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Randy Newman's Faust (Remastered)

Randy Newman

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iTunes Review

Randy Newman casts James Taylor as God and himself as the devil in this modern adaptation of Goethe's classic Faust. They fight for the soul of Notre Dame student Henry Faust, played by The Eagles' Don Henley. Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, and Bonnie Raitt also guest as characters in this unusual musical. This expanded edition includes Newman's demos; they give a stripped-down view of this grand experiment. The narrative is classic Newman: cynical, humorous, and ultimately twisted, as his Faust recalls John Milton's Paradise Lost and Newman's own modern works. The Faustian pact is never fully consummated, since a deal can't be reached. The tale is long and winding, but the songs often stand on their own. "Bleeding All over the Place" works as barroom blues with a great horn section. "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" rolls with a touch of New Orleans in its step. "Feels Like Home," with Bonnie Raitt, is Newman writing a perfect love song.

Customer Reviews

Randy's first musical...and one of the best I've ever heard

Randy Newman is one of the most gifted singer-songwriters of our time, and as if all those gold records and Grammys and Oscars and whatnot didn't already prove it, this masterwork should remove all remaining doubt. With help from an all-star lineup of perfectly cast colleagues including Don Henley, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt and Sir Elton John, Newman (saving the best role -- the Devil -- for himself, natch) boldly sets out to modernize the Broadway musical and jazz up Goethe's classic tale of a mediocre mortal soul who strikes a bargain with Satan to better his lot. While presenting the highly hummable songs you'd expect, Randy takes advantage of the text to address the eternal questions of life, death and afterlife, good and evil, and the war between Heaven and Hell in typical smart-assed Newman fashion. Hearing Bonnie saunter her way through "Life Has Been Good To Me" is worth the price of the CD all by itself. This deserves to stand alongside all the other adaptations of FAUST down the centuries. (But get the physical CD for the liner notes if you haven't read the original story.)

Relax, Enjoy Yourself

The dark wit in both words and music is still potent after all these years. Nasty lyrics, beautiful songs, astonishing arrangements.

I had the chance to actually see the musical...

...in Chicago in 1996, at the old underground Goodman. David Garrison was the Devil, Ken Page the Lord, Amy Young was Margaret, and Sherie Renee Scott as Martha and Kurt Deustch as Henry Faust bonded so well they later married (they now run a terrific Broadway/Cabaret label, Sh-K-Boom Records). The audience loved the songs, especially 'Gainesville', 'Can't Keep a Good Man Down', 'Hard Currency', and 'Happy Ending'. David Mamet himself punched up the dialogue but the book is still sorta weak. The demo is closer to the actual show; 'Northern Boy', 'Little Island', were cut and 'I Gotta be Your Man' was out in favor of the new 'Never Good Enough', sung very well by the limber, hilariously evil tenor Garrison. Ken Page's mellow bass is very different than James Taylor's Lord, but the warmth and beauty of such songs as 'It was Beautiful' and 'How Great Our Lord' really came through. Young was sweet and lovely and unbearably poignant singing 'Sandman's Coming' to what turned out to be an empty blanket. The show may be gone, but any Newman fan would do well to get this double album version for the demo songs.

Biography

Born: November 28, 1943 in New Orleans, LA

Genre: Soundtrack

Years Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

Randy Newman was an anomaly among early-'70s singer/songwriters. Though he was slightly influenced by Bob Dylan, his music owed more to New Orleans R&B and traditional pop than folk. Newman developed an idiosyncratic style that alternated between sweeping, cinematic pop and rolling R&B, which were tied together by his nasty sense of humor. Where his peers concentrated on confessional songwriting, Newman drew characters, creating a world filled with misfits, outcasts, charlatans, and con men....
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