|
Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Mar 17, 2023 8:12:13 GMT
We've reached the TENTH in this exciting and stimulating series! and it's time to look at the work of smart-arsed songwriter RANDALL STUART NEWMANe!
Here's a couple of songs, but consider the man and his music overall, as usu:
|
|
|
Post by Stacy Heydon on Mar 17, 2023 10:09:23 GMT
I don't know his music well to be fair, but nothing I've ever heard has made me want to check him out further.
|
|
rayge
Administrator
Invisible
Posts: 8,785
|
Post by rayge on Mar 17, 2023 10:45:49 GMT
I prefer Martin Mull when it comes to clever/funny wordplay allied to real tunes and musicianship, but I'm smack in the middle with RN. Not really a fan, but also not likely to run away at the sound of him.
|
|
|
Post by DarknessFish on Mar 17, 2023 10:50:46 GMT
That first video sounds exactly like you'd expect someone called Randy Newman to sound.
|
|
loveless
god
Bringing ballet to the masses. Sticking to the funk.
Posts: 2,787
|
Post by loveless on Mar 17, 2023 11:14:51 GMT
I wish I had something meaningful to say, but...I think the most accurate reportage is that (as of yet) I haven't found a way in.
But...you know, something like this song here ticks a lot of my boxes - it's satisfying, it's downright MAJOR. Something like the combination of words and music on a line like "He sure wasn't thinking of her today" is kind of devastating.
And it's also the sort of thing (along with Nilsson's patronage) that makes me pretty sure that there IS something to find a way in TO.
|
|
|
Post by Half Machine Lipschitz on Mar 17, 2023 11:18:48 GMT
I wish I had something meaningful to say, but...I think the most accurate reportage is that (as of yet) I haven't found a way in. But...you know, something like this song here ticks a lot of my boxes - it's satisfying, it's downright MAJOR. Something like the combination of words and music on a line like "He sure wasn't thinking of her today" is kind of devastating. And it's also the sort of thing (along with Nilsson's patronage) that makes me pretty sure that there IS something to find a way in TO. What's the tune, JSJ? It's not showing here.
|
|
loveless
god
Bringing ballet to the masses. Sticking to the funk.
Posts: 2,787
|
Post by loveless on Mar 17, 2023 11:22:03 GMT
"I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" by Dusty Springfield.
|
|
|
Post by fearlessfreap on Mar 17, 2023 11:28:14 GMT
I don't mind a few songs from the first couple of albums, but I prefer it when others cover the material
|
|
loveless
god
Bringing ballet to the masses. Sticking to the funk.
Posts: 2,787
|
Post by loveless on Mar 17, 2023 11:33:50 GMT
I'm not even a Groovies fan, but the energy on that track is incredible. And...there's a certain type of song that makes me say (alternately) 'SHAKER!" or "TAMBOURINE!", and this is that track.
|
|
|
Post by Charlie O. on Mar 17, 2023 12:41:54 GMT
I think Dusty Sings Randy would have been a better album than Nilsson Sings Newman. (But I've been wrong before.)
Anyway, I love him. Maybe not every song/album, but... how many artists do I love every song/album by? He's one of those rare oldsters, like Dylan and Young, that I can't see myself ever writing off entirely... and Newman's been a better bet than either of them in the last forty-odd years.
|
|
|
Post by davey on Mar 17, 2023 12:59:51 GMT
I wish I had something meaningful to say, but...I think the most accurate reportage is that (as of yet) I haven't found a way in. But...you know, something like this song here ticks a lot of my boxes - it's satisfying, it's downright MAJOR. Something like the combination of words and music on a line like "He sure wasn't thinking of her today" is kind of devastating. And it's also the sort of thing (along with Nilsson's patronage) that makes me pretty sure that there IS something to find a way in TO. That track is a favorite. I’m a superfan. I can think of a lot I’d want to say here. But I’m also aware that my tastes in general are different enough from a lot of Preludiners to the point that doing so would probably have the opposite effect. I DO think Nilsson Sings Newman is a pretty great “way in” for folks with baroque-pop ears. But I feel confident you’ve been there. The song that drew me in as a young boy was “Marie.” Again…I’ll hold back from writing a few thousand words on it. I simply think it’s among the most layered, beautiful, and perverse songs I’ve ever heard. Certainly the likes of Martin Mull lack the compositional chops to approach it. It’s like Gershwin writing songs with Flannery O’Connor. I’ll stop here. Maybe I’ll say more if the conversation keeps going. Suffice to say, Randy’s a mountaintop artist for me.
|
|
|
Post by Stacy Heydon on Mar 17, 2023 13:23:34 GMT
Something like the above just sounds very old-fashioned ultimately. That will draw some people in, but put others off in equal measure.
|
|
|
Post by davey on Mar 17, 2023 13:27:43 GMT
I think Dusty Sings Randy would have been a better album than Nilsson Sings Newman. (But I've been wrong before.) Anyway, I love him. Maybe not every song/album, but... how many artists do I love every song/album by? He's one of those rare oldsters, like Dylan and Young, that I can't see myself ever writing off entirely... and Newman's been a better bet than either of them in the last forty-odd years. Nilsson Sings Newman is ultimately a triumph of record production more than even performance. I love Nilsson as a singer, but if we were just talking about who could perform his songs best…I’d take Dusty. But Dusty never had the same kind of vision as a record maker. Meanwhile, I’d submit that Nilsson Sings Newman is a sonic masterpiece. Though one has to embrace the idea of musical delicacy to appreciate it. It’s very much a sculpture in miniature. FWIW - I don’t like every song or album either. But I like a good percentage. I think his best is for the ages.
|
|
|
Post by davey on Mar 17, 2023 13:35:24 GMT
Something like the above just sounds very old-fashioned ultimately. That will draw some people in, but put others off in equal measure. No doubt. If I was just looking for a track that might be more agreeable to all on that level, maybe I’d have mentioned Gone Dead Train off of the Performance Soundtrack. But then we’d still be missing out on the best thing he does. Basically…if a concept like “old fashioned” really turns you off, you just aren’t gonna be able to bring yourself to what is special here.
|
|
loveless
god
Bringing ballet to the masses. Sticking to the funk.
Posts: 2,787
|
Post by loveless on Mar 17, 2023 13:37:18 GMT
I mean, THAT fucking song! Jesus. I came to it via the girl groups hat box and Cilla's version TOTAL sublime weeper! Anyhow, to address some neophyte issues (again, I don't know anywhere near enough of Newman's work to bloviate at my normal strength)...there's a real expansiveness of emotional chords and melody here (as with "I Don't Want to Hear It") that APPEARS to be at odds with the sort of more trad. arr. blues/New Orleans/12 bar based (I'm using extremely broad language and shorthand here, so don't take me as hyper literal) structures I more commonly associate with him. I mean, I don't think Led Zeppelin is MERELY "a blues band", so...different modes, different leanings in a body of work, but...it does appear that there is a sweet spot where these songs with some harmonic adjacency to, say, "Wichita Lineman" or "The Look of Love" are the side of Newman that I can see, feel, etc. with great ease.
|
|