Everything I've Got in My Pocket | 
| Artist: Minnie Driver
Label: Zoe Records
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy Used: $2.76
You Save: $15.22 (85%)
New (18) Used (20) from $2.76
Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 53059
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 431072
UPC: 601143107221
EAN: 0601143107221
ASIN: B0002W4T4O
Release Date: October 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Everything I've Got in My Pocket | | • | Invisible Girl | | • | Fast as You Can | | • | Wire | | • | Home | | • | Deeper Water | | • | So Well | | • | Hungry Heart | | • | Down | | • | Yellow Heart | | • | Ruby Adeline |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
British actress Minnie Driver's debut album is a more than credible affair--and a far cry from the usual travesty that unfolds with thespians who pine to be rock stars--outdistancing efforts by brethren like Don Johnson, Russell Crowe, and more recently Juliette Lewis. But then Driver was well on her way to becoming a recording artist as a member of the Puffs, Rock and Brown, but was sidetracked when she scored the starring role in 1995's Circle of Friends. If this CD is any indication, she should have rethought her priorities. Driver's voice is a wistful and stylish hybrid of a rather morose and breathy Kathleen Edwards and a more austere Sheryl Crow, raiding her own rather colorful autobiography for material, giving fans a chance to pick apart her rather melancholy lyrics to decipher which one of her famous beaus--like Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Josh Brolin, or John Cusack--inspired them. Driver convinced members of the Wallflowers and Pete Yorn (whose brother is her agent) to play join her in the studio, giving her music a deft authentic gloss that might not have surfaced had she just used nameless studio pros. As a result Driver's music is languid and sensual dream pop, verging on alt country, but never making it over that rickety wooden fence. --Jaan Uhelszki
Album Description
The delete bins of history are littered with the recording attempts of actors who fancy themselves as singers. In the case of Minnie Driver, music actually came first. She began singing in London's jazz clubs as a teenager, eventually joining a band that landed a deal with Island Records. She was in the midst of negotiating a solo deal with EMI when the hit film Circle of Friends came along and changed her life. But she always longed to return to music, and with the release of Everything I've Got in My Pocket, Driver has made the album she's been dreaming of making since her teenage years. Backed by a group that includes members of the Wallflowers and Pete Yorn's band, the album deftly blends Driver's sultry, bittersweet vocals with sparse, atmospheric pop and a hint of contemporary folk. With ten original songs and an unforgettable cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart," Driver's debut marks the arrival of an accomplished singer-songwriter.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 55 more reviews...
 A wonderful surprise. May 9, 2005
C.Clark
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful album! Why didn't we hear about this CD when it came out? It's chock-full of lovely songs, and Ms. Driver's voice and singing style are just beautiful. This CD reminds me of Sarah McLachlan's album, "Surfacing," and is equally as good. The songs "Invisible Girl," and "Down," are particularly memorable, as is her cover of Bruce Springsteen's, "Hungry Heart."
I enjoy her acting, very much, but, I hope Ms. Driver will also continue to pursue the musical side of her career, as well. EVERYONE should hear this!
Love it! March 25, 2005
H. I. Merryman (Whidbey Island, Washington)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
I bought this CD on a whim and I could not have been happier with the result. I listen to it on a daily basis almost and even my 13 year old requests it, so is must not be untolerable. I hope Ms.Driver will be able to grace us with another release in the future.
minnie is a double threat April 27, 2005
sunny (usa)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
she is fantastic. what a wonderful album, her voice is beautiful. she is a great actress. i hope she will land an oscar winning role, and a grammy. boo, to what they did to her at the acedemy awards. she can sing her own song she is fantastic. what a great cd. love you minnie.
 Yeah, it's HER, yeah, it's decent, but it's got issues October 5, 2004
David Pearlman (Arlington, MA United States)
84 out of 111 found this review helpful
I've lived with a pre-release version of this album for about a month now. When I first got it, my thoughts ran to people like David McCallum and Bruce Willis. You know, BIG TIME MOVIE STARS that got to put out albums for no other reason than they were BIG TIME MOVIE STARS. Those albums usually demand a spin on the basis of morbid curiosity, but nothing more.
So let's state this up front: This is not that type of album. If you didn't know the name on the cover, you wouldn't wonder twice why/how this woman got a record contract. She sings fine, the arrangements are professional, the band is good. Driver was considering a singing career before her acting one took off, and you can believe that on the basis of this album.
That said, this album is not without problems. The big one is that many of the songs here, while pleasant, are no more than pleasant. They come, they go, you wonder what you just heard. Many of these songs simply lack any sense of dynamics. The lyrics are competent, the vocals are competent, the music is competent. But there's no hook, no buildup, no payoff; the kind of song you might listen to again because sylistically you find it appealing, but which simply refuses to yield any nourishment.
Whoever sequenced this album clearly understood that, because the best songs are mostly gathered at the beginning of the album. The first three songs, with the fourth a worthy contender, do have their charms. But then things go south quickly. The nadir of the album has surely got to be her version of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart." Going in, I felt this a peculiar choice for a cover. Hit status not withstanding, it is surely one of Springsteen's weaker tunes and the simplistic, repetitive melody doesn't really cry out for a stripped down folky interpretation. But that's what you get here. And the result, expectedly, is simplistic, repetitive and dull.
Whether this will be enough of a hit to allow Driver to record another album is unclear. The high time for this type of album, which would easily fit center stage in an environment such as the currently mothballed Lillith Fair, seems to have passed, at least commercially speaking. Nonetheless, Driver's celebrity might spark enough interest to provide the sales required for a second shot. And this one is suggestive enough of a talent below that if that happens, it will be worth checking out.
So Glad I Bought It... March 24, 2005
Courtney Davila (San Antonio, Texas)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
After hearing Minnie's song on the Phantom of the Opera movie soundtrack, I decided to check iTunes to see if they had her album. I listened to the clips and loved it. I was finally able to locate the CD yesterday and I haven't stopped listening to it. She has a great voice. Don't listen to this if you just want another pop album. The songs are soulful and mellow, and all in a good way.
I hope other people will give it a chance. Don't judge her because she's an actress. Listen to the music, you won't regret it. I just hope she records another CD.
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