Randy Newman: Live in Glasgow

Randy Newman is the songwriter’s songwriter, a man of incredible talent with long and successful careers in both pop music and film scoring. I came to see him towards the end of an all-too-rare European tour, and was quite simply blown away – to spend time with Newman and his piano is a treat; an evening as rewarding for your ears as it is your brain and your funny bone.

Newman ambled onto stage and immediately launched into a ‘It’s Money That I Love’, commanding the audience’s attention from the get-go and never relinquishing it – throughout the show, all we saw was him and his piano, and he held 2500 in awe for hours. His songs were interspersed with comments and jokes, wry stories about Newman’s life and career, and his lack (so he says) of success. A talk about racist-sounding music during ‘I Live To See You Smile’ led to Newman playing ‘Yellow Man,’ a song about an ignorant man’s view of China, with the singer cracking jokes throughout. (“Inspired lighting choice – I look like I have hepatitis.”)

The composer has fifty years of music behind him, and with such a back catalogue to choose from, it is little surprise that every song played was a classic. The audience greeted most songs with a round of applause – the opening bars of what is technically Newman’s only hit, the prejudice bashing ‘Short People,’ being the best example of this. And Newman’s repertoire is massive – the singer’s versatility stretches from heart-wrenching ballads like ‘Feels Like Home’ to humorous character-based songs like the snide reflection on religion that is ‘God’s Song.’ As he reflects, though, he doesn’t tend to write that many love songs, and achieved a round of applause after described the sixth sense that enables him to avoid hits.

With fifty years behind him, and such a back catalogue to choose from, it is little surprise that every song played was a classic.

Newman also played a number of new songs, all of which fit cosily alongside his older numbers. As well as an extended version of Monk theme ‘It’s A Jungle Out There,’ we had a new ballad in ‘She Chose Me,’ a hilarious attack on the eponymous world leader in ‘Putin’ and the beautiful ‘Where Is My Wandering Boy?’; a song about a father hoping that his lost child comes home which reduced half the audience to tears. The songs will all feature on a new album, to be released next year.

There was a chance for the audience to get involved, singing along with Newman’s reflection on geriatric rock-and-roll stars, ‘I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It)’, eliciting laughs throughout the hall as he helped the audience practice their part – “please, not so enthusiastic. You know that saying, someone walked over your grave?” Newman also took time to talk about his work with Pixar, in particular his work on Toy Story. After joking for a couple of minutes, Newman played ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me’ to the audience’s delight.

A brilliant pianist and a natural showman, Newman commanded the stage every moment with witty remarks and incredible music.

Newman concluded the show with one of his most infamous songs, ‘Rednecks,’ an attack on prejudice that was inspired by the appearance of segregationist governor of Georgia Lester Maddox on The Dick Cavett Show, which had fallen out of fashion because of its incorporation of the word ‘ni**er’. However, its comeback this evening led to the best reception of the night – Randy Newman’s audience is able to appreciate the true targets of this song, him reflecting wryly that the racial problems in America haven’t gotten any better ‘despite my efforts.’

There was an encore, featuring ‘Lonely at the Top’ and the oft-covered ‘I Think It’s Going To Rain Today,’ before Newman finally left the stage and his audience clamouring for more. A brilliant pianist and a natural showman, Newman commanded the stage every moment with witty remarks and incredible music. He rarely tours over here, and with a new album and film work to occupy his time, it may be a while before he returns.

Hopefully, not too long though. Newman may joke about his lack of success, but his live shows tell a different story entirely.