Mickey Newbury "Harlequin Melodies" (RCA Victor, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Felton Jarvis & Al Pachucki)
Mickey Newbury "Looks Like Rain" (Mercury Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Beckham, Jerry Kennedy, Wayne Moss & Charlie Tallent)
Mickey Newbury " 'Frisco Mabel Joy" (Elektra Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Dennis Linde & Wayne Moss)
Mickey Newbury "Sings His Own" (RCA Victor, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Felton Jarvis & Al Pachucki)
As an established hitmaker, Mickey Newbury the songwriter got considerable leeway as a recording artist, as heard on this Nashville album which was a collection of unused recordings made during Newbury's brief clash with the RCA label. It sounds simultaneously sterile and iconoclastic, certainly a little "kooky" by the standards of Nashville at the time: the overall sound is very sparse and stripped-down, matching Newbury's own modest vocal talent, but also giving a slightly spooky feel to many of these songs. Side One includes a mild rock'n'roll freak-out arrangement of his song, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)," which in the bouncy Kenny Rogers/First edition hit version was a classic of faux-hippie drug-culture kitsch... Here, in a starker setting, it's a little eerier, and the looser-than-normal, country-guys-imitating-acid-rock arrangement actually brings out the weirdness of the lyrics, rather than detracting from it... Likewise, the similarly-themed "Got Down On Saturday," gives an even more unsettling glimpse of the incoherency and disorientation of a drug trip -- it's one of the weirder, more scrambled-sounding lyrics of the genre -- less glib than glazed, agog and uncomprehending. On his more conventional songs, Newbury takes a pretty laid-back, minimalist approach, with light orchestrations and a fairly open uncluttered backing. Some of the drumming, in particular, has a unique feel, almost hinting as a jazz-improv style, but keeping just inside the dotted line. This was Newbury's last album for RCA, and while he may remain an acquired taste for many listeners, this certainly showcases him as a singular performer, in spite of the restraints of the studio system. Nice version of "Funny, Forgotten, Familiar Feelings."
Mickey Newbury "Heaven Help The Child" (Elektra Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Stan Agol, Bob Beckham, Marlin Greene, Tommy Knox, Dennis Linde & Russ Miller)
Mickey Newbury "Live At Montezuma Hall" (Elektra Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Kennedy)
Mickey Newbury "I Came To Hear The Music" (Elektra Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Chip Young)
Mickey Newbury "Lovers" (Elektra Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Chip Young)
Mickey Newbury "Rusty Tracks" (ABC-Hickory Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Bare & Ronnie Gant)
Mickey Newbury "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" (ABC-Hickory Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Bare & Ronnie Gant)
Mickey Newbury "The Sailor" (ABC-Hickory Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Ronnie Gant, Lee Hazen, Lynn Peterzell & Billy Sherrill)
Mickey Newbury "After All These Years" (Mercury Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Eichelberger & Norbert Putnam)
Mickey Newbury "In A New Age" (Airborne Records, 1988)
(Produced by Greg Humphrey, Wayne Neuendorf & Billy W. Prince)
Mickey Newbury "Nights When I Am Sane" (Winter Harvest Records, 1994)
(Produced by Owsley Manier & Steve Roberts)
Mickey Newbury "Lulled By The Moonlight" (Mountain Retreat Records, 1996)
(Produced by Mike Elliott, Ronnie Gant, Owesley Manier, Jack Williams & Paula Wolak)
Mickey Newbury "Live In England" (Roadhouse Records, 1998)
(Produced by Mickey Newbury, Robert Rosemurgy & Paula Wolak)
Mickey Newbury "It Might As Well Be The Moon" (Mountain Retreat Records, 1999)
A 2-CD set; the first disc was previously released as the 1988 album In A New Age.
Mickey Newbury "Stories From The Silver Moon Cafe" (Mountain Retreat Records, 2000)
(Produced by Paula Wolak)
Mickey Newbury "A Long Road Home" (Mountain Retreat Records, 2002)
(Produced by Michael McDonald, Marty Hall & Paula Wolak)
Mickey Newbury "Winter Winds" (Mountain Retreat Records, 2002)
Mickey Newbury "Blue To This Day" (Mountain Retreat Records, 2003)
Mickey Newbury "Better Days" (Drag City Records, 2011)
Older stuff... Odds, ends, radio airshots, and other rarities...
Mickey Newbury "Stories From The Silver Moon Cafe" (Mountain Retreat Records, 2012)
Houston-born Mickey Newbury (1940-2002) was one of the groundbreaking country songwriters of the 1970s, as well as one the artists who joined Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in their determination to wrest creative control away from the closely controlled Nashville studio system. Although Newbury wasn't exactly part of the "outlaw" movement, he set an example for up-and-coming artists who wanted to widen the range of material, and he also encouraged other innovative composers such as Guy Clark and Kris Kristofferson. Newbury's own songs tended to be poetical and rather dark in tone, yet despite his outsider approach, Newbury penned several popular classics, and was one of the most influential country songwriters of his generation. Here's a quick look at his work...
Mickey Newbury "Harlequin Melodies: The Complete RCA Recordings ...Plus" (Raven Records, 2003)
