1995 studio album by Randy Newman
Randy Newman's Faust
is the ninth studio album and a 1995
musical
by American musician and songwriter
Randy Newman
, who based the work on the classic story of
Faust
, borrowing elements from the version by
Goethe
, as well as
Milton
's
Paradise Lost
, but updating the story to the modern day, and infusing it with humorous cynicism.
In this retelling, God and the Devil fight for the soul of Henry Faust, a student at the
University of Notre Dame
.
The musical was performed at the
La Jolla Playhouse
in
San Diego
in September 1995, and the
Goodman Theatre
in
Chicago
in Sept 1996, as well as released as a
CD
as a
concept album
.
In July 2014, a stripped-down, modernized "concert" version was staged for
Encores!
at
New York City Center
.
[1]
Musical numbers
[
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]
- Act I
- "Glory Train" - God, Devil, Company
- "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" - Devil
- "How Great Our Lord" - God, Company
- "Northern Boy" - God, Devil
- "Bless the Children of the World" - Henry Faust
- "The Man" - Henry Faust, Devil
- "Little Island" - Angel Rick
- "Relax, Enjoy Yourself" - God, Devil, Child, Company
|
- Act II
- "Gainesville" - Margaret
- "Life Has Been Good to Me" - Martha
- "I Gotta Be Your Man" - Devil, Company
- "Feels Like Home" - Martha
- "Bleeding All Over the Place" - Devil, Martha
- "My Hero" - Margaret
- "Sandman's Coming" - Margaret
- "Happy Ending" - Devil, Company
|
Background
[
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]
In a 1995
New York Times
piece, Newman said that he was first inspired to create a work based on Goethe's
Faust
in the 1970s, after a first reading of the play.
[2]
However, during a 2014 staging of the show at the New York City Center, Newman said onstage that "[Goethe's]
Faust
, of course, is a masterpiece: I read the classic comic book, and I concur.”
[3]
Newman said he had already been a fan of works that concern Heaven (such as the 1930 Marc Connelly play
Green Pastures
, and the 1945 movie
The Horn Blows at Midnight
), and that "[i]t's such a big idea, with God and the Devil, that I thought I could put everything I knew into it and say whatever I wanted[.]" Regarding his own designs for the material, however, Newman also said that "...there's something so wise about [Goethe's
Faust
] that it made me want to try to destroy it, in a way," and "have all its wisdom frustrated by the nature of
real
human beings[.]"
[4]
In 1980, Newman wrote a few songs for the project, as well as a rough draft of a script; he then put it aside to focus on his solo career and film composing.
[2]
At one point Newman showed a script of the show to
Mike Nichols
, who criticized the conception of the show's "Faust" character, "Henry Faust," saying (as Newman put it), "The kid doesn’t have any arc. Nothing happens to him.” Newman later said, in 2017, "But I liked that. It makes for a gruesome evening of theater."
[5]
The song "Sandman's Coming" was recycled from an episode of the 1990 television series
Cop Rock
, for which Newman had written a number of songs.
Production history
[
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]
Randy Newman's Faust
first had a limited run at
La Jolla Playhouse
in
San Diego
in September 1995, which coincided with the release of a concept album version, featuring a different cast and arrangements than the stage version. The stage production, directed by
Michael Greif
was praised for its score, but criticized for its script and characters.
[6]
The script was rewritten by
David Mamet
for the second production, in Chicago's
Goodman Theatre
. This production, featuring the same principal cast, suffered similar criticisms that its script was still not the equal of its score. It ran from September 30 to November 2, 1996.
[7]
On July 1, 2014, New York City Center's
Encores!
staged a one-night-only performance of the show. This version was stripped down for a more minimal "concert" presentation and heavily rewritten. As on the album (but unlike earlier stage versions), Newman himself assumed the role of Lucifer, alongside a new cast that included
Isiah Johnson
,
Tony Vincent
,
Laura Osnes
, and
Vonda Shepard
.
[1]
Critical reception
[
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]
In a contemporary review for
Playboy
, music critic
Robert Christgau
found the album's vivid songs and musical comedy settings ideal for Newman's "high-spirited cynicism": "Musical comedy is the perfect medium for his unique synthesis of soundtrack grandeur, blues-savvy studio rock, and general Americana."
[13]
He named it the fifth best album of the year.
[14]
However,
Faust
only finished 87th in the voting for the
Pazz & Jop
, an annual critics poll run by
The Village Voice
.
[15]
Al Weisel
of
Rolling Stone
was critical of songs like "Little Island" and "Northern Boy", which he felt deviate from the storyline, although he called the album "the best work in years for all involved".
[12]
"Life Has Been Good to Me" was performed by
French Stewart
as
Harry Solomon
on 1997's "A Nightmare on Dick Street," an episode of NBC's
3rd Rock from the Sun
. "Relax, Enjoy Yourself" and "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" were performed by two different cast groups in "Ally McBeal: The Musical, Almost", the 2000 third-season finale of
Ally McBeal
.
The music for "Glory Train" was partially re-used by Newman in the 2017 song "The Great Debate", from his solo album
Dark Matter
.
Album cast
[
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]
Album track listing
[
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]
All tracks are written by
Randy Newman
Disc One
Title
| Performer(s)
|
---|
1.
| "Glory Train"
| Randy Newman
,
James Taylor
| 4:44
|
---|
2.
| "Can't Keep a Good Man Down"
| Randy Newman
| 2:45
|
---|
3.
| "How Great Our Lord"
| James Taylor
| 2:42
|
---|
4.
| "Best Little Girl"
| Randy Newman
| 2:28
|
---|
5.
| "Northern Boy"
| James Taylor, Randy Newman
| 2:55
|
---|
6.
| "Bless The Children of the World"
| Don Henley
| 3:50
|
---|
7.
| "Gainesville"
| Linda Ronstadt
| 3:30
|
---|
8.
| "Relax, Enjoy Yourself"
| James Taylor, Randy Newman, Kristyn Liang-chan
| 5:41
|
---|
9.
| "Life Has Been Good To Me"
| Bonnie Raitt
| 3:28
|
---|
10.
| "Little Island"
| Elton John
| 3:20
|
---|
11.
| "The Man"
| Don Henley, Randy Newman
| 3:14
|
---|
12.
| "My Hero"
| Linda Ronstadt
| 2:35
|
---|
13.
| "I Gotta Be Your Man"
| Randy Newman
| 2:31
|
---|
14.
| "
Feels Like Home
"
| Bonnie Raitt
| 4:26
|
---|
15.
| "Bleeding All Over the Place"
| Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt
| 4:15
|
---|
16.
| "Sandman's Coming"
| Linda Ronstadt
| 2:41
|
---|
17.
| "Happy Ending"
| Randy Newman
| 3:21
|
---|
Disc Two (2005 Expanded Edition reissue only)
Title
|
---|
1.
| "Pass On Over (demo)"
| 1:13
|
---|
2.
| "How Great Our Lord (demo)"
| 3:48
|
---|
3.
| "Each Perfect Day (demo)"
| 1:10
|
---|
4.
| "Best Little Girl (demo)"
| 2:48
|
---|
5.
| "It Was Beautiful (demo)"
| 2:16
|
---|
6.
| "Northern Boy (demo)"
| 3:26
|
---|
7.
| "Bless the Children of the World (demo)"
| 4:40
|
---|
8.
| "Damn Fine Day (demo)"
| 2:32
|
---|
9.
| "March of the Protestants (demo)"
| 1:50
|
---|
10.
| "Little Island (demo)"
| 3:47
|
---|
11.
| "The Man (demo)"
| 4:34
|
---|
12.
| "Love Time (demo)"
| 6:51
|
---|
13.
| "Relax, Enjoy Yourself (demo)"
| 6:55
|
---|
14.
| "When Love Is in the Air (demo)"
| 3:21
|
---|
15.
| "Gainesville, Florida (demo)"
| 3:26
|
---|
16.
| "Life Has Been Good to Me (demo)"
| 3:28
|
---|
17.
| "My Hero (demo)"
| 3:04
|
---|
18.
| "Hard Currency (demo)"
| 3:13
|
---|
19.
| "Sandman's Coming (demo)"
| 2:41
|
---|
20.
| "Basin Street Blues (demo)"
| 2:06
|
---|
Personnel
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
Playbill
Archived
August 20, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
Holden, Stephen (September 24, 1995).
"POP MUSIC; Can a Pop Composer Help Out Broadway?"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
June 13,
2019
.
- ^
Isherwood, Charles (July 2, 2014).
"The Devil Went to Midtown to Serenade the Lord"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
June 13,
2019
.
- ^
Fitzsimmons, Lorna, ed. (December 23, 2008).
International Faust Studies: Adaptation, Reception, Translation
. A&C Black. p. 222.
ISBN
9781847060044
.
- ^
Fricke, David (September 15, 2017).
"Randy Newman: My Life in 15 Songs"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
September 2,
2019
.
- ^
Los Angeles Times
- ^
Chicago Tribune
- ^
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas.
"Randy Newman's Faust"
.
AllMusic
.
- ^
Chicago Tribune review
- ^
"CG: randy newman"
. Robert Christgau. October 31, 1995
. Retrieved
May 24,
2014
.
- ^
EW review
- ^
a
b
Weisel, Al (December 14, 1995).
"Randy Newman's Faust Album Review"
.
Rolling Stone
. New York
. Retrieved
September 9,
2014
.
- ^
Christgau, Robert (1995).
"Randy Newman, Prince"
.
Playboy
(October)
. Retrieved
September 9,
2014
.
- ^
"Pazz & Jop 1995: Dean's List"
.
The Village Voice
. New York. February 25, 1996
. Retrieved
September 9,
2014
.
- ^
Christgau, Robert (February 25, 1996).
"Lost in the Soundscape"
.
The Village Voice
. New York
. Retrieved
September 9,
2014
.
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Studio albums
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Live albums
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Compilations
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Musicals
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Soundtracks
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Songs
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Related
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Folk legend
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Seminal works
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Prose
| |
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Plays
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Operas
|
- Faust
(1816, Spohr)
- La damnation de Faust
(1846, Berlioz)
- Faust
(1859, Gounod)
- Mefistofele
(1868, Boito)
- Le petit Faust
(1869, Herve)
- Faust and Marguerite
(1855, Lutz)
- Faust up to Date
(1888, Lutz)
- Doktor Faust
(1916?1925, Busoni)
- Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights
(1938)
- The Rake's Progress
(1951, Stravinsky)
- Reuben, Reuben
(1955)
- Historia von D. Johann Fausten
(1994)
- Faustus, the Last Night
(2006)
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