Time as always to delve deep into the lesser tracked grooves of music greatness, with this week’s Pop Essays. And we’re taking a trip to Hollywood this week, and one of the 90s leading Brit actresses’ ventures over into a music career…
- Artist: Minnie Driver
- Song: Everything I’ve Got In My Pocket
- Released: 27/09/2004
- Writers / Producers: Minnie Driver / Marc Dauer
- Highest UK Chart Position: #34
- Chart Run: 34 – 60
In the business we call show, it is not many times you see someone from one of the performing arts – in this case, acting – cross over to another such as music, or vice versa.
Partly because it’s such a tricky thing to try and get right, and more often than not, such a move is met with a lot of folded arms awaiting to give their judgement, more so if they are a successful Hollywood actor.
Indeed, watching BBC Four’s weekly Friday night reruns of Top of the Pops the other night gave us a timely reminder of this, in the form of one episode from 1987, which had the video of Bruce Willis‘ hit cover version – and an ultimately unnecessary one – of The Drifters‘ “Under The Broadwalk”, something that we dare say is not as forthcoming in most people’s minds as the fact he was in Die Hard or The Sixth Sense.
But even factoring in the critical mauling such endeavours might be thrice more susceptible to, it’s arguably even trickier if the actor in question is an actress. Just ask Minnie Driver. Having made her breakthrough in 1995, in the acclaimed drama Circle of Friends, opposite Chris O’Donnell, the British actress had slowly but steadily built herself an A-list movie career.
She had then gone onto star in GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as James Bond (1995), Grosse Point Blank opposite John Cusack (1997) and most notably of all, opposite Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting in that same year, for which she was subsequently nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award. However, it was at that point where she found herself out of favour with the tabloid press, as powerful as they were back then.
The catalyst for such vitriol had been the barrage of negative reviews for her turn in the 1998 disaster thriller film Hard Rain, compounded with industry rumours (otherwise unsubstantiated) of her being a “diva” on film sets, and a romantic relationship with Matt Damon that ended – humiliatingly – very publicly.
And even though she continued to star in films and on TV – indeed, she made an excellent self deprecating cameo in the fifth series of Absolutely Fabulous, playing a camped up version of herself as Patsy’s latest star stylist client, and also a recurring role as Lorraine Finster, the chippy mistress of Karen Walker’s husband Stan in hit US sitcom Will & Grace – for a long time, the intense negative focus outside of her career for those four years between 1998 – 2002 hung around her like a dark cloud.
Which was why when, in 2004, she signed a record deal with EMI sub label Liberty, there was more resistance afoot. And yet, such opprobrium was misplaced to Minnie, for her music ventures had actually quietly run alongside her acting career in tandem, for some years before she even had her breakthrough in the latter field.
As part of the outfit River, she had collaborated with Bomb The Bass on their 1994 album Clear, and being signed at 19 years old as part of the Milo Roth Band. So actually, music had always been there. But it was unfortunately the way of things that launching a major label career with more of a profile than she had a decade ago was going to involve an uphill struggle.
Indeed, her media portrayal of the time sits entirely at odds with the musical route she had decided to pursue, which – and we don’t say this to be impertinent – was not out to offend or shock, nor did it need to. Because “Everything I’ve Got In My Pocket”, her first single and title track from her debut album, which saw her collaborate with Pete Yorn and The Wallflowers, is actually a gorgeous and very credible sounding effort.
She was, by this point, living out in Malibu in California, in a converted mobile home, where she still lives today. And it’s the laid back, languid feel of life out there which most influences the sound taken here. The obvious sonic point of comparison, certainly with this single, is to someone like Norah Jones, who was at this point massive, and had cornered the market in similar easy listening sounds, with her chart topping albums Come Away With Me and Feels Like Home.
But whilst her voice does share some of the bluesy qualities of Norah, Minnie’s voice feels more evocative, like it is rooted in Americana or a slight feel of country in particular, both genres that tell stories through songs. Indeed, it lends itself so well to a song like this; the overall vibe both in the lyrics and her delivery of them is calming, relaxing, almost like a lullaby: “I want to lay down with you / Forever, or just this afternoon / Watching the shadows getting long / I’ll sing you a quiet song / Watch you sleep, slow and deep”.
And the chorus itself, is – and we mean this in the best possible way – like a reassuring hug: “Baby you know that all your pain will pass / I know you’re sad / But it won’t last / I’m betting you everything that I’ve got in my pocket / When you’re staring out into the sky / See what you have / And don’t ask why / Things can be different and perfect, oh, perfect”.
But despite a debut performance prior to the single’s release on Top of the Pops, there didn’t seem to be much of a chance given to Minnie, as if the outcome was a predetermined, foregone conclusion. Hence the single’s appearance at a peak and debut of #34 that October was disappointing, but equally not surprising.
The album, also titled Everything I’ve Got In My Pocket, landed just a few places short of the top 40 at #44 a few weeks later. Oddly, with such limited success, it managed to yield a second single, the acoustic strumalong of “Invisible Girl” emerging in January 2005, although even with substantial airplay on Radio 2, fell some way down the top 75, peaking at #68.
She released two more albums, her second, called Seastories, under Decca Records, in 2008, whilst her most recent, independently released album, Ask Me To Dance, consisting of folk inspired covers of songs including “Human” by The Killers and “Wild Wood” by Paul Weller, came out in 2014. But acting is where Minnie has largely focused her efforts since that time, with roles in the big screen version of The Phantom of the Opera, as well as a successful podcast series, Minnie Questions, although music is, we would argue, an overlooked facet to her rich career that is worth a deep dive on.
Don’t forget to follow our Pop Essays playlist on Spotify, which includes this and all the songs we’ve written about. What are your memories of this week’s featured song or band? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or message us on our Instagram.
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