Billy Bob Thornton: Hobo : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

As an unrepentant cig smoker whose marble-mouthed drawl betrays a smidgen of goofiness, Billy Bob Thornton isn't much of a singer. Yet he stays within his range and doesn't overemote; the wistful shuffle "I Used to Be a Lion" finds him effectively portraying a man looking back on better times. His conversational tone suits the James McMurtry-style narrative of "Orange County Suicide" even better, as Thornton sketches keenly observed characters such as "the haggard li'l spouse [who] had a thing for seedy bars." While Thornton's breathiness can sound affected, and "Gray Walls" -- about how a cliffside mansion in Malibu doesn't guarantee happiness -- isn't exactly a revelation, his backing band's burnished, kinda-country sound is custom-made for top-down nighttime drives through the desert.