another small randy newman poll

I am personally wounded by your omission of "Uncle Bob's Midnight Blues" from both of these little polls.

OBD OTM

baltimore. the seagull does it.

but Uncle Bob's is an unheralded great, for sure. Been up so long it looks like down to me. Beehive State and Naked Man are in the running for me too.

"Baltimore"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mIZS-pAM1qo

I wrote about 250 words but it boiled down to:

* Louisiana 1927 is obviously the best song, by a good distance, so subtle & deep but also not subtle at all and withering - really hits from all sides; but
* I once broke up with a girlfriend and listened to "Living Without You" all day the next day, so I still voted for that one

* I once broke up with a girlfriend and listened to "Living Without You" all day the next day, so I still voted for that one

i did this too but it was the harry nilsson version

really this is impossible but i feel closer to baltimore esp the nina simone version

louisiana is amazing but it feels like it belongs to everybody and the other two feel like they belong to me

I'm lucky to be old in this case - when I was seven years old my stepfather made a point of explaining all the sail away songs so that when he took the family to see RN (this was in 1974) it wouldn't be entirely lost on me - "Louisiana" was one of my two or three favorites, I mean obviously I didn't grasp it entirely but I had enough of the idea to be able to respond to it, so the connection's personal for me - ditto pretty much all the songs on sail away & good old boys

you lucky bastard

revive cuz of that demo btw

thnx

once again i really do recommend everybody listen to all these songs before voting

well as is often the case with stories about my family there's more to it than that

still, yes: Randy Newman solo '74 San Francisco, my first real concert

or wait no San Jose, that was San Jose

this feels so important to the whole darnielle mythos i cant believe i didnt know it til last month

its like the part in ed wood when ed wood meets orson welles

All great songs. There's a great reggae version of "Baltimore", can't remember who recorded it. I voted for "Louisiana 1927"

Went with "Louisiana," but "Living Without You" is my favorite non-ironic Newman song.

There's a great reggae version of "Baltimore", can't remember who recorded it.
The Tamlins, I believe.

Ah right, yeah, great singing on that track

yeah dude posted a link to it upthread.... the live version is pretty great but the studio one jacks nina simones pretty hardcore

there ought to be a comp of old cover versions of newman like that nina simone version of "baltimore". i really want to hear that etta james "god's song" you mentioned on the other thread.

great look at early newman songs as recorded by others here - http://www.randynewman.info/biography/index.html
there are mentions of songs cut by irma thomas, erma franklin (and r&b singers not named irma or erma) that sound amazing

when i get home i'll post the mp3 of god's song & the jeezy track that samples it ('thatz who i am')

"Louisiana 1927."

nina version of baltimore is mindblowing

i forget is the sly and robbie song 'baltimore' a cover of this also?

yeah, i think the tamlins version is just credited to them on some records

covers are def the best way to get into randy newman.... i finally broke down & copped good old boys after playing nilsson sings newman about 500 times but always thinking i hated randy newmans voice (!!??!!) and now its my fav record ever & i mostly prefer randys o.g. versions now. theres a list of all of them on wikipedia & ive only heard like a dozen of them, have been trying to slsk ray charles doing sail away for months now

* "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" - Irma Thomas
* "Baltimore" - Nina Simone
* "Biggest Night Of Her Life" - The Alan Price Set
* "Come And Dance With Me" - The Alan Price Set
* "Friday Night" - The O'Jays
* "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" - Etta James
* "Happy Land" - The Alan Price Set
* "I Don't Wanna Hear It Anymore" - Jerry Butler, Dusty Springfield
* "I'll Be Home" - Cass Elliot, Mina, Harry Nilsson, Scott Walker
* "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" - Judy Collins, Rick Nelson, Bobby Darin, Walter Jackson, Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, UB40, Katie Melua, Bette Midler, Melanie Safka
* "I Wonder Why" - Ella Fitzgerald
* "I've Been Wrong Before" - Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield
* "Just One Smile" - Gene Pitney, Dusty Springfield, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Walter Jackson
* "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield" - Lou Rawls, Etta James
* "Living Without You" - The Alan Price Set, Harry Nilsson
* "Lonely At the Top" - Kitty Margolis
* "Louisiana 1927" - Aaron Neville (Asleep at the Wheel)
* "Love Story" - Alan Price, Harry Nilsson
* "Mama Told Me Not To Come" - Three Dog Night Eric Burdon and the Animals
* "My Old Kentucky Home" - Alan Price
* "Naked Man" - Keith Moon
* "No One Ever Hurt So Bad" - The Alan Price Set
* "Nobody Needs Your Love" - Jerry Butler, Gene Pitney
* "Sail Away" - Etta James, Gladys Knight, Linda Ronstadt
* "Same Girl" - Holly Cole
* "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear" - The Alan Price Set, Harry Nilsson
* "Tickle Me" - The Alan Price Set
* "Yellow Man" - Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Nilsson
* "(You Can) Leave Your Hat On" - Etta James, Joe Cocker, Tom Jones

* "Friday Night" - The O'Jays

gotta hear this

stuff i really wanna hear if anybody can zshare it in this thread

* "Friday Night" - The O'Jays
* "My Old Kentucky Home" - Alan Price
* "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" - Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield
* "Sail Away" - Etta James, Gladys Knight
* "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield" - Lou Rawls, Etta James
* "I've Been Wrong Before" - Dusty Springfield
* "Just One Smile" - Gene Pitney, Dusty Springfield

It's not totally devastating like "Louisiana," but I always loved the bit from "burn on":

the Lord can make you tumble
the Lord can make you turn
the Lord can make you overflow...
but the Lord can't make you burn

burn on is gonna be in my next poll, i love it

this is pretty great http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OldToIF5ZGs

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aP4z0LSGaQ4&feature=related

you might check for a song from Bad Love called "The Great Nations of Europe," one of his best & most caustic American history tunes - Bad Love wasn't great but it had some gems for sure

The great nations of Europe
were gathered on the shore.
They'd conquered what was behind them
and now they wanted more.
So they took to the mighty ocean,
and they took to the western sea,
the great nations of Europe in the 16th century.

Hide your wives and daughters,
hide the groceries too.
Great nations of Europe comin' through.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Haven't heard the original or the Nillson version, but (INDIE ROCK ALERT) Neko Case pal Kelly Hogan covered "Living Without You" on (her last? album) Because It Feel Good w/ (INDIE ROCK ALERT) Andrew Bird providing accompanyment on strings, and it's gorgeous (tho I'm guessing the way she chooses to end it is different than how RN ended it -- she's fragile and vulnerable throughout until the very end when she just lets rip on her final "it's so hard" with this reverb-soaked cathartic yell that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it).

when i get home i'll post the mp3 of god's song & the jeezy track that samples it ('thatz who i am')

-- and what, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 11:48 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

etta james - god's song http://www.zshare.net/audio/11578866cbb3b4f0/

young jeezy - thatz who i am http://www.zshare.net/audio/115788183451ed68/

sorry for that wait, another small randy newman poll thread homies

There's a great reggae version of "Baltimore", can't remember who recorded it.
The Tamlins, I believe.

I linked to this way toward the top of this thread, fwiw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT9BrimwgRw

BBC program from '89 with the first verse of "Roll With the Punches" and the entirety of "I Just Want You to Hurt Like I Do," both underpraised Newman songs

hey ethan, do you want me to make you a copy of the Guilty box set? or at least the disc of demos + otherwise unreleased shit?

would love it man i only have good ol boys + sail away + little criminals + a greatest hits~!!

ok, send me an email with your address

Dude ethan thanks for the d/ls! I want to hear Etta's version of "Sail Away." :O

Randy Newman is the main and only and best and truest thing I've been listening to this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae_N75S8Duk

bobby darin sings "sail away"

DoowahDiatribe (2 months ago) Show Hide
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No, he sings just the opposite...just listen again. Remember that the song is about living in America. Mr. Newman sings, there ain't no lion or tiger or mamba snake...just sweet watermelon and a buckwheat cake. And he also sings that this is because America is lucky enough to not have the jungles where those bad animals hang out. If you listen to all the words you will see why millions of people think this is a wonderful song.

seans10 (2 months ago) Show Hide
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It is great to be an American. Personally, I love it.

can someone find a randy newman video on youtube that doesnt have comments about fucking family guy

i would go out tomorrow if i could borrow a coat to wear

If you listen to all the words you will see why millions of people think this is a wonderful song.

edwardscissorhands7 (2 months ago) Show Hide
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the south park verson is better..
no offense to randy newman lovers and all, i love randy newman. hes my hero.... he wrote you've got a friend in me!!

*smh*

nina simones baltimore is heartbreaking - i just listened to it this morning!

It's not totally devastating like "Louisiana," but I always loved the bit from "burn on":

the Lord can make you tumble
the Lord can make you turn
the Lord can make you overflow...
but the Lord can't make you burn

― clotpoll, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 2:33 PM (10 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

cosign tatted on my chest

is there any version of "when she loved me" sung by randy newman

I really like the hard-rockish version of "Baltimore" on Nils Lofgren's Nils LP from 1979 (which I never heard until this month).

i'm drunk right now baby
but i've got to be
or i never could tell you
what you meant to me

you know, you know how it
is with me baby
you know, i just can't stand myself
and it takes a whole lot of medicine
for me to pretend that i'm
somebody else

marie is maybe a top 100 song by *anyone* *ever*

"but I love you/and I loved you the first time I saw you" is newman at his most merciless, marie is completely beyond criticism

Everyone otm basically

Marie is a thing of unfathomable beauty. Good Old Boys/Sail Away are masterpieces.

I love the dichotomy of GOB's two side closers "Guilty" & "Rollin'", they feel like inverted versions of one another. "Rollin'" really captures the feeling of sitting in the sun on a lovely day off with a gentle breeze and a nice drink, the kind of day that is so nice that even when you close your eyes, the deep red of your eyelids and the warmth of the sun is intoxicating. Effortlessly floating off to heaven.

the song that the trees sing when the wind blows
you're a flower, you're a river, you're a rainbow

Yeah I can't listen to Marie too often unless I'm ready to stare into space for a while.

the police can't stop me!

(from posting in this technically 'wrong' thread)

Ugh, I wish I'd read this thread before assembling this list.

There's hundreds of Randy Newman covers, lots of good ones too.