Bottom Line:
The name seeped into the country music mainstream courtesy of Waylon Jennings' "Luckenbach, Texas" - "Newbury's train songs." This was who Waylon was singing about - a songwriter so diverse he defies description. His songs rise above genre categorization; he's penned hits for blues, country, rock, and pop artists; in fact, he's had a different song in each category on the charts at the same time. Now Kacey Jones turns a voice to Newbury's songs. The result is striking.
"They call me a fool and a dreamer/ Tell me I'm wasting my time/ How I will search for the rest
of my life/ For a rainbow I never will find." These are the words that open this disc, a masterful
melody with exquisite lyrics sung by a voice that captured me almost instantly, a powerful,
dusky, sultry voice (somewhat reminiscent of Judy Garland, actually and that was all I needed
to get me completely hooked on this disc. Jones handles the subtleties, the complexities, of
Newbury's melodies with magnificent style and grace, bringing the power of the tunes out with a
raw strength that's a simple joy to hear. Jones, better known for funny work ([b]"Every Man I Love
Is Either Married, Gay, or Dead"[/b]) and producing (Kinky Friedman's [b]"Pearls in the Snow"[/b]),
demonstrates here that she is also a deft hand at the serious (although no matter what people may
think, it's always far easier for a comedian to be serious than for the dramatic to turn a hand at
comedy). Woven together under Jones' own skillful production, with gentle rain effects between
some tracks (as though we were sitting in a warm room on a rainy day listening to music), the
entire album is a work of art._z_countrymusic_z_);
For the most part, she chooses Newbury's less-known songs (with the exception of "San
Francisco Mabel Joy"), leaving more iconic tunes where they are, such as the many-times
recorded "An American Trilogy," "Funny, Familiar Forgotten Feelings," and "Just Dropped In
(To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." Instead, she opts for beauties like the bluesy
"Apples Dipped In Candy," the sweetly beautiful "Song of Sorrow," surprisingly elegant love
song "Lie to Me, Darlin'," and canny "You've Always Got the Blues." With the wealth of
selections available to her, Jones has chosen songs eminently suited to her that work together
beautifully as a whole, a real album of music in every sense of the word. The arrangements are
spare and attractive, a dramatic setting for the rich elegance of Jones' voice. The beauty of
Newbury's tunes don't really need a lot of words other than their own to recommend them.
Kacey Jones does a grand job of demonstrating why.
Song List:
- Song of Sorrow
- Some Memories Are Better Left Alone
- Ramblin' Blues
- Lie To Me Darlin'
- Apples Dipped In Candy
- Blue Sky Shining
- What Will I Do
- Lovers
- Time Was
- San Francisco Mabel Joy
- You've Always Got The Blues
- Why You Been Gone So Long
- Remember The Good
- Amen For Old Friends
- Goodnight