Randy Newman - Good Old Boys [Bonus Track]

Title: Good Old Boys [Bonus Track] Artist: Randy Newman Release Date: 1974 Re-Released On: 2/11/2003 Label: Rhino Album Type(s): lyrics/libretto UPC: 081227383923 Genre: Rock Styles: Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Chamber Pop, Alternative/Indie Rock, Baroque Pop, Album Rock Moods: Acerbic, Cynical/Sarcastic, Wry, Ironic, Literate, Playful, Provocative, Sardonic, Tense/Anxious, Witty, Bittersweet, Cerebral, Gentle, Humorous, Poignant, Quirky, Snide, Bitter, Intimate, Rollicking, Complex, Elegant, Laid-Back/Mellow, Plaintive, Restrained, Sophisticated, Theatrical, Autumnal, Confrontational, Reflective Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 6 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Rednecks
2. Birmingham
3. Marie
4. Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)
5. Guilty
6. Louisiana 1927
7. Every Man a King
8. Kingfish
9. Naked Man
10. A Wedding in Cherokee County
11. Back on My Feet Again
12. Rollin'
13. Marie [*][Demo Version]

Year Type Label Catalog # 2003 CD Rhino 73839

No other editions were found for this album.

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, All Music Guide

Name Credits Al Perkins Pedal Steel Andy Newmark Drums Bernie Leadon Vocals (Background) Bobbye Porter Percussion David Wild Liner Notes Dennis Budimir Guitar (Acoustic) Don Henley Vocals (Background) Donn Landee Engineer Glenn Frey Vocals (Background) Huey P. Long ? Jim Keltner Drums John Platania Guitar (Electric) Judy Maizel Project Coordinator Lee Herschberg Mixing, Engineer, Audio Engineer Lenny Waronker Producer, Audio Production Malcolm Cecil Synthesizer Programming, Moog Synthesizer Milt Holland Percussion, Drums Nick DeCaro String Arrangements, Conductor Randy Newman Conductor, Piano, Synthesizer, Arranger, Piano (Electric), Vocals, Liner Notes Red Callender Bass Robert Margouleff Synthesizer Programming, Moog Synthesizer Ron Elliott Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Acoustic) Russ Titelman Bass (Electric), Audio Production, Producer Ry Cooder Guitar (Electric) Shepard Sherbell Photography Trucy Portch Project Coordinator Willie Weeks Bass (Electric)