Tuesday Night Music: Randy Newman, ‘In Germany Before The War’
An eerie, haunting song by Randy Newman, performed at the 2007 Jazz Open festival in Stuttgart: “In Germany Before the War.” The song is available on The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1, a highly recommended collection of Randy’s classic songs rearranged for just voice and piano.
This is songwriting at its very best. He strips the narrative down to the bone, with almost no details. There are very few lyrics, and he plays games with them, letting the piano complete some of the phrases where you expect another line.
I consider this a real work of genius.
(Hit the “HQ” button for better audio and video.)
Frank says: