Long before he became an Oscar-winning actor and director, Billy Bob Thornton had kept a hand in music, playing drums in a number of local Arkansas bands. In other words, he isn’t just some Hollywood actor who decided to cut a record by hiring the best session musicians money could buy, though he did assemble a strong backing group for his fourth studio album, 2007’s Beautiful Door: session pro Leland Sklar on bass, former Slash’s Snakepit member Ted Andreadis on organ and Graham Nash adding crucial backing vocals to three tracks. But Thornton, who co-wrote all the tunes here with guitarist Brad Davis, is the focus, and It’s his lonely moan of a voice that determines the gravity of the situation. He’s literate like James McMurtry, delivers his lines with the modest resignation of Kris Kristofferson and Dave Alvin, and has an innate tunefulness that recalls Gordon Lightfoot. The heartfelt nostalgia of “In the Day,” the heartbreak behind “Hearts Like Mine,” and the overall simple, no-nonsense melodies make for a surprisingly solid album of what could easily be country-rock from the 1970s.