Frisco Mabel Joy Revisited for Mickey Newbury

Frisco Mabel Joy Revisited for Mickey Newbury

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Perhaps due to his reclusive nature or perhaps it was his iconoclastic vision, but Mickey Newbury slipped through the cracks. His peers--figures such as Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Townes Van Zandt--have often celebrated his genius, but his own artistic output, some 15 albums in 30 years, remains little known. Frisco Mabel Joy, his 1971 debut for Elektra, is his masterpiece: an ambitious, orchestrated concept album, a commanding vision of the American soul. Rather than picking and choosing from his vast output, this tribute addresses Newbury's neglect by matching a mostly younger generation of singer-songwriters and alternative-country troubadours with that great Newbury album. Interpretations from the likes of Chuck Prophet, the Walkabouts, Dave Alvin, and Bob Neuwirth alternate between acoustic intimacy and lush soundscapes. Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell contributes atmospheric instrumental interludes between songs and helps bind the distinct voices into one elegiac whole. And though the song was absent from the original Frisco Mabel Joy, Kristofferson's gruff but perceptive version of "San Francisco Mabel Joy" closes this fascinating, loving, and successful homage. --Roy Kasten

Tracks:

Prologue - Bill Frisell
An American Trilogy - Midnight Choir
How Many Times (Must the Piper Be Paid for His Song) - Walkabouts
Interlude (Side A) - Bill Frisell
The Future's Not What It Used To Be - Gary Heffern
Mobile Blue - Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men
Frisco Depot - Meredith Miller Band
You're Not My Same Sweet Baby - Chuck Prophet
Interlude [Side B] - Bill Frisell with Robin Holcomb
Remember The Good - Michael Fracasso
Swiss Cottage Place - David Halley
How I Love Them Old Songs - The Hole Dozen
San Francisco Mabel Joy - Kris Kristofferson

Amazon.com

Perhaps due to his reclusive nature or perhaps it was his iconoclastic vision, but Mickey Newbury slipped through the cracks. His peers--figures such as Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Townes Van Zandt--have often celebrated his genius, but his own artistic output, some 15 albums in 30 years, remains little known. Frisco Mabel Joy, his 1971 debut for Elektra, is his masterpiece: an ambitious, orchestrated concept album, a commanding vision of the American soul. Rather than picking and choosing from his vast output, this tribute addresses Newbury's neglect by matching a mostly younger generation of singer-songwriters and alternative-country troubadours with that great Newbury album. Interpretations from the likes of Chuck Prophet, the Walkabouts, Dave Alvin, and Bob Neuwirth alternate between acoustic intimacy and lush soundscapes. Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell contributes atmospheric instrumental interludes between songs and helps bind the distinct voices into one elegiac whole. And though the song was absent from the original Frisco Mabel Joy, Kristofferson's gruff but perceptive version of "San Francisco Mabel Joy" closes this fascinating, loving, and successful homage. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

newbury underappreciated.......2007-07-17

Mickey Newbury was a genius singer-songwriter always underappreciated and obscure by the general public. His original version of this album was highly acclaimed by critics and fellow artists and my all time favorite. I get excited any time I hear someone is doing a Newbury song and was anxious to hear this tribute. I congradulate the effort but for the most part disappointed, no one can really do Newbury like Newbury. David Halleys version of Swiss Cottage Place was the best and kudos to Kristofferson, Dave Alvin, and Bill Frisell. Support the Newbury family and check out their website.

Affectionate tribute with an original-sounding approach.......2005-01-05

An ambitious and effective, delightful if somewhat dour tribute to songwriter Mickey Newbury, whose original versions of these songs had an aridity of their own... For the most part, these covers -- from the likes of Dave Alvin, Gary Heffern, Meredith Miller and Chuck Prophet, with guitar interludes by Bill Frisell -- capture the whistfulness and whimsy, as well as the utter self-importance of Newbury's work, and add something new as well... Nice record!

ONE STAR FOR THE EFFORT.......2001-10-05

I'm so sick of these tribute albums. Now that it's back in print, get the real thing. What's the point?

A view from across the ocean.......2001-04-13

Interesting to see such a negative perspective of this record. I wonder if perhaps it is seen in a different light from the European audience, as a magazine over here recently named it one of the Top 100 albums released in 2000. It is certainly true that the album doesn't do justice to Newbury's original work; but for one thing, nothing ever really could (the original Frisco Mabel Joy is an unparalleled classic); and secondly, it seems clear that the intent was largely to interpret the work through the eyes of the artists who took part, rather than to simply rehash Newbury's version.

Whether or not it worked is, obviously, a matter of personal taste -- but I, for one, was pretty fascinated by Midnight Choir's dark reading of "An American Trilogy" (by a Norwegian band, no less); enjoyed Dave Alvin's roadhouse take on "Mobile Blue"; thought the hootenanny-style arrangement of "How I Love Them Old Songs" captured that song's spirit perfectly; and was amazed at the instrumental touches that Bill Frisell provided for the "interludes" and segues from the original album.

One other publication I recently ran across (this one from England) stated that this album "must now be considered the template for these enterprises." I haven't heard enough tribute albums to know whether I'd agree with that or not, but it's probably the most adventurous and rewarding one I've heard so far.

Poor mick.......2001-02-10

I have been a fan of Mickey Newbury since 1960,this cd does no justice to Mickey newbury sad songs as willie nelson would say.I had purchased two of these cds and gave them out for christmas gifts to other newbury fans..they mailed them back to me and one advised to use it to scare the cats away the other one had no comment...again, a poor rendition of the Great Newbury Frisco Mabel Joy...

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