Randy Newman Good Old Boys CD

Whereas 1972's SAIL AWAY played like a superbly crafted collection of short stories, 1974 's GOOD OLD BOYS was Newman's first novel. The literary analogies are not misplaced--Newman brings a writer's eye to character development, detail, setting, and scenario on GOOD OLD BOYS, a concept album about life in the Deep South. The opening track, "Rednecks," is a mercilessly scathing swipe at Southern racism, with a rollicking, sing-along chorus that only sinks the song's knife in deeper. And "A Wedding in Cherokee County" is a lovely ballad about a highly suspect backwoods marriage.

But for every attack on provincialism, Newman offers a tender portrait of a Southern character in the throes of personal turmoil. "Guilty," for example, is a self-destructive man's confessional lament, while "Marie" may be Newman's most heartbreaking and beautiful love song. By inhabiting his characters with uncanny accuracy, Newman achieves a sense of comedy and empathy that might be impossible were he narrating these tales from his own point of view. There are lighter tracks, too, like the good-time "Rolling" and the enigmatic "Naked Man," but even these are graced with the artist's fine arrangements and ear for melody. Unique, confrontational, and moving, GOOD OLD BOYS remains one of Newman's finest achievements.

Randy Newman's songwriting often walks a narrow line between intelligent satire and willful cruelty, and that line was never finer than on the album Good Old Boys. Newman had long displayed a fascination with the American South, and Good Old Boys was a song cycle where he gave free reign to his most imaginative (and venomous) thoughts on the subject. The album's scabrous opening cut, "Rednecks," is guaranteed to offend practically anyone with its tale of a slow-witted, willfully (and proudly) ignorant Southerner obsessed with "keeping the n-----s down." "A Wedding in Cherokee County" is more polite but hardly less mean-spirited, in which an impotent hick marries a circus freak; if the song's melody and arrangement weren't so skillful, it would be hard to imagine anyone bothering with this musical geek show. But elsewhere, Good Old Boys displays a very real compassion for the blighted history of the South, leavened with a knowing wit. "Birmingham" is a funny but humane tale of working-class Alabamians, "Louisiana 1927" and "Kingfish" are intelligent and powerfully evocative tales of the deep South in the depths of the Great Depression, and "Rollin'" is cheerful on the surface and troubling to anyone willing to look beneath it. Musically, Newman dives deep into his influences in Southern soul and also adds potent country accents (with the help of Al Perkins pedal-steel guitar) while dressing up his songs in typically expert string and horn arrangements. And Newman assumes each character, either brave or foolish, with the skill of a gifted actor, giving even his most loathsome characters enough depth that they're human beings, despite their flaws. Good Old Boys is one of Newman's finest albums; it's also one of his most provocative and infuriating, and that's probably just the way he wanted it. ~ Mark Deming

W/ 1 Bonus Track. W/R.Cooder,G.Frey,D.Henley +

Liner Note Authors: Randy Newman; David Wild.

Recording information: Warner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood, CA.

Photographer: Shepard Sherbell.

Unknown Contributor Role: Huey P. Long.

Arranger: Randy Newman.

Personnel: Randy Newman (piano, electric piano, synthesizer); Randy Newman (vocals); Ron Elliott, Ron Elliott (acoustic guitar); Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar); Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff (Moog synthesizer); Russ Titelman, Willie Weeks (bass instrument, electric bass); Red Callender (bass instrument); Bobbye Porter (percussion); Dennis Budimir (acoustic guitar); John Platania, Ry Cooder (electric guitar); Milt Holland (drums, percussion); Jim Keltner, Andy Newmark (drums); Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Lee Herschberg.