It's easy to forget that, prior to his becoming one of the premier singer-songwriters of the '70s and beyond, Randy Newman was a jobbing tunesmith, churning out hits and album tracks for the likes of Dusty Springfield, Three Dog Night and Nina Simone. These days, of course, he's known to a generation as the 'Prince of Pixar', a composer of tunes for hit animations such as Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life and Monsters, Inc. But to most of us, he is rightly revered as a masterful songwriter as well as a highly entertaining performer, as anyone who saw his recent Dublin gig will attest.
Volume 1 of this series, released in 2003, contained reworkings of most of his best known songs and won him much acclaim for the starkness of the delivery and topical relevance of his earliest work. This second collection delves deeper into his back catalogue and while much of it is less familiar, it is no less magnificent.
With just piano accompaniment and Newman’s voice - still wonderfully unchanged after all these years - it's a joy from start to finish. Songs range from 'Lucinda', from his debut solo album to 'Baltimore' from his most commercially successful outing Little Criminals, to the gorgeously plaintive 'Sandman’s Coming' from his Faust musical. Meanwhile, his satirical edge is as sharp as ever on the northern liberal-baiting 'Birmingham' (originally on Good Ole Boys) while he sails close to the wind on 'Yellowman' his song about racial stereotypes. The piano playing is terrific throughout, his instrumental style - a blend of New Orleans jazz and Tin Pan Alley craftsmanship - tying these songs together perfectly.
Other highlights include a rollicking, boogie-woogie take on 'My Life Is Good', originally on Trouble In Paradise, the poignant 'Suzanne' (12 Songs) and the heart-wrenching 'Losing You' from last year's Harps & Angels.
Most of his back catalogue is essential, but these reworkings strip the songs back to their bare bones and are all the better for it. A true genius at work.