Genius Music for grown-upsYou can't dance to it, it isn't remotely cool and it's by a man in his sixties with a strained, nasally voice. And it's great.
After four decades of writing and releasing music - albeit with some extended intervals - this new album stands to be compared favourably with the best Newman has ever produced.
In songwriting terms, "genius" is a much overused and devalued expression, regularly applied these days to anyone who can muster three basic chords along with a grasp of kindergarten English. In reality, few songwriters can match Newman's genius: Bob Dylan and Tom Waits come to mind; beyond that you're already struggling.
If there's a criticism, it's that at 35 minutes it's far too short when he's clearly on such fine form. But somehow Newman still runs the entire gamut of emotions from the cynical "A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country" to the pathos of "Losing You". And the music is as elegiac as ever. Brilliant.
Short and sweetI had to buy this new album as he's bound to play some of the songs at his only gig at the Royal Festival Hall in the UK in November. As always with Randy Newman theres a lot thats worth listening to here. On first listen its not an easy album to get to grips with. The orchestrations and arrangements (by RN) are full-on and to some degree make it difficult to listen to the all important lyrics. However after that first listen you will be caught up in the strange world of Randy Newman, and the arrangements add to the album as a whole, giving it a different sound and feel from his other albums.
Quite a few songs have the standard Randy Newman Piano shuffle and overall I felt there was more of New Orleans feel to this album. Lyrically its everything you'd expect from the man, i.e. completely unpredictable. Funny, satirical, moving, he switches from one to other without pause.
Its not quite as good as Bad Love or some of his earlier classic albums (Sail Away etc) and it is pretty short at 35mins, so I couldn't give it five stars. However don't be put off its still Randy Newman, which means its better than most new music out there, and its still highly recommended.
Some Good StuffHaven't got to grips entirely with this new CD and I'm not sure if it's up there with Randy Newman's best ( which for me includes 12 Songs and Land of Dreams)but I'm not complaining! I thought Only a Girl may have been John Sebastian (erstwhile of the Lovin Spoonfull) re-constituted in older age and is a memorable jaunty cleverly worded song. One of the best songs on the CD. Potholes starts off superbly well but I'm not so sure about the storyline part re american football. Laugh and be Happy - a great song and a very good version but I'm already familiar with that song and may prefer the piano only version on the Guilty box set. If Randy is to re-create some of his previous demos what about Days of Heaven - for me one of his best ever songs. Korean Parents and Piece of the Pie - not so sure and require further listening, as perhaps does In Defense of our Country. Easy Street has a wonderful texture musically and I suspect has bitter undertones (whose Miss B?). Seems like Home, I'm familiar with this song(Faust CD and Guilty Box Set)and is no better than ok. The track Harps and Angels, again, has a wonderful texture musically and the lyrics are very droll - at least 8 out of 10! Overall, 35 minutes of pretty good Randy Newman music which should improve upon further listening.
Prowling his constituency again.....Randy's back...prowling his constituency with laser wit, astringency and poignancy; delivering three minute vignettes of the present American landscape that make you wince, laugh and cry. A master craftsman in iron control of his material. With Randy back it certainly "Feels like Home."
Sorry, Randy, we've heard it all beforeAfter the depth and variety of the likes of Land of Dreams and Bad Love, this latest offering is tame fayre indeed. I felt underwhelmed and almost cheated by this lack-lustre, second-rate collection of songs. Poor Randy just can't shake off his post-Toy Story hubris. File 13 for this one!
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