Randy Newman, who performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra over the weekend, concludes his Australian tour with two shows with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House this week. The Age and Sydney Morning Herald laud Newman as "one of the greatest songwriters of the past 50 years," whose "work proves yet again that on the big questions, all too often the artists can illuminate the truth better than the essayists, the journalists and, perhaps less surprisingly, the politicians." His recent appearances on ABC Radio National's The Music Show and 702 ABC Sydney Afternoons are now online.
Randy Newman, who kicked off his Australian tour last month in Brisbane, continued the tour with two performances at Melbourne's State Theatre this past weekend, accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and has two more shows ahead at the Sydney Opera House this Thursday and Friday with the Sydney Symphony, before returning to the States. The concerts feature songs from his latest Nonesuch release, Songbook Vol. 2, in which Newman offers new solo takes on 16 of his celebrated songs, and other favorites throughout his career.
While in Australia, Newman recently appeared on ABC Radio National's The Music Show, to perform a few songs and talk about his career in music. "His songs are surprising, poignant, sardonic and frequently very funny, whether they are poking fun at various US administrations, bigots, or self-satisfied characters living above the Mason-Dixon line," says ABC. "Randy Newman can equally write a terribly moving love song." Listen to the episode at abc.com.au.
Newman also appeared on the 702 ABC Sydney Afternoons radio show to talk with host James Valentine about the upcoming shows with the Sydney Symphony, his thoughts on the state of affairs back home in America, and highlights from his career. Listen online at abc.net.au.
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On the print side, Shaun Carney, associate editor of The Age, in an Opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald, is inspired by Newman's Melbourne performances to call for a social critic like the songwriter—"an astute social observer" and "sharp political satirist"—who "could celebrate the country while acknowledging its complexities and, yes, its faults."
Carney, prefacing his own comment on Australia's current political situation, lauds Newman as "one of the greatest songwriters of the past 50 years and an artist who observes few lyrical boundaries." He explains: "His body of work proves yet again that on the big questions, all too often the artists can illuminate the truth better than the essayists, the journalists and, perhaps less surprisingly, the politicians."
Read the Opinion piece at smh.com.au.
Also in the Sydney Morning Herald, writer Tim Freedman talks with Newman about his success at writing himself out of his songs and writing instead from the perspective of often challenging narrators. Read the interview, titled "Nothing but the Truth," at smh.com.au.
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Back in the States, Sequenza21's Christian Carey, in his review of Randy Newman's Songbook Vol. 2, writes: "It’s refreshing to hear the songs from Newman’s pop canon in a stripped down setting." It's an assessment Carey has made after considerable time spent with the album.
"This CD’s been in the stereo quite a bit this summer," he explains. "And one of the marks of its durability is the amount of times tracks have been repeated to get a second listen to a particularly fetching rendition ... Hearing him perform the songs in this intimate setting underscores their vitality."
Read the complete album review at sequenza21.com.
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To pick up a copy of Songbook Vol. 2, head to the Nonesuch Store, where orders include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the album at checkout. For more on Newman's upcoming live shows, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour.
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