Early Songs Of Randy Newman (Ace - 2 Vols)

[JSngry]

 

I'm not really a "Randy Newman Fan" and I remain weary/wary of "songs" as an ongoing primary proposition, but Randy Newman has had a very real skill set and he has consistently deployed it very deftly, apparently since the almost beginning. That's the premise of these two sets, and that premise proves to be a sound one, and for me, a semi-revelatory one.

These are two delightful collections, and if the programming makes for a somewhat scattered listening experience the first time through, a coherency of voice  develops with repeated listenings, and eventually it's just one big hoot. Highlights of unexpected delight will showcase Fats Domino, Rick Nelson, The O'Jays (whose reading  of "Friday Night" is, I Swear To God, the exact Mathematical Midpoint between The Drifter & Elvis Costello), Cilla Black(!), and seemingly endless others. Other than Eric Burdon's seeming reading the lyrics off the paper for the first time take of "Mama Told Me Not To Come" (still, the first recording), there's nothing on here that is less than smile-inducing GOOD, and there's enough Genuine Goodies for my unhesitating recommendation to anybody and everybody for whom "this type of thing" might hold an appeal.

Haven't really dug into the annotations yet, but they appear to be excellent and document Newman's evolution from a staff songwriter to a Genuine American Icon.

Otherwise...is this not an eerie fusion of voices? Is Fats channeling Randy, or has Randy always been channeling Fats, I don't even know, eh what?

 

[paul secor]

I hope you're not serious. Fats was recording and had his voice when Randy Newman was a little kid. "Have You Seen My Baby?" was a Richard Perry producer's thing. I'm sure Fats was given a demo and told to copy it.

The first time I heard Randy Newman, he just sounded like someone trying to copy Fats' voice.

[JSngry]

Oh, I am serious. Yeah, Fats has always sounded like that, but Fats never had lyrics like that to put that voice to. Those are very much Randy Newman lyrics. And the fit is perfect.

[JSngry]

I can talk to strangers if I want to. I'm a stranger too.

 

[Joe]

 

[JSngry]

Hell yeah.

That song just oozes Fats Domino, no matter who does it.

This one does not.

I love the balance between cynical opportunism and dedication to real musical substance in a song like this. Sorta like Zappa with the misanthropy dialed down, perhaps even off. 

 

[Hot Ptah]

Thanks for posting this, Jim. I will have to pick these up. I have been a fan of Randy Newman's since 'Sail Away" was his most recent album. I remember going to buy "Good Old Boys" at the local record store on the day it came out. These versions by other artists should be very interesting.

[JSngry]

Oh, this is only some of those songs...we got things here going as far back as 1962!

You get all sorts of interesting thins to think about, like, imagine a singer being given an unknown song by an unknown-ish to sing with, at best, a demo to go by, and the lyrics and/or changes might be just a teency bit off-kilter, how does that all play out as far as making the record? And then you see a kinda Imperial/LA nexus start to form, Jackie DuShannon, Rick Nelson, and then Harry Nillson emerges, all these people around this one place, some on the way up, some on the way out, some just standing there for reasons never determined, I think Newman was an in-house songwriter for a publishing company that was a part of then-Liberty Records, that's how it seems, and...the first Warner Brothers run seemed kinda like here comes this new guy fully-formed, but no, this guy came out of the trenches really knowing his stuff. Not just in terms of subject matter/portrayal, but the craft of pop songs in general.

Like I said, fun listening, on many levels.

 

Written for Mary Hopkin in 1968, recorded by Ellison in 1970, the parallels between this (song and production) and "Ain't No Way" is obvious, but those lyrics...simple but deep. It's not like the guy was a totally creepy cynic, right? Not a one-trick-pony, not at all.

And this...essentially The Serious Side Of  "Have You Seen My Baby"...or maybe they're both serious,,,

 

[jlhoots]

I don't see any problem. I like Fats Domino & Randy Newman FWIW.

[JSngry]

Finished Vol 2 today, a little less "essential" than Vol 1...still some good things on it, though. Problem is, not all artists fit the songs as well as they did on the first set. Licensing issues, no doubt.

But kudos to Ace for keeping it real and keeping it legit, here and elsewhere..

[soulpope]

11 hours ago, JSngry said:

Finished Vol 2 today, a little less "essential" than Vol 1...still some good things on it, though. Problem is, not all artists fit the songs as well as they did on the first set. Licensing issues, no doubt.

But kudos to Ace for keeping it real and keeping it legit, here and elsewhere..

Agreed - ACE is mostly hitting the spot ....

[jeffcrom]

Okay, this is the thread that brought me out of a posting hiatus. I'm a huge Randy Newman fan, and I've always felt like that was my dirty little secret - most folks my age think of "Short People" when they think of Newman, and those younger think of his movie scores. But I consider Newman to be one of the great American songwriters. I have the first Ace collection, and am planning on getting the second.

I put together a collection of an hour of Newman's best songs to try to convince some of my friends what a great songwriter he was, but recently thought that a case could be made with just three relatively obscure songs. I'm not going to post links, but you can find these.

Same Girl
Shame
Texas Girl at the Funeral of Her Father

Many of Newman's songs are "character" songs, sung in the voice of a particular character. "Same Girl" is sung by a pimp to one of his long-time girls. The character in "Shame" is an angry, lonely, aging French Quarter resident; the background singers, who only repeat the word "shame" at appropriate times, are the Greek chorus. This song is funny and chilling in equal parts. The character in the very touching "Texas Girl" is just who the title indicates.
 

 

[JSngry]

 

 

[MomsMobley]

** ** 

** **

 

Edited July 4, 2016 by MomsMobley

[danasgoodstuff]

If I had the $ and time, I'd buy that whole songwriter series, just 'cause.

 

[crisp]

I'm gradually buying most of them. Coincidentally I received the Newman Vol 2 the other day and played it this morning. I agree it is a bit weaker than Vol 1 but the Duffy Power track should have been a hit.

[duaneiac]

Thanks for bringing these discs to our attention.  I'm listening to the Bless You California disc right now and there is much to enjoy here.  For me, what is particularly beneficial about compilations like this is that it not only sheds some light on lesser known works of Randy Newman, but that it also provides a glimpse into the pop music world of the 1960's.  What most people today probably know about the music of the 1960's would be just the hits, but there was also the other world inhabited by the album tracks/singles that did not become hits.  These songs were sometimes just "filler", but often they reflected what was going on in pop/rock music of the time and in many cases served as a kind of workshop to try out new things/styles/approaches which would go on to become the next "in" thing in pop music.

There's quite a variety on this disc, ranging from Lou Rawls to Linda Ronstadt, from Peggy March to the Doobie Brothers.  That speaks well of the craftsmanship of Mr. Newman as a songwriter and of the communicative qualities of his songs; they not only "spoke" to a wide array of performers, but these performers each found something within the songs that they felt they wanted to express to/share with their audiences.

[crisp]

There are lots of Ace discs in this vein. I've had a lot of fun exploring them over the past few years.

[duaneiac]

On 10/13/2016 at 6:48 AM, crisp said:

There are lots of Ace discs in this vein. I've had a lot of fun exploring them over the past few years.

I have ordered some Ace compilations dealing with the music of Leiber & Stoller, Goffin & King and Jackie DeShannon.  Look forward to hearing them.

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, duaneiac said:

I have ordered some Ace compilations dealing with the music of Leiber & Stoller, Goffin & King and Jackie DeShannon.  Look forward to hearing them.

This one is (IMO) superb .....

[duaneiac]

I ordered Vol. 1, but maybe I'll have to get Vol. 2 in the future.

[soulpope]

3 hours ago, duaneiac said:

I ordered Vol. 1, but maybe I'll have to get Vol. 2 in the future.

Vol.1 focuses on the earlier years up to 1967 and is excellent too - my preference for Vol.2 comes down to personal taste (based on song selection) ...... btw this one from the songwriter series is another winner :

 

Edited October 14, 2016 by soulpope

[crisp]

On 14 October 2016 at 4:39 PM, duaneiac said:

I have ordered some Ace compilations dealing with the music of Leiber & Stoller, Goffin & King and Jackie DeShannon.  Look forward to hearing them.

They are all great. I can also recommend Sedaka/Greenfield and Pomus/Schuman. This year's Ray Davies disc was especially good too.

[Guy Berger]

On 7/1/2016 at 7:29 AM, JSngry said:

I can talk to strangers if I want to. I'm a stranger too.

 

This is such a great throwaway lyric (I mean this as a compliment!!!)

Edited yesterday at 03:34 AM by Guy Berger