippers, but there are some light-weights in the bunch. Wire, Down and Yellow eyes are fine, but they just don’t grab me the way some of the aforementioned tracks do. So color me surprised, I had no idea that music was so influential to Minnie Driver as a youngster, and that the girl has sweet pipes. If you fancy Aimee Mann, Norah, Sarah Harmer and the like, don’t hesitate to pick Minnie’s pockets.



© T Flores 2005




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