An A+ Album: Randy Newman, 12 Songs

Truth in advertising.

I'd taken some time off from blogging for a few reasons, one of which has to do with my choice of album. I've listened to it several times and still am not sure how to write about it, but finally I decided to just dive in, prodded by some recent news about the artist.

THE BASIC DETAILS
Artist: Randy Newman
Album: 12 Songs
Label: Reprise
Release Year: 1970
Length: 29:51
Producer: Lenny Waronker

What the songs on this album might compel you to do: Move to Los Angeles and wish it were still 1970; spend the rest of the day wearing an in-the-know smirk; wonder when the cast of Toy Story is going to show up.

CHRISTGAU AND THE ALBUM
What does the Dean of American Rock Critics have to say?

As a rule, American songwriting is banal, prolix, and virtually solipsistic when it wants to be honest, merely banal when it doesn't. Newman's truisms--always concise, never confessional--are his own. Speaking through recognizable American grotesques, he comments here on the generation gap (doomed), incendiary violence (fucked up but sexy), male and female (he identifies with the males, most of whom are losers and weirdos), racism (he's against it, but he knows its seductive power), and alienation (he's for it). Newman's music counterposes his indolent drawl--the voice of a Jewish kid from L.A. who grew up on Fats Domino--against an array of instrumental settings that on this record range from rock to bottleneck to various shades of jazz. And because his lyrics abjure metaphor and his music recalls commonplaces without repeating them, he can get away with the kind of calculated effects that destroy more straightforward meaning-mongers. A perfect album. A+

How many words is that? 152.

What are your favorite words or phrases? "banal, prolix, and virtually solipsistic"; "fucked up but sexy"; "straightforward meaning-mongers"; "A perfect album"

How does the A+ grade compare with other albums from the artist?
Christgau likes the Randy Newman. Two later albums don't receive letter grades, but Newman scored four A's, two A-'s, 3 B+'s, and a B. If only my college transcript were as good.

ANY OTHER NOTABLE INFO?

• Amazon: An average of 4.1 stars from 15 reviews, and the one-star review complains about being unable to play the disc on a PC. Some notable comments include "one of the best mood albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to"; "well produced, well paced, and brilliantly written"; "his New Orleans drawl is expressive in bringing forth the debauchery of these outlandish characters."
• Allmusic: 5 stars (out of 5), five "Track Picks," plus reviews of four of those. Review excerpt: "Superb material brilliantly executed, 12 Songs was Randy Newman's first great album, and is still one of his finest moments on record.."
• Rolling Stone: Ranks #354 on the magazine's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," which was compiled in 2003: "It's prime caustic, funny Newman."
• YouTube: Most of the tracks are available.

WHAT DID YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?

Had I heard of the the artist, prior to seeing it on Christgau's list? Yes.
Had I heard of the album, prior to seeing it on Christgau's list? Nope.
Had I heard any of the songs? I'd heard the Three Dog Night version of "Mama Told Me Not to Come," but not Newman's version of it. Nor did I know that Newman wrote it (originally for Eric Burdon, formerly of The Animals, who recorded it in 1966).

AND NOW, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT?
When I was younger and even less knowledgeable about music than I am now, I considered Randy Newman a kind of novelty-song singer, with his unable-for-me-to-place accent and catchy-clever tunes like "I Love L.A." and "Short People." Then it seemed like he had a song in every animated movie I went to see, so I threw him into the same category as, oh, I don't know, Danny Elfman or something: a guy who records "movie songs."

But having listened to 12 Songs several times (the album clocks in at just under a half-hour), I can appreciate, if not always like, Newman's storytelling. For much of the album (and songs like the aforementioned pair in the previous paragraph), he sings from the perspective of another character -- oftentimes an ignorant or unpleasant one -- and it's easy to see why many people were unable to see what he's often trying to do.

Here, for example, are the lyrics to "Yellow Man":

Very far away in a foreign land
Live the yellow woman and the yellow man
He's been around for many-a-year
They say they were there before we were here
Eatin' rice all day
While the children play
You see he believes
In the family
Just like you and me
Oh, yellow man, oh, yellow man
We understand, you know we understand
He keeps his money tight in his hand
With his yellow woman he's a yellow man
Got to have a yellow woman
When you're a yellow man 

Speaking the words of a racist to shine a light on racism, for instance, can be very tricky because people who don't understand the context of satire can assume that you hold those beliefs yourself, especially if you do such a good job mimicking the racism. The album also contains the minstrel song "My Old Kentucky Home," and he covers it quite differently from the way Roger Sterling did it a couple of Mad Men seasons ago:

Hope he remembered to wash up afterward!

More recently -- as in, like, this week -- Newman released a new race-related song called "I'm Dreaming," which is related to the upcoming election, and includes the line "I'm dreaming of a white president." (Unsurprisingly, Newman supports Barack Obama.) The song is likely to annoy people who'll feel as if they're being accused of racism for wanting Obama out of the White House because of, say, his economic policies rather than the color of his skin, but hey, that's satire.

And that's Randy Newman. Now let's hit the summary:


A PHILISTINE'S SUMMARY OF 12 SONGS
Without getting all "music critic-y," did you like it? I suppose I did, but I just couldn't "get into" it, as the kids like to say.

Which tracks would you consider for your iPod? "Old Kentucky Home," "Mama Told Me Not to Come"

How would you describe and/or recommend this to others? It's Randy Newman. If you like Randy Newman, you'll love it. If you find Randy Newman the worst thing about the Toy Story franchise, steer clear.

What would you grade this album, based on Christgau's Consumer Guide grading system? I'll give it an A. It's not for me, but I can't deny its value. It's it as "perfect" as Christgau claims? That's up to you to decide. What makes an album "perfect" anyway? Maybe I'll ruminate on that in a later post.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Why, yes. Will Sasso did a few spot-on satires of the satirist back on Mad TV, presenting Newman as a chain-smoking mental patient who whips up similar-sounding songs in an instant. Like the real Randy Newman, the Will Sasso version is probably not for everyone, but if you're into Randy Newman impersonations, you'll love these: