Harps and Angels

Randy NewmanHarps and AngelsLooking through the photos that supplement Randy Newman’s latest album, Harps and Angels, I realized that the man whose still-young voice and words I’ve been listening to is in fact very old. Okay, maybe he’s only 64, but the final Autumn de Wilde portrait of Newman supplied in the accompanying liner notes tells a story: here is a man who looks both ornery and tired; classic and modern; beaten and brave. He doesn’t sing any different than he did 40 years ago on his self-titled debut and his willingness to offer keen social commentary is much more Young than Dylan. It’s refreshing, really, to hear this very old looking man sing with both history and spirit on his side.

Despite releasing a number of classic albums in the 70s - 12 Songs, Sail Away, Good Old Boys and Little Criminals make for a legendary run - Newman’s material and persona have stayed on a mostly need-to-know basis for the current generation of ears. Most of the age 15-30 buying demographic only know of Newman as the guy who sang those songs in that first Pixar opus, Toy Story; they don’t know about his deep cynical charm and wit or his supreme piano-pop arrangement resume. And, yes, if you’re a longtime fan wondering if Newman is still a mouthy cynic, he is. And again, it’s good to know that there are some old folks out there who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is, old liberal stigma be damned. Refreshing - that’s the word here.

But enough about the history and the ol’ even grumpy teddy bear himself, we have 10 new songs to look at. Newman isn’t rewriting any books here; he’s offering a varied mix of what he does best - country, pop, ragtime, musical, comedy, political, etc. He sounds modest as ever when singing, but Newman’s palate is broad as ever here, working as a reminder  of what a great, versatile talent he is. Opener “Harps and Angels” is a verbose romp that sees Newman goofing about, coughing up the kind of hilarious, subtle bile that will certainly turn many listeners away. Sung over bouncy rag-inspired pop, Newman asks what happens to the songwriters out there who question the unknown; there won’t be harps and angels coming for him in the end, Newman jokes, but there will be trombones, kettle drums, pitchforks and tambourines.

Next up is “Losing You,” a cleanly written, impressively arranged ballad about, what else, loss. “When you’re young and there’s time to forget the past / You don’t think that you will, but you do,” Newman sings with a desperate voice, “But I know that I don’t have time enough / And I’ll never get over losing you.”

In classic Newman fashion, the next song, “Laugh and Be Happy,” plays yin to the yang of “Losing You.” Another hugely produced and arranged jaunt, the song skips by quickly, coming off as a playful fight song for anyone having a bad day. “Laugh and be happy / Smile right in their face / Cause pretty soon you’re gonna take their place.” At 64, Newman is still able to tap into his inner youth, a trait that comes through even more so on the next few songs, where the longtime social critic tackles one of his favorite topics: politics.

“A Few Words in Defense of Our Country” claims that “The leaders we have / While they’re the worst that we’ve had / Are hardly the worst this world has seen,” soon enough suggesting that the current administration’s focus on terror and fear just might be the nail in the coffin. Sure to be one of the most talked about songs of the year, Newman finishes the theatrical tune with some very heavy words: “The end of an empire is messy at best / And this Empire is ending / Like all the rest / Like the Spanish Armada adrift on the sea / We’re adrift in the land of the brave and the home of the free.” Truths from a songwriter no less gutsy today than when he made an album called Good Old Boys a few decades ago. Once again, refreshing.

I could go on and on about the many reasons why Harps and Angels should be mentioned alongside all those 70s Newman classics, but I don’t want to take all the economically delivered fun spread throughout the albums 34 minutes away so easily. Listen. Listen again. Each song is different from the last, not just in sound and style, but in mood, topic and spirit. Newman has made the kind of record that sums up what makes him a master of his craft; what better thing can and artist with nothing left to prove do than reassure his fans that he is still the man he always mean to be?   6.5/10

Written by G. William Locke