Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Concert or the Week

Randy Newman
Sunday July 15
Calvin Theater, Northampton Mass




You know Randy Newman, even if you don't. In fact, you may know him in a way that makes you dismissive of his talent. Randy Newman, you know, Short People, I Love LA, Mama Told Me Not to Come, You Can Leave Your Hat On. That's all Randy. But that's not all to Randy that there is. Newman's musical genius, his wicked humor, and his use of irony and dramatic monologue, have gotten him in trouble. For my money, he's one of the greatest American songwriters ever. He's written dozens of brilliant, deceptively simple, insightful songs (Sail Away, I Think It's Gonna Rain Today, Marie, Dixie Flier). His controversial concept album "Good Old Boys" may be one of the most brilliant albums of the album era. And his dozens of movie scores include incredible music for The Natural, Avalon, Toy Story, Ragtime, The Three Amigos, and Seabisquit. And he cast Don Henley as Faust. Perfect.

His live shows are hilarious and monumental.

Interesting interview in the Springfield Republican today.

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