Randy Newman Sail Away 1972, Bad Love 1999

He's an unusually gifted songwriter and lyricist. Randy Newman made lots of interesting records over the years, and made many dollars writing songs for others, as well as thirty-one movie soundtracks. These two, made twenty-seven years apart, are his finest.

Sail Away opens with the title track, which Newman described as "a commercial jingle written for slave traders looking to recruit naive Africans", a beautiful delivery of very dark satire. Lonely At The Top outlines the downside of stardom. He gives Us All His Love is a not at all ironic ode to God. More like a nightmare, Last Night I Had A Dream tells of nocturnal fear while Simon Smith and the Dancing Bear is a curious story of strange fame. Old Man is an unsentimental look at the end of life.

The humor in Political Science is biting and a bit sardonic, and hilarious or scary depending on your outlook. As a Clevelander, Burn On has a special place in my heart. The seemingly slight Memo To My Son turns out to be as sentimental as Newman gets. The quaint Dayton, Ohio 1903 longs for a simpler time. You Can Leave Your Hat On, made famous by Joe Cocker, sounds both sexier and just a bit sad and creepy in Newman's superior version. The final track, God's Song, is one of the more nasty rants against religion ever put to music. 

Some of them seem small compared to the big statements, but everything is perfectly crafted with the appropriate support and ideal arrangements. Classic.

Bad Love contains some of Newman's most sentimental moments as well as some of his most biting satire. Newman himself said, "Before I started Bad Love, I wasn't exactly sure I could do a rock 'n' roll record at 65, or however old I was. But I was satisfied that it was a good record. Maybe my best record."

My Country starts things off with a lovely story of family, community and television. Shame presents a pathetic old man's lust for a younger woman. One of the highlights is I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It), a scathing indictment of rockers who have kept at it too long that includes the lines "Each record that I'm making, Is like a record that I've made, Just not as good". Then we get the sadly sentimental longing for lost love that is Every Time It Rains. That's followed by The Great Nations of Europe, an hilarious (or awful) evaluation of the barbaric tendencies of the "refined" European explorers of the Americas. The One You Love is a warning to men that can't read their lover's mind.

The World Isn't Fair is Newman's critique of the Aristocracy we all live in (or with). Newman sings the praise of untruths in the western swing of Big Hat, No Cattle. Better Off Dead tells the sad tale of one-sided love affairs, in his own funny way. I Miss You is a beautiful, sensitive, sentimental ode to a lost love. Going Home is a brief WWI soldier's story, and then I Want Everyone To Like Me ends the record on an upbeat swinging tune about just what it sounds like. It is both funny and true.

Some of them seem small compared to the big statements, but everything is perfectly crafted with the appropriate support and ideal arrangements. Classic.

Fleetwood Mac The Middle Years (A Playlist), Like Crying - The Songs of Danny Kirwin 2025

 

From 1966 to 1969 Fleetwood Mac was a blues-rock band headed by Peter Green on guitar with Jeremy Spencer on guitar, Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass. Danny Kirwin was added to the line-up in 1968. Peter Green left the band he founded in 1969. This playlist covers the “middle period” Fleetwood Mac between Peter Green’s departure in 1969 and Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ arrival in 1975. 

From 1970 to 1974, multiple line-up changes occurred. Kiln House was recorded by the remaining four members after Green left in 1969, plus Christine Perfect (McVie) on keyboards (uncredited). After Kiln House Jeremy Spencer left. For Future Games, Bob Welsh on guitar and Christine McVie on keyboards were added to the group. This same line-up recorded Bare Trees, after which Danny Kirwin left the group. On Penguin, Bob Weston on guitar and Dave Walker on vocals were added to replace Kirwin. Walker left after Penguin, leaving the Fleetwood, McVie, McVie, Welsh and Weston line-up to record Mystery To Me. Weston left after Mystery To Me, and the four remaining members recorded Heroes Are Hard To Find. After Heroes Are Hard To Find, Bob Welsh left the group, replaced by Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. This became the line-up that owned rock radio in the late 1970s. But the years between Peter Green and Lindsey Buckingham produced some great music, highlighting the songwriting of Kirwin, Welsh and Christine McVie, all built on the foundation of one of the great rock rhythm sections of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood.

So here's a 1970-1974 playlist I burned to CD from vinyl years ago, and which is now a playlist on my iTunes and on Qobuz. If you're streaming, it's easy to assemble for your very own pleasure:

From Kihn House 1970:

1. This Is The Rock (Spencer)

2. Jewel Eyed Judy (Kirwin, J. McVie, Fleetwood)

3. Tell Me All The Things You Know (Kirwin)

From Future Games 1971:

4. Future Games (Welsh)

5. Lay It All Down (Welsh)

6. Sometimes (Kirwin)

From Bare Trees 1972:

7. The Ghost (Welsh)

8. Homeward Bound (C. McVie)

9. Bare Trees (Kirwin)

From Penguin 1973:

10. Remember Me (C. McVie)

11. Dissatisfied (C. McVie)

From Mystery To Me 1973:

12. Somebody (Welsh)

13. Believe Me (C. McVie)

14. Hypnotized (Welsh)

From Heroes Are Hard To Find 1974:

15. Heroes Are Hard To Find (C. McVie)

16. Silver Heels (Welsh)

17. Come A Little Bit Closer (C. McVie)

Another way to appreciate this period of the band is with the recently released Like Crying - The Songs of Danny Kirwin (digital only release). Danny Kirwin was a fine guitar player and an excellent songwriter and singer. He joined Fleetwood Mac for Then Play On in 1969, Peter Green's last record with the band. Like Crying includes all the songs Kirwin wrote (in chronological order) from Then Play On 1969 through Bare Trees 1972. It also includes three songs that were released on singles, and in the case of Trinity from the Bare Trees sessions, not released at all until 1992 on 25 Years- The Chain box set. Kirwin's songs are very good, and the collection is a cool way to focus on one important songwriter's work.

The Rolling Stones Foreign Tongues 2026

After eighteen years without new studio material, the Stones made Hackney Diamonds three years ago. Now we have Foreign Tongues, the follow-up. Some of the tracks were apparently recorded during the Hackney Diamonds sessions, while most were recorded in new sessions more recently with Andrew Watt producing as he had for Hackney Diamonds. The sound of the two is very similar and Watt updates the Stones' sound similarly on both records. I'm not a huge fan of the overly loud, too clean, compressed sound Watt achieves, but it isn't the worst either.

Hackney Diamonds was a remarkable return to form for the Stones, with only a few disappointments. Foreign Tongues is not the equal of it's predecessor, but it's not bad either. Remove 14 minutes from this new one to make it equal in length to Hackney, and maybe it's almost as good.

Rough and Twisted gets things started with fine guitar interplay and a big Stones-y racket. In The Stars comes next and sounds a bit like a Start Me Up remake with more good guitars, great Jagger vocals and a hooky chorus. Mick breaks out the falsetto on Jealous Lover and it sounds like it would have fit nicely on Black and Blue. Mr. Charm took a few spins to convince me, but it rocks. Divine Intervention sounds like a Hackney outtake- it's almost saved by a fine lead guitar break. The classic Stones country tonk of Ringing Hollow scores with political commentary and hot lead guitar.

Never Want to Lose You isn't great but it's good deep cut material. Hit Me In The Head disappoints and again sounds like leftovers from Hackney. Whoever thought that they should cover Amy Winehouse's You Know I'm No Good was just wrong. They take a great song and do nothing particularly interesting with it, and Mick's vocal affectations sound forced. Some of Us is the requisite Keith ballad, and it's good, if not as good as Tell Me Straight from Hackney. Covered In You has a killer chorus, nice harmonica from Mick, and more politics. Side Effects is lame. Back In Your Life is an acoustic ballad with two nice lead breaks and an excellent lyric, and Mick gives it a sensitive reading. Beautiful Delilah is an OK Chuck Berry tune they could play in their sleep.

The guitars sound great. Mick Jagger sounds like the younger Mick Jagger and as invested in these tunes as he sounded on Hackney. That's probably why some other reviewers have been more generous.

Eight solid winners by my count, six I could do without. Not terrible, and roughly on par with Steel Wheels. It's no embarrassment, but Hackney Diamonds Two it is not. 

Dr. John, the night tripper GRIS-gris 1968

Just picture yourself in 1968 hearing this for the first time. I personally had no idea what to expect, but I was enthralled. And a bit confused. It is a dark backwater of a record where the rhythm of New Orleans meets the town's darkest soul.

And it still sounds weird today. It's a swampy New Orleans psychedelic trip through the delta. Made in LA with a relatively small group (several others also from the Big Easy), it sounds thick with voodoo, chanted group vocals, layered percussion, and Dr. John's gruff vocals.  

Swampy opener Gris-gris Gumbo Ya Ya, where Dr. John introduces himself as the shaman, sets the stage. The mystical chant of Danse Kalinda Ba Doom follows, full of percussion and flute and wordless chant. Soulful, funky Mama Roux lightens things a bit with a lilting chorus while it tells the story of a voodoo queen. Danse Fambeaux continues the percussion-thick chanting and strange off-kilter music.

Side two opens with Croker Courtbullion, a jazzy spaced out trip of guitar, flute, and sax solos that drift in and out through the percussive background and incomprehensible chanting. Jump Sturdy follows and offers a few minutes of melodic structure, chanted vocals, and Dr. John's funky vocals. The record closes with I Walk On Gilded Splinters, a classic that's been covered by many. It is Dr. John conjuring voodoo ritual with smoldering, ominous foreboding. It's a deep, threatening groove. 

The record takes you into the dark, swampy delta with it's magical mojo. Dr. John never made another just like it, and no one else has either. A truly unique musical experience. 

Dave Edmunds Plugged In 1994

Dave Edmunds made a bunch of fine records in the 70s and 80s. Then in 1994, in response to all the "unplugged" records being made, Edmunds went with Plugged In. A solo record all the way, Dave produces, sings, and plays all of the instruments. Not always a good idea, but Dave does it as well as anyone.

Edmunds never writes a lot of the songs on his records (two on this one), but he has impeccable taste in songs to cover. Chutes and Ladders is a driving opener with a hot riff. A bluesy riff pounds away on Billy Gibbons' One Step Back. Dave's own I Love Music has a funky backbeat, the sentiment is clear, and Dave rips a nice lead break. Jim Lauderdale's Halfway Down is another hot rocker, and Dave lays on the reverb on the vocal. Beach Boy Blood (In My Veins) is a wonderfully fun pastiche of Beach Boy melodies and vocals that more than simulates the real thing. Jerry Reed's instrumental The Claw gets the rockabilly guitar twang from Edmunds, and it's a skill set he's particularly good at.

I Got The Will is an Otis Redding tune that Dave turns into a stomping soul rocker. Then Dave does A Better Word For Love, the lovely Al Anderson/NRBQ ballad that is one of Anderson's best songs. Standing At The Crossroads rocks hard, and Dave's high tenor and smoking guitar are all the song needs. Edmunds' own It Doesn't Really Matter is rockabilly magic with a cajun feel and something that sounds just like an accordion. The records ends with Sabre Dance '94, a remake of Khachaturian's classical piece, and Dave's first hit song from 1968 with the band Love Sculpture.

And there you have it. A fine outing that stands up to comparison with Dave's best from his productive 70s and 80s. He made three more good records records after this, but this is the last one that sounds like the ones he made with Rockpile.

Big Al Anderson

Big Al Anderson is a songwriter, guitarist, and singer. For twenty-two years he was the lead guitarist and one of three singer-songwriters in NRBQ. He wrote many NRBQ classics including It Was A Accident, Feel You Around Me, Never Take The Place Of You, It Comes To Me Naturally, Ridin' In My Car, Crazy Like A Fox, and A Better Word For Love. He not only sang his own songs, but many covers and quite a few of bandmate Terry Adams' songs. His high clear tenor could belt them out or deliver a sensitive ballad. In 1993, he cowrote the #3 Carlene Carter hit Every Little Thing, and on that note, he amicably left NRBQ and moved to Nashville to focus mainly on songwriting.  

After a regional hit single, No Good To Cry, with The Wildweeds, Anderson made his eponymous first solo record in 1972 just before joining NRBQ. The record features all the of Anderson's skills singing, writing and playing hot guitar licks. His country leanings are all over the record. Mostly ignored on release, it was reissued in 1998, and is a fine early outing.

His next solo record was Party Favors 1988. A mix of NRBQ-like rockers and good songs that sound like they didn't quite fit the NRBQ mold, it's an entertaining diversion. 

Post-NRBQ, Pay Before You Pump 1996 is great Al Anderson. A solid band, Al's fine vocals, and every song is a co-write with an all-pro Nashville songwriter. The co-writing with other great tunesmiths will continue on all of the remaining Anderson records. The songs are uniformly strong, and Al's vocals really stand out. The rockers rock hard, and Al rips some great, concise leads. Even with NRBQ, Al always played the perfect lead without overplaying, and without long extended solos. This one displays the fine songwriter he had become, and the great guitar player he had been all along.

The journey continues with After Hours 2004. As the title suggests, this one is more laid back, but none the worse for it. Again, all of the songs are excellent. Al does the definitive version of A Better Word For Love, and there's several other well-crafted ballads. The songs have a more country feel, but maybe not enough to call it a country record. Two songs are sung by their female co-writers. It's a lovely record, and Al's vocals show new nuance and depth.

In 2007 Al returned to rocking with Al Anderson and the Balls' Pawn Shop Guitars. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it's another keeper. Playing with a core band of Nashville stalwarts, the band sounds like they've been playing these gems for years. There's a few good ballads, but this one rocks. In many ways it sounds like one of those great Dave Edmunds records from the seventies and early eighties. Twangin' indeed. Songwriting is wonderfully varied, band is tight, and Al fully understands his own strengths by now.

2012's Strings opens with the beautiful tear-jerking ode to his father, I Have Loved These Days. Right after that Al sings the lovely title track, a thank you to his guitars. This one goes back to the laid back feel of After Hours, with acoustic instrumentation and help from a bevy of country music stars including Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Chris Stapleton, and Glenn Worf. It is both mellow and more country than any of his other work. The songs are good enough to compete with Guy Clark or Lance Cohen, and the bar doesn't get any higher than that.

Also in 2012, the tongue in cheek World Famous Headliners was released. Al is joined by fellow singer-songwriter-guitarists Pat McLaughlin and Shawn Camp, plus Greg Morrow (drums) and Michael Rhodes (bass). They rock the country pretty fine. While they share the spotlight and make some good music, it's not really an Al Anderson record, but it is good. They also made a live record Now Appearing in 2015 which I have not heard and doesn't seem to be available for streaming.

For rocking, Pay Before You Pump and Pawn Shop Guitars are indispensable. Both After Hours and Strings are great in a gentle way that is nothing like Al's work in NRBQ, revealing the sensitive side of Al's fine songwriting.

Trisha Yearwood The Song Remembers When 1993

Trisha Yearwood has made plenty of fine records. Her eponymous debut was a huge success in 1991, and then her second, Hearts In Armor 1992 was a major step forward, and would become the record to be compared to everything that would follow. Thinkin' About You 1995, Everybody Knows 1996, Inside Out 2001, Jasper County 2005, and Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love 2008 are all very good to excellent. More recently, Every Girl 2019 and The Mirror 2025 (where Yearwood co-writes every song) have been well received and are definitely worth hearing. She always sings everything with her pristine, pitch-perfect voice, and nails the appropriate emotion for each song. She has fun with the rockers and digs deep for the ballads.

Her third, The Song Remembers When, is as good as any of them, and may well have the single best collection of songs in her entire catalog. The title track is a lovely sentimental longing for lost love. Rodney Crowell's I Don't Fall In Love So Easy drips with heartache, and promise. Hard Promises To Keep tells of the fragility of love, and Willie Nelson harmonizes. Mr. Radio gets a faithful reading to Linda Ronstadt's version. Jude Johnstone's The Nightingale is a beautiful song given a wonderful reading here (I'm still partial to Jennifer Warnes' version). One In A Row is a great Willie Nelson play on words, and again, it's perfect with a Willie guitar solo. The record ends with Matraca Berg's Lying To The Moon, and again Yearwood's version is breathtaking.

There's three other songs, and Better Your Heart Than Mine, If I Ain't Got You, and Here Comes Temptation are all upbeat ones that keep things from getting too slow. Every song is great. Every song. No weak songs, not even a "pretty good" one. Songs, production, accompaniment, and A++ singing. This is one of those rare perfect records.