Search - Randy Newman :: Good Old Boys

My 15 Seconds of Fame

David Zimmerman | Baton Rouge, LA USA | 12/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've always loved this recording-- I had it on vinyl and then recorded it to cassette tape and listened to it in my car for years until cars went to CD players, then I bought the CD. But that's just the first half of my back story.



In October, Randy came to my hometown to play two concerts. My wife and I had tickets to the second show. We arrived early and ate dinner at a restaurant adjacent to the theatre. Soon after we arrived, a whitish-haired gentleman in jeans and a young woman sat down at the next table. "Psst!" I whispered to my wife, "That's Randy Newman!" I held off accosting him until he finished his dinner, but to get ready, I wrote a request on a napkin (this is standard Louisiana practice at piano bars). I introduced myself and made my request. I also reminisced about a show he did at the New Orleans Jazz Festival about 10 years ago. He remembered singing "Louisiana 1927" and "Rider in the Rain" in the rain that day. He gave me an autograph and said he'd try to play my request.



The show lasted about two hours and near the end, Randy introduced a request "from my friend, Dave Zimmerman". Wow! He proceeded to mention jokingly how the song would "break up the flow of the concert", but that he'd play it anyway. He then explained how the song was written about Albania, but that he had to change the setting to an southern US county for the American market. The song is "Wedding in Cherokee County" and it's on "Good Old Boys", Randy Newman's best album in an illustrious career as singer and composer.



The title comes from a line in the CD's opening and most controversial song "Rednecks", which features repeated use of the N word as he decries both Southern and Northern racism. "Louisiana 1927", the story of the Great Flood of that year, has become the unofficial second anthem of my state (after "You Are My Sunshine", which was written by a former governor) after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Newman includes Huey Long's campaign song, "Every Man a King", and his own version of Long's life in "Kingfish". "Birmingham" is a gritty tribute to that Alabama industrial town. "Marie" and "Guilty" are just too beautiful to convey in words. "Naked Man" and "Back on My Feet Again" are observant and funny. Every song is a gem. I highly recommend this album to everyone. Randy's movie music for Pixar (Toy Story, Monsters Inc, etc.) is great and has gained him Oscar nominations, but his best work is still the wry "Good Old Boys" of 1974."

Randy Newman's Love-Hate Relationship with the South

colinwoodward | Virginia | 09/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have not heard all of Randy Newman's albums, but of his early works, "12 Songs," "Sail Away," and "Good Old Boys," I like "Good Old Boys" the most. All the songs on it are good, and the redneck concept works well. From a musical standpoint, I also found it more satisfying than "12 Songs" or "Sail Away." While those albums are stripped down musically, "Good Old Boys" uses guitar and synthesizers to greater effect. Although recorded in the mid-70s, "Good Old Boys" doesn't sound dated. With the recent catastrophe in New Orleans, Newman's song "Louisiana 1927," about the terrible flood of that year, is haunting and prophetic. At around 30 minutes or so, "Good Old Boys" doesn't overstay its welcome. In those 30 minutes, it says more than most bands do their whole career. It contains acidic social commentary ("Rednecks," which attacks Southern and Northern racism), colorful character sketches ("A Wedding in Cherokee County" and "Naked Man"), and bittersweet love songs ("Guilty" and "Marie"). Some of the subject matter might be foreign to people who don't know Louisiana history ("Kingfish" and "Every Man a King"), but the songwriting throughout is top-notch. "Good Old Boys" is a real treat, though Louisiana State University alumni might not like the lines: "College men from LSU/Went in dumb, come out dumb too/Hustling 'round Atlanta in their alligator shoes/Get drunk every weekend at a barbecue." Geaux Randy!"

Love it or hate it

J. Houghton | Encino, CA USA | 10/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is indeed my desert island CD. The only single album I could listen to for the rest of my life. How it has been as overlooked as it has amazes me. I've bought copies and sent them to people I thought would share my opinion, only to be greeted with deafening silence in return. I begin to think there must be something wrong with me. It's brilliant, poetically and musically and culturally. And you know what, I take back what I said. It isn't me. There's something terribly wrong with anyone who doesn't love this album."