Track Listing

1. Have You Seen My Baby
2. Let's Burn Down The Cornfield
3. Mama Told Me Not To Come
4. Suzanne
5. Lover's Prayer
6. Lucinda
7. Underneath The Harlem Moon
8. Yellow Man
9. Old Kentucky Home
10. Rosemary
11. If You Need Oil
12. Uncle Bob's Midnight Blues

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17653 in Music
• Released on: 2000-02-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

CD Description
Newman began his career as a contract songwriter, before embarking on a recording career renowned for sardonic wit. On this, his second album, the singer opted for simple accompaniment, his ragged voice and stylised piano supported largelyby a crisp backing group that included Byrds guitarist Clarence White. Superb melodies were matched by an intense lyricism that embraced sometimes disquieting images previously unheard of in rock. Cynicism, bitterness and sexual perversionare unleashed in turn as Newman adopts different roles and personae. His dispassionate delivery demands decisions from the listener, an interaction that is as compulsive as it is disquieting.

Customer Reviews

Back to basics
Newman's astonishing first album was draped in baroque orchestrations and featured intriguingly structured songs. This, the follow up has a simpler pared down sound with Newman's piano and Ry Cooder's slide guitar the most prominent elements. The songs are closer to their blues and country models but lyrically they belong to the same twisted world as the earlier numbers.
The album kicks off innocuously enough with a comic tale of estrangement complete with RnB horns 'Have You Seen My Baby' but the next track cranks up the wierdness. 'Let's Burn Down The Cornfield' is a spookily beautiful tale of arson and sex with Cooder's guitar soaring over Newman's barely audible voice.
'Mama Told Me Not To Come' should be familiar to most listeners by now through one or other of the cover versions - suffice it to say Newman's version is the best by far.The beautiful 'Suzanne' a gently lilting song is the creepiest of the collection as the singer, a potential rapist stalks the eponymous heroine. The narrator (is that the right word?) of the comic 'Lover's Prayer' seems rather sad and inadequate whilst the subject of Lucinda appears to be the suicide by beach-cleaning machine of a supercool graduate, Would or could anyone else sing about this?
'Underneath the Harlem Moon', a cover, is as un-PC a song as you will find which is of course why Newman sings it - it is probably his best vocal performance as he unveils the cute racism with straightfaced sweetness. It must be heard to be believed.
'Yellow Man' opens with a few bars of hollywood-shorthand-chinese music before delivering a narrowminded vision of Chinese immigrants with such subtlety that it would be easy for some to miss the irony. Newman sails close to the wind sometimes.
'Old Kentucky Home' is the bluegrass mutant child of Stephen Foster - a jolly tale of violence, incest and prostitution. 'Rosemary' and 'If You Need Oil' are shabby lovesongs, the last out of the same haunting blues stable as 'Let's Burn Down The Cornfield' whilst the closing song 'Uncle Bob's Midnight Blues' is sung by someone who's smoked one too many joints.
Not a bad track here and four or five of the songs belong with Newman's best ever. There are no more frills than you would find on an average demo which will suit some who find the first album a little much. Sly,bluesy and dangerous this is music at its best.