46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sing & Play Like Randy, May 24, 2001
This review is from: Anthology (Sheet music)
Like Randy Newman's music? This book may be for you. It includes lyrics, tab and piano accompaniment, which follow Randy's recorded versions fairly well (at least for the songs on his album with "Sail Away"). For instance, on "Dancing Bear" the arrangement has a vocal line with a piano accompaniment which is pretty much what Randy plays. You can sound just like him if you want, or of course take it somewhere else. The book is at an intermediate level.
The songbook includes the following songs: Burn On, Cowboy, Davy The Fat Boy, I Think It's Going To Rain Today, It's Lonely At The Top, Living Without You, Mama Told Me Not To Come, Political Science, Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear, Feels Like Home, Baltimore, In Germany Before The War, Miami, Real Emotional Girl, Same Girl, Song For The Dead, You've Got A Friend In Me, Sail Away, Old Man, The God Song That's Why I Love Mankind, You Can Leave Your Hat On, Guilty, Rednecks, Marie, Louisiana 1927, One More Hour, I Love L A, Short People, It's Money That Matters, Dixie Flyer, I Want You To Hurt Like I Do, I Love To See You Smile, Gainesville, Bleeding All Over The Place, Sandman's Coming.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptionally transcripted, and a good selection, October 17, 2003
This review is from: Anthology (Sheet music)
There are three reasons why this book deserves five stars:
1) The transcriptions are extremely good. Instead of an interpretation that sounds dubiously like the melody line, the piano parts have been reproduced from Newman's own archives. Some of them are not EXACTLY what Newman plays, but for the most part they are.
2) The selection of songs is such that consideration has gone into what is 'fun' to play on the piano. Included is music from Newman's entire career, from 'Davy the Fat Boy' through to 'Bleeding All Over the Place'. Thought has been put into which songs work best on the piano and which ones are not repetitious.
3) The lyrics have been expertly aligned with the music and the music itself is clear and well presented.
For these reasons, the Randy Newman Anthology is a superlative songbook compared to the plethora of dodgy chord-based songbooks out there. Randy Newman's 'Bad Love' songbook is also very good.
For a true Newman fan this book will never get old.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you love Randy Newman...., April 24, 2003
This review is from: Anthology (Sheet music)
...Then this book is a must-have! Not only is it full of otherwise impossible-to-find songs (I spent nearly ten years looking for "Gainesville" after losing my copy), it includes an invaluable introduction by Michael Roth, probably the world's greatest expert on Newman. Roth's advice on just how to approach Newman's scores is borne of decades of collaboration with the composer and will help you give that "Newman feel" to your playing. For singers, this book offers a wealth of little-known gems to add to your repertoire. Yes, it doesn't include a lot of his big hits, but you can find those anywhere. This is the book I've been waiting for.
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