Music Review: Kevin Costner & Modern West, Untold Truths

By Steve Morley

In the film Dances with Wolves, actor/director Kevin Costner portrays Lieutenant John Dunbar, a white man who, for all practical purposes, becomes an Indian. Some would suggest that the off-screen transformation of Costner the movie star to Costner the frontman for a rock band is just as unlikely. As the record shows with marquee names ranging from William Shatner to Russell Crowe, the quickest way to get no respect is to parlay a film career into a musical sideline. Nonetheless, Costner’s long-dormant musical urges and a desire to interact with an audience—a privilege the silver screen doesn’t afford—prompted him to step out as lead vocalist on Untold Truths, his debut recording with his band, Modern West. While a more charismatic singer might have stirred the album to more vibrant life, Costner sings effectively and without pretense. Producer, primary songwriter and longtime Costner cohort John Coinman drives the disc with a gritty, guitar-dominated sound recalling the heartland rock of John Mellencamp and Tom Petty. If Costner and company don’t exactly give them a run for their money, neither do they embarrass themselves.

Many tracks have a cinematic flavor, with Costner role-playing middle-aged, middle-class joes trying to make sense of a changing American landscape and the contents of their often jumbled lives. On “Hey Man What About You,” a restless truth-seeker can’t resist looking around to see whether anyone else is asking the same questions he is. (“The causes I had and the corners I turned/ The friends that I left and the bridges I burned/ They were part of a pace, a rhythm of life that will no longer do/ Hey, man, what about you/ Something has happened to me/ Has it happened to you?”) In “90 Miles an Hour,” a man chases a new beginning by putting distance between himself and his past, while a more comical scenario in “Backyard” finds a would-be race driver fantasizing about his getaway in one of the several out-of-commission vehicles he plans to someday resurrect. The theme of escape again takes on wry humor on “Gotta Get Away,” a well-aimed attack at Madison Avenue’s continued stalking of consumers at the expense of simple contentment. (“One day you’re in, the next day you’re not/ One year you’re cold, the next year you’re hot/ Gotta be sexy, gotta come in first/ Read it in the magazines, it’s only getting worse/ Gotta get away, gotta get away I don’t want to be like this, want to feel like this…”)

The camera moves in closer to create more dramatic effect on “5 Minutes from America,” which revisits the repercussions of Hurricane Katrina. The track conveys the acute frustration felt by evacuees but carries resonance for all Americans displaced by the shaking of the country’s financial foundations. (“I’m just 5 minutes from America/ But you can’t get there from here/ Tried to keep up with the Jones’ wherever they are/ Had some real nice neighbors, Had me a big back yard/ Now I’m watching the world pass me by like I’m an immigrant on the move…”) By contrast, the tale told in “Leland, Iowa” focuses on folks who remain in their communities despite, and perhaps because of, hard times. On the positive side, Costner offers faith as a response to crisis on “The Sun Will Rise Again.” (“I wake up in the darkness/ Pray for daylight on this land/ In the morning I hear a promise in my ear/The sun will rise again.”)

Costner could have made a throwaway album that capitalized on his fame, with guest stars galore and Nashville-tailored material. Untold Truths holds no stunning revelations, but its no-frills, middle-age-appropriate country-rock is commendable for its refusal to tell any lies.

Audio Clips

"The Sun Will Rise Again"

"Don't Lock 'Em Away"

"90 Miles an Hour"

"Gotta Get Away"