Harps and Angels

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Harps and Angels was Randy Newman's first all-new studio recording in nine years. It incorporates both the scathingly satirical and the unabashedly tender. Variety says the album finds Newman "at the height of his powers," and the Guardian praises its "sumptuous melodies, devastating pathos and thorny, irony-laden character songs," calling it, "the work of a true master of popular song."

Description

Harps and Angels, released August 5, 2008, on Nonesuch Records, was Randy Newman’s first album of new material in nine years.. The recipient of the 2002 Academy Award for Best Original Song, 17 Oscar nominations, five Grammy awards, and 13 Grammy nominations, Newman is a singular figure who over the course of his career has explored various styles and sounds of the canon of 20th-century American music.

Having focused on film scores, live performances, and career retrospectives since 1999’s Bad Love, Newman returns with this album that already has a successful single. Harps and Angels’ “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country,” originally released exclusively via iTunes in 2007 and published as a New York Times op-ed piece, was named the #2 song of 2007 by Rolling Stone (“right behind Jay-Z and ahead of Rihanna,” Newman helpfully points out).

Co-produced by Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow) and former Warner Bros. head and longtime Newman collaborator Lenny Waronker, Harps and Angels showcases Newman’s myriad talents as a political and social commentator, balladeer, and storyteller. The arrangements have a Dixieland feel, with Newman on piano fronting a club-size combo; several tracks feature his lush orchestrations, as grand as anything he has produced on his film scores. According to NPR, “Singer and composer Randy Newman’s wry and sometimes raw musical commentary has become a big part of the American cultural landscape.” The Los Angeles Times says “Newman is a brilliant songwriter who, like Paul Simon and a few others, bridges the gap between the classic American Songbook craftsman tradition and the more personalized singer-songwriter style of the modern pop age.”

Harps and Angels is Newman’s first album of new material on Nonesuch Records and second Nonesuch release following 2003’s Randy Newman Songbook, Volume 1, which celebrated some of Newman’s best-known work in solo performances by the songwriter at the piano. “It’s an austere and moving piece of work,” says Interview magazine, “the songs, some going back 35 years, sound absolutely fresh.”

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Mitchell Froom and Lenny Waronker
Recorded and mixed by David Boucher
Recorded at Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, and Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles
Mixed and additional recording at Tea Time Studios, Santa Monica
Mastered at Gateway Mastering, ME by Bob Ludwig

Written and arranged by Randy Newman

Design by Barbara deWilde
Photography by Autumn de Wilde

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

122812

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
183
ns_album_id
735
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Randy Newman
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Randy Newman, piano, vocals
Greg Cohen, bass
Steve Donnelly, guitar
Pete Thomas, drums
Greg Leisz, pedal steel and acoustic slide
Mitchell Froom, additional keyboards

Orchestra:
Arranged and conducted by Randy Newman
Violin: Roger Wilkie, Eun-Mee Ahn, Jacqueline Brand, Kevin Connolly, Joel Derouin, Julie Ann Gigante, Natalie Leggett, Helen Nightengale,Alyssa Park, Sara Parkins, Katia Popov, Rafael Rishik, Anatoly Rosinsky, Marc Sazer, Tereza Stanislav, Lisa M. Sutton, Sarah Thornblade, Irina Voloshina
Viola: Brian Dembow, Robert Berg, Thomas Diener, Steven Gordon, Roland Kato, Darrin McCann, Victoria Miskolczy, Michael Nowak, Shanti Randall, David Walther
Cello: Dennis Karmazyn, Antony Cooke, Steve Erdody, Christine Ermacoff, Armen Ksajikian, Andrew Shulman, David Speltz, Cecelia Tsan
Bass: Michael Valerio, Drew Dembowski, Edward Meares, Susan Ranney
Flute: James Walker, Norda Mullen, Geraldine Rotella, David Shostac
Clarinet: Gary Bovyer, Stuart Clark, Donald Foster, Marty Krystall
Saxophone: Daniel Higgins, Gary Foster, Greg Huckins, Bill Liston, Brian Scanlon
Oboe: Thomas Boyd, Leslie Reed
Bassoon: Kenneth Munday, Michael O'Donovan, Judith Farmer
Horn: James Thatcher, Mark Adams, Richard Todd
Trumpet: Warren Luening, Malcolm McNab, Daniel Fornero, Jon Lewis, Timothy Morrison
Trombone: William Booth, Bruce Fowler, Alesander Iles, William Reichenbach, George Thatcher
Tuba: Doug Tornquist
Percussion: Alan Estes, Gregory Goodall
Harp: Jo Ann Turovsky, Allison Allport
Accordion: Frank Marocco

Orchestra contracted by Sandy Descrescent
Music preparation: Jo Ann Kane Music Services
Vocal contractor: Luanna Jackman

Angry Belgians on “Piece of the Pie”: Kathie Van Kerckhoven, Jeremy Altervain
Happy Immigrants on “Laugh and Be Happy”: Los Amigos Locos del Este

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597998931BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597998917
Label
FLAC
Price
10.00
UPC
075597937909
Label
LP+MP3
UPC
075597930955
Label
88/24 HD FLAC
Price
14.00
UPC
075597937893
  • 122812

News & Reviews

  • In celebration of Nonesuch Records' 60th anniversary, the label has partnered with photographer Michael Wilson—who has exquisitely captured dozens of Nonesuch artists over the past quarter-century—to produce Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection, an extremely limited quantity of 100 box sets containing newly created prints from his Nonesuch archive, out now. You can take a quick look inside here. Designed by the Grammy-winning team at SMOG Design, each box comprises twenty 12" x 12" prints, numbered and signed by the photographer. Artists featured are Allen Toussaint, Ambrose Akinmusire, Audra McDonald, Bill Frisell, The Black Keys, Brad Mehldau, David Byrne, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Frederic Rzewski, Jeremy Denk, Kronos Quartet, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Manuel Galbán and Ry Cooder, Philip Glass, Randy Newman, Rhiannon Giddens, Stephin Merritt and Lemony Snicket, Steve Reich, and Timo Andres, who wrote a note for the box.

  • For Nonesuch Records' 60th anniversary, the label has partnered with photographer Michael Wilson—who has exquisitely captured dozens of Nonesuch artists over the past quarter-century—to produce Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection, 100 box sets of 20 newly created prints from his Nonesuch archive, due September 13. Here, Wilson shares stories from the photo sessions behind the images in the box, with Allen Toussaint, Ambrose Akinmusire, Audra McDonald, Bill Frisell, The Black Keys, Brad Mehldau, David Byrne, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Frederic Rzewski, Jeremy Denk, Kronos Quartet, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Manuel Galbán and Ry Cooder, Philip Glass, Randy Newman, Rhiannon Giddens, Stephin Merritt and Lemony Snicket, Steve Reich, and Timo Andres.

  • About This Album

    Harps and Angels, released August 5, 2008, on Nonesuch Records, was Randy Newman’s first album of new material in nine years.. The recipient of the 2002 Academy Award for Best Original Song, 17 Oscar nominations, five Grammy awards, and 13 Grammy nominations, Newman is a singular figure who over the course of his career has explored various styles and sounds of the canon of 20th-century American music.

    Having focused on film scores, live performances, and career retrospectives since 1999’s Bad Love, Newman returns with this album that already has a successful single. Harps and Angels’ “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country,” originally released exclusively via iTunes in 2007 and published as a New York Times op-ed piece, was named the #2 song of 2007 by Rolling Stone (“right behind Jay-Z and ahead of Rihanna,” Newman helpfully points out).

    Co-produced by Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow) and former Warner Bros. head and longtime Newman collaborator Lenny Waronker, Harps and Angels showcases Newman’s myriad talents as a political and social commentator, balladeer, and storyteller. The arrangements have a Dixieland feel, with Newman on piano fronting a club-size combo; several tracks feature his lush orchestrations, as grand as anything he has produced on his film scores. According to NPR, “Singer and composer Randy Newman’s wry and sometimes raw musical commentary has become a big part of the American cultural landscape.” The Los Angeles Times says “Newman is a brilliant songwriter who, like Paul Simon and a few others, bridges the gap between the classic American Songbook craftsman tradition and the more personalized singer-songwriter style of the modern pop age.”

    Harps and Angels is Newman’s first album of new material on Nonesuch Records and second Nonesuch release following 2003’s Randy Newman Songbook, Volume 1, which celebrated some of Newman’s best-known work in solo performances by the songwriter at the piano. “It’s an austere and moving piece of work,” says Interview magazine, “the songs, some going back 35 years, sound absolutely fresh.”

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Randy Newman, piano, vocals
    Greg Cohen, bass
    Steve Donnelly, guitar
    Pete Thomas, drums
    Greg Leisz, pedal steel and acoustic slide
    Mitchell Froom, additional keyboards

    Orchestra:
    Arranged and conducted by Randy Newman
    Violin: Roger Wilkie, Eun-Mee Ahn, Jacqueline Brand, Kevin Connolly, Joel Derouin, Julie Ann Gigante, Natalie Leggett, Helen Nightengale,Alyssa Park, Sara Parkins, Katia Popov, Rafael Rishik, Anatoly Rosinsky, Marc Sazer, Tereza Stanislav, Lisa M. Sutton, Sarah Thornblade, Irina Voloshina
    Viola: Brian Dembow, Robert Berg, Thomas Diener, Steven Gordon, Roland Kato, Darrin McCann, Victoria Miskolczy, Michael Nowak, Shanti Randall, David Walther
    Cello: Dennis Karmazyn, Antony Cooke, Steve Erdody, Christine Ermacoff, Armen Ksajikian, Andrew Shulman, David Speltz, Cecelia Tsan
    Bass: Michael Valerio, Drew Dembowski, Edward Meares, Susan Ranney
    Flute: James Walker, Norda Mullen, Geraldine Rotella, David Shostac
    Clarinet: Gary Bovyer, Stuart Clark, Donald Foster, Marty Krystall
    Saxophone: Daniel Higgins, Gary Foster, Greg Huckins, Bill Liston, Brian Scanlon
    Oboe: Thomas Boyd, Leslie Reed
    Bassoon: Kenneth Munday, Michael O'Donovan, Judith Farmer
    Horn: James Thatcher, Mark Adams, Richard Todd
    Trumpet: Warren Luening, Malcolm McNab, Daniel Fornero, Jon Lewis, Timothy Morrison
    Trombone: William Booth, Bruce Fowler, Alesander Iles, William Reichenbach, George Thatcher
    Tuba: Doug Tornquist
    Percussion: Alan Estes, Gregory Goodall
    Harp: Jo Ann Turovsky, Allison Allport
    Accordion: Frank Marocco

    Orchestra contracted by Sandy Descrescent
    Music preparation: Jo Ann Kane Music Services
    Vocal contractor: Luanna Jackman

    Angry Belgians on “Piece of the Pie”: Kathie Van Kerckhoven, Jeremy Altervain
    Happy Immigrants on “Laugh and Be Happy”: Los Amigos Locos del Este

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Mitchell Froom and Lenny Waronker
    Recorded and mixed by David Boucher
    Recorded at Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, and Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles
    Mixed and additional recording at Tea Time Studios, Santa Monica
    Mastered at Gateway Mastering, ME by Bob Ludwig

    Written and arranged by Randy Newman

    Design by Barbara deWilde
    Photography by Autumn de Wilde

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz