OK, I know, I know, this isn't a film score, but hey, this is my web site and I can review what I choose and I choose Faust. The main reason is to encourage all your folks who enjoy satirical blasphemy set to music to purchase this wonderful disc. There is rarely a weak song in the hour of music that was assembled as a cast album. The actual performances seem to feature new songs and some have been replaced, however since the chances of catching a performance of Faust is small the CD makes for yet another marvellous Randy Newman album with a cast of thousands (OK, not that many, but there are quite a lot.... including Rand himself alongside such musical luminaries as Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt).
The opening song is an extremely enjoyable gospel number performed by James Taylor as God and a chorus of angels. Halfway through Rand himself appears and rudely and hilariously interrupts this little celebration to tell God that basically he's been telling a pile of tosh. While this may not work as well musically, it sets the irreverent tone of the entire piece. Can't Keep a God Man Down is one of the more obvious Randy Newman songs, performed by himself with his trademark honky tonk brass and small oooh-ahhh chorus in the background.
How Great Our Lord is probably (although it's difficult to decide) my favourite song. Not only does it portray the Almighty as an egomaniac who has his ego polished almost continuously by his entourage of angels. The music and lyrics are just perfect and it has an especially good orchestral accompaniment. Best Little Girl follows the story of a young lady who plays hooky and ends up drowning in vomit which makes for a particularly riotous number. Northern Boy pits The Devil and The Almighty in a diatribe on the worthiness of Canadians (God: "Oh Northern Boy, as strong as an oak, as quick as a thunderbolt..." and The Devil: "Oh Northern Boy, as thick as a tree, as dull as a butter knife..."). It (along with Little Island) has one of those marvellous Randy Newman brass chord openings which I particularly like. Bless the Children of the World starts off completely differently with Randy doing his heavy metal bit with wailing guitars and then introduces Faust (Don Henley) into the story as a somewhat psychotic individual who has dreams about shooting pigs (only in a Randy Newman musical....).
Gainsville is one of several lovely ballads performed by the female members of the cast. Others include Life Has Been Good to Me which has a chord progression that never quite resolves and almost drives me to distraction. My Hero is a particular favourite, it's rather sweet, but with a few injections of wit now and then. Feels Like Home has escaped the confines of the musical and become a popular song in it's own right. It doesn't sound especially like a Randy Newman song (other than it's superb - which is always a benchmark of his songs). With a tender performance from Linda Ronstadt and a gentle piano, drums and guitar accompaniment it's success was surely guaranteed. Bleeding All Over the Place finds the Devil tricked and, well, miserable as hell. Possibly the most depressing song of the entire number. Sandman's Coming isn't much more cheery. These final three songs, while different are all a lot slower than the rest and could perhaps have been sequenced a little differently.
Elton John's contribution is as a rather pissed off British Angel and he performs with typical aplomb and lovely and heartfelt song. Clearly Randy has some friends in high places. Relax, Enjoy Yourself is another song of two halves. The first is God and Angels seemingly in an attempt to perk up the Devil, while the second half sees the Devil trying to convince a recently deceased young girl that life's a bitch since the man who shot her will go to Heaven despite being a murderer. The Man is perhaps the only song that promises more than it delivers. I don't quite know what could have been done, but it just never quite finds its centre, even though the base material and performance is excellent. I Gotta Be Your Man recalls Newman's earlier songs which often featured him and his piano and in the context of the big character numbers almost seems out of place, but it is great fun. Happy Ending is perhaps most comparable with Good News from James and the Giant Peach, but with lyrics that would make the average Disney executive blush ("English Girls so tall you gotta use a step ladder to lick their love thing....").
I'd like to say this isn't for everyone, but I think it probably is. However, if you are easily offended then some of the lyrics are somewhat risky at times (but any Newman fan will be used to his irreverence to virtually everything). The music is consistently superb and while it might need a couple of listens to fully appreciate is a must buy and who can resist a musical that ends with the line "Urah, Urah, Urah" - it all makes perfect sense. Anyway, sorry to make you wait, couple of Buddhists at the Pearly Gates....
PS. There aren't any plans to release alternate songs as far as I know, but they will probably appear on a future Randy album (as it were...). There is dialogue in the stage version which fills out the time with a few reprises.
Rating ~ 