Skip to content

Limerick Independent

Home arrow Sections arrow Entertainment arrow Jack L’s inspired take on Randy Newman
Jack L’s inspired take on Randy Newman E-mail
Written by Alan Jacques   
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
JACK L, the man with the biggest voice in Ireland and known worldwide for his dramatic interpretations of Jacques Brel, will now turn the spotlight on Randy Newman – one of America’s greatest songwriters – when he visits Dolan’s Warehouse this Friday, October 17.
Having concentrated on original material with his four previous critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums, Jack L’s latest record ‘Burn On’, features 18 of Newman’s finest tracks. The album is a modern take on Newman’s witty and socially aware songs drawing on over 40 years of hits and universal acclaim.
“The ‘Burn On’ album came about pretty quickly to be honest. I was preparing to do a run of shows in New York covering the work of Randy Newman and had to learn about 50 of his songs. The producer Martin Clancy and I then decided that there was an album in it and that was that. It worked out really well as a stop-gap project in between recording my own album of original songs and it didn’t take too long to do,” Jack L told me this week.
Famous for hits such as ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’ and ‘I Think It’s Going To Rain Today’, Randy Newman has always commented wittily on the darker side of American life. An Academy Award-winning film composer, Newman is hailed as “America’s finest songwriter of the 20th Century”.
“I was aware of Randy Newman’s songs, pretty much through other people’s interpretations. I always loved Nina Simone’s version of ‘Baltimore’ and Dusty Springfield’s version of ‘I Think It’s Going To Rain Today’ is just one of those great all-time songs,” says Jack.
“To me Randy Newman is the American Jacques Brel. They are very similar as they are both very leftfield and they write wonderful songs about very sinister characters. I felt safe tackling Newman’s stuff having done the Brel shows for a long time. I wouldn’t have touched his songs if I didn’t think they would fit my own style but they fit just right.”
“So many people have covered Randy Newman’s songs over the years. When I was approaching the recording I tried singing lots of his songs and if there wasn’t that magic or I felt I didn’t bring something new to them then I didn’t consider them for the album,” he added.
Jack L’s latest album coincides with a critical time in modern history, as financial chaos in the US and around the globe draws gloomy comparisons to the Great Depression. These issues are reflected on ‘Burn On’ in songs such as ‘It’s Money That I Want, a timely backing track to banks going bust and our own recession.
“The one thing that really struck me while making the album was although Randy Newman had written most of these songs in the 1970s there message still rang true today. With what’s happening in the world right now songs like ‘If You Need Oil’, ‘It’s Money That I Want’ and ‘Political Science’ could have been written last night. These songs about horrible capitalist characters are as relevant now as when they were written 30 years ago, which made the whole thing even more exciting for me,” the Irish singer confessed.
Musically, the tracks on ‘Burn On’ range from full orchestration to the simplicity of piano and voice. From Jack’s perspective, not only does Newman’s work have plenty to say, but also the songs themselves are beautifully melodic. With the amazing nationwide reaction to the first single from the album, ‘I Think It’s Going To Rain Today’, ‘Burn On’ is sure to consolidate Jack’s position as one of the finest singers this country has ever produced.
“The great thing about covering the work of artists like Jacques Brel and Randy Newman is that I learn new things about the craft of songwriting. I suppose what I learned from Newman is that his approach is totally fearless,” said Jack.
The last 18 months has seen Jack performing abroad in the UK, including Glastonbury, the US and Europe, while recording ‘Burn On’ and his original album due for release in 2009.
Jack L takes to the stage at Dolan’s Warehouse this Friday, October 17. Doors open at 8pm and tickets cost €23.

Comments (0) »		 feed
Show/Hide comment formtoggle


Write the displayed characters


busy
 
User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 
Share:
Digg
Delicious
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati
YahooMyWeb
Spurl
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]

Visit our Games and puzzles section