By Clarence Yu

No, you did not read the title wrong. It is Kevin Costner, actor-director, with his band Modern West and their debut CD, “Untold Truths.”

At the age of 53, Costner decides to go into his first album of all original songs, with long time band Modern West. Most might be surprised (like me) but after a little checking, Costner has not been a stranger to playing music, as he and his band have been playing live gigs for the past couple of years.

The sound is all country/roots-rock with Costner on vocals. Surprisingly, for a shameless country music fan like me, I’m not that disappointed, nor am I elated.

The songs on the album have little to do with what the title suggests, at least in a direct sense. “90 Miles an Hour” sounds a bit like Jacob Dylan’s “One Headlight,” and “Every Intention” sounds like a John Mellencamp song. The fire cracking country-rocker “Gotta Get Away (Song for Bud)” is one of the tracks that is quite unique. Most of the other tracks deal with tales of Americana and it’s heartland and the actor’s voice isn’t really that bad — he sounds like he’s having a blast, and the band is superb.

Overall, this album is not bad debut CD for a 53 year old actor who now officially joins the ranks of Kevin Bacon, Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves as actor-musicians. It’s not as hip as today’s contemporary music by any standard (whatever that may be). I’m pretty sure this album will not do well commercially nor will it have a big chance of being released locally. But for easy listening, I wouldn’t mind keeping this on my player for a while.

Just to give you an idea how Costner looks on stage singing, here’s a video we found on YouTube: