Good Old Boys [Deluxe Edition]

by Randy Newman

Overview

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 rein 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

Product Details

Release Date:	07/22/2022
Label:	Rhino / Rouge / Wea
UPC:	0081227880026
Rank:	50018

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Rednecks
2. Birmingham
3. Marie
4. Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)
5. Guity
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]

Disc 2

14. Rednecks
15. If We Didn't Have Jesus
16. Birmingham
17. The Joke
18. Louisiana
19. My Daddy Knew Dixie Howell
20. Shining
21. Marie
22. Good Morning
23. Birmingham Redux
24. Doctor, Doctor
25. Albanian Anthem
26. Rolling

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Randy Newman   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals,Conductor,Synthesizer,Piano (Electric)
Red Callender   Guest Artist,Bass
Glenn Frey   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Ry Cooder   Guest Artist,Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Don Henley   Guest Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Andy Newmark   Drums
Bernie Leadon   Vocals (Background)
Bob Porter   Percussion
Russ Titelman   Bass,Guitar,Bass (Electric),Guitar (Electric)
John Platania   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Ron Elliott   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Robert Margouleff   Synthesizer
Nick DeCaro   Conductor
Bobbye Hall   Drums,Percussion
Malcolm Cecil   Synthesizer
Dennis Budimir   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jim Keltner   Drums
Milt Holland   Drums,Percussion
Al Perkins   Pedal Steel,Guitar (Steel)
Willie Weeks   Bass,Bass (Electric)

Technical Credits

Ted Jensen   Mastering,Remastering
Russ Titelman   Producer
Lenny Waronker   Producer
Huey P. Long   Composer
Nick DeCaro   Arranger,String Arrangements
Randy Newman   Arranger,Composer
Donn Landee   Mixing,Engineer
Castro Corazo   Composer
Lee Herschberg   Mixing,Engineer
Mike Salisbury   Photography,Cover Design
Castro Carazo   Composer
Bobby Hata   Engineer
Judy Maizel   Production Coordination
Huey Long   Composer