19. September 2017 By Walter Price 0

3 Reasons Why: Harry Dean Stanton ‘Partly Fiction’, the soundtrack

Harry Dean Stanton, ‘Partly Fiction’ on iTunes.

Tramp (Cool Hand Luke), Jack Burke (Cockfighter), Brett (Alien), Brain (Escape from New York), Bud (Repo Man), Travis Henderson (Paris, Texas), Jack (Pretty in Pink), Cleveland (Twister), and Toot-Toot (The Green Mile) are just a handful of the roles played by Harry Dean Stanton that captivated me over the years.

Not just me, but film geeks worldwide. But for my coin, two roles certainly stayed with me from the first time I laid eyes on them. Stanton’s turns as Jack in Pretty in Pink and mentor Bud in Repo Man. And any film where the actor and musician popped up in automatically gained a bunch of cool-factor points. He was just one of those voices and faces that were familiar and drastic. Weathered at times but stoic.

After the actor passed away on September 15th, an era or eras even had faded away. But something struck me as a little odd but understandable at the same time. Folks hadn’t really known his love of music or his aspirations, at moments, to be a professional musician.

Talents and respects highlighted in 2012, Sophie Huber ‘impressionistic’ documentary film, Partly Fiction. In the interest of full discloser, this is a film I haven’t fully seen. What I am familiar with is the earnest accompanying soundtrack by the same name. 12 tracks that showcase Stanton’s affinity for folk, country, and rock n’ roll.

Covering songs by Chuck Berry, Kris Kristofferson, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Harry Nilsson, and more in such revealing gritty bare-bones honesty. Stanton was 88 years of age when this album was recorded, but the timelessness is an absolute force in why we will go 3 reasons why Harry Dean Stanton Partly Fiction, the soundtrack.