What was / is Alan's relationship with Randy ?

Did they ever perform together ?

I've never heard of them performing together. In those days, Newman was better known as a songwriter. (I'd guess he was glad for the royalties and the exposure, but always aspired to be a performer himself.) Alan popularized his stuff in the UK, but not so much in the US, where Randy was trying to establish his own name.

It seems (from what I've read in interviews) that Alan found Randy's work, liked several songs, and recorded them. He has said that they inspired him to begin songwriting himself.

If they ever did perform together, though, I'd love to have seen it! I saw Randy live in 1974, when I had no idea that Alan had recorded so many of his songs.

I'd read that too I guess I was hoping that the appreciation was mutual.

I've for some reason only discovered Newman recently despite his connections with Alan.

The pixar movies have also led me to him and the beautiful ballad 'Feels Like Home'

I've got to say at his best Newman's songs move me in the same way as Alan does . I like hearing his own versions

Hearing the original versions of the songs has been interesting

I agree, I'm a big Randy Newman fan. His early stuff on the album Sail Away is very much in the same vein as Alan's late 60s/early 70s songs. His film music is perhaps his best known -- I love the songs from Toy Story and the lush soundtrack for Seabiscuit. However, I also like his more Americana/political material, like the 1988 album Good Old Boys, and his melancholy-cynical side comes out in the 1999 album Bad Love. There's a very good compilation called the Best of Randy Newman which he selected himself and wrote liner notes for -- it seems a little more personal than a lot of those Greatest Hits collections.

I actually brought the compliation you mention a couple of weeks ago through Amazon.uk, mainly because it had Randy's version of 'Feels Like Home' on it and contained about six other tracks on it that i didn't have.

That's why I still prefer CD's and then burn them.The comments on the sleeves are excellant. I feel the Edsel label did a great job for Alan's back catologue.

I haven't been brave enough to devour his back catologue too far yet.

Changing subjects I love your Blog and on the strength of your recommendations my brother has promised me a loan of his Nick Lowe Greatest Hits CD.

I don't know that much about him apart from the excellant 'Cruel to be kind' and knowing he produced Elvis Costello and wrote 'What's so funny about love, peace and understanding'.Wasn't he married to Johnny Cash's step daughter ?

I'll post my opinions when I get the CD burnt.

color.gif Yippee! There's nothing I love better than turning someone on to Nick Lowe (unless it's turning someone on to Alan Price). Yes, he was married for several years to Carlene Carter, Johnny Cash's stepdaughter. They split up in the mid-1980s. She has a new album out too which is supposed to be excellent (though I'm too jealous of her to listen to it.)

Is that the Best of Basher CD? That was released in 1989 and in my opinion Nick's done his best work since then...if you like what you hear there, let me know and I'd be happy to send you a sampler of his more recent work as well.