Nights When I Am Sane

Amazon.com
As a hard-to-classify country-folk-pop-cabaret singer who hates to tour, Mickey Newbury has often seemed more a rumor than an actual presence in the music industry. Nights When I Am Sane is divided between seven of his best older songs and six new ones (plus a version of the old standard "Easy Street"). Because his earlier albums haven't resurfaced on CD (rumor has it the master tapes are lost), Nights serves as his introduction to a whole generation who may have heard of him but has never heard him. It fulfills this purpose admirably. The arrangements consist of nothing more than two acoustic guitars (Newbury's and Jack Williams's); Newbury's voice, much darker and smarter at age 54 than it was in his early 30s, has plenty of room to explore the nooks and crannies of these older songs. Few are the singer-songwriters who can evoke within the same song this inevitable torment and ultimate redemption as powerfully as Newbury does here. --Geoffrey Himes

Nights When I Am Sane,Mickey Newbury,Winter Harvest,Country,Pop,Popular Music

Average customer rating:

For Nights When You Want To Feel Sane

JUST DROPPED IN

Worst of his albums - but wonderful sense of humor about it

every Newbury cd should get 5*

A Night On The Dark Side

Nights When I Am Sane
Mickey Newbury
Manufacturer: Winter Harvest
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music
Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music
Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music
General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music
Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
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Mickey Newbury: An American Treasure

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ASIN: B000005VLE
Release Date: 1995-02-21

Tracks:

Just Dropped In
The Thirty Third Of August
East Kentucky
Nights When I Am Sane
Heaven Help The Child
Genevieve
Easy Street
Apples Dipped In Candy
You're My Lady Now
San Francisco Mabel Joy
Earthquake
Saint CeCelia
Four Ladies
What Will I Do

Amazon.com

As a hard-to-classify country-folk-pop-cabaret singer who hates to tour, Mickey Newbury has often seemed more a rumor than an actual presence in the music industry. Nights When I Am Sane is divided between seven of his best older songs and six new ones (plus a version of the old standard "Easy Street"). Because his earlier albums haven't resurfaced on CD (rumor has it the master tapes are lost), Nights serves as his introduction to a whole generation who may have heard of him but has never heard him. It fulfills this purpose admirably. The arrangements consist of nothing more than two acoustic guitars (Newbury's and Jack Williams's); Newbury's voice, much darker and smarter at age 54 than it was in his early 30s, has plenty of room to explore the nooks and crannies of these older songs. Few are the singer-songwriters who can evoke within the same song this inevitable torment and ultimate redemption as powerfully as Newbury does here. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

For Nights When You Want To Feel Sane.......2002-10-10

A few Mickey Newbury purists may disagree, but if you've checked out FRISCO MABLE JOY and want more,(but aren't ready to shell out $$$ for the box set), then NIGHTS is the ticket. Infact, I prefer NIGHTS WHEN I'M SANE to a lot of his studio work. It's raw, sparse and dark. Just the way I like it. A lot of his best songs, not to mention a few new ones are here. Kenny Rodgers may have had a hit with "Just Dropped In" but if Newbury cashed in on the royalties, it doesn't show. This sparse, gutteral rendition is ten times more lonely and harrowing than any recorded version I've heard.

From the first cut to the last, he's stripped each song to it's bare essentials and then belts it out for all it's worth. On "Thirty Third Of August" he sings of "A thousand voices screaming through my brain" and I'll be damned if this version won't haunt you the same way. It's just one of those things that just won't leave your head. The same can be said of the title track. Lines like, "I could take a .44 pistol to me/ put one in my brain just for her memory" can't but help leave a lasting impression. Then he seconds it with "one more for my heart then I would be free". So, if it's dark, romantic woe you're after, step right up.

The sparse accompaniment of two guitars and the author's ragged voice saves the likes of"Earthquake" from the sentimental self-pity. His live treament of "Frisco Mabel Joy" gives Tom Waits a run for his money.

Though the overall tone is one of world weary meloncholy, his breezy version of A.R. Jones' "Easy Street" takes the edge off. Not to mention the self penned, "Apples Dipped In Candy". Yet, "You're My Lady Now" slaps those grey skies back on the horizon. It's a classic tale. A junkie whoring his girl out to feed his addictions. When he screams out, "You're my lady now" you know he's not complimenting her so much as beating her within an inch of her life. And yet, not without eventual regret. Herein lies Newbury's genius as a writer: No matter how violent or foolish his protagonists seem, he never lets you judge them. He always makes a little room for remorse, confounding any sense of immediate justice.

So if it's been long week, and it's a rainy Friday in October, crack open a bottle and give NIGHTS WHEN I'M SANE a listen. Fans of Townes Van Zandt will adore this. The same goes for devotees of Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and latter day Nick Cave. Though you won't be wasting your money on the boxed set, this record is all the introduction you need.

JUST DROPPED IN.......2001-11-30

If your looking for an introduction to yet another great songwriter,lacking a houshold name---you've come to the right place. Newbury's one of those oft covered talents cherished by more familiar names in the business. Willie Nelson to name a few.
The first cut, "Just Stopped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" is a prime example. It's been covered by everyone from the likes of Kenny Rodgers to Nick Cave. But here is the source, captured live at The Hermitage Ballroom. Pure and unadorned, just 2 guitars and Newbury's ragged voice belting out sentiments like "I could take a fourty-four pistol to me" (from the title track). Longtime fans will delight in the presence of six new songs sitting at the bar, alongside a few old aquaintances like, "Frisco Mabel Joy". No one writes a tear jerkering murder ballad like Mickey Newbury.

The new material presented here goes to show, the years have not diminished his faculties, merely deepened his perspective. Those in need of some stark, mournful comfort on a rainy night can do no worse than putting this one on.

Worst of his albums - but wonderful sense of humor about it.......2001-01-08

I've been looking for my 2 favorite Newbury lps for a long time now (After All These Years and His Eye is on the Sparrow) - beautiful, serene voice and compositions. Since they weren't available, I got this one a couple years ago. I wrote, "Simply terrible! Pieces, arrangements, voice and delivery bad." In my annual search this year, I came across his comments about this lp. What a wonderful sense of humor! How nice to know he doesn't take himself too seriously. Wish he could get somebody to release the two lps above on cd's.

every Newbury cd should get 5*.......2000-09-25

This is more like being at a concert from the comfort of your home, but a very enjoyable one. Maybe for the newcommer "It might as well be the moon" is a better start, but once you are there you'll want them all. Each time Newbury resings or rerecord one of his songs he says something new, and he does this quite often, so even if you see that one of his cd's has songs you already have, you might get something new from his new versions.

A Night On The Dark Side.......2000-06-11

Unlike some of Mickey's brilliantly conceived and executed albums, this one has no interludes, segues or musical productions. Just a great voice, two guitars and some darkly beautiful songs to cut to your musical soul. It features some of Mickey's earlier classic songs, and some not heard until this CD. "Nights When I Am Sane" sets the mood and it carries through the entire album. This is for quiet, introspective listening, and it stands as part of the work of an American musical master.

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