Looks Like Rain (studio album) by Mickey Newbury

Looks Like Rain is an essential album by an essential artist. Critically unknown as he may be, Mickey Newbury and Townes van Zandt were masters of the country-folk genre. They were complementary to each other, like two sides of the same coin. Van Zandt often took a minimized approach to production, relying on the folk tradition of acoustic instruments, while Newbury fused his simple melodies with dynamic production, definitively presented on Looks Like Rain.

The result is a polished record, with the sounds of rain and thunder sewing the tracks together, assembling them into the themes of sorrow and sadness. Along with the career highlight "San Francisco Mabel Joy" is "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye," one of the many penned gems that became a hit when sung by mainstream performers.

Newbury followed this album with two more critically acclaimed albums, and all three are now assembled together in the digital era in the compilation album "An American Trilogy."

If Hank Williams is the "Hillbilly Shakespeare," then Mickey Newbury is the "Hillbilly Sinatra."

All songs written or co-written by Mickey Newbury.

Essential.

Digitally available in its entirety in the American Trilogy compilation or at Mickey Newbury's website.

Career Highlight: San Francisco Mabel Joy
Gem: She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye, I Don't Think Much About Her Anymore

From Mercury 10/19/2017 20:15

And here it is. My number 1 album on this limited list. Also my number 1 fave singer songwriter album, 1969 album, and number one of 1960s. Hell, it may very well be my favorite album period.

Its incredibly intense, the feelings I have for the record. I will explain some of what makes this album so special here. I could write a book, a short and probably quite bad book about this album.

Mickey Newbury released this, his second solo album, in 1969. There were no clear cut hits on it, no catchy tunes, no songs under 6 minutes and which have clear cut beginnings and endings (there are a few shorter songs but they segue right into other parts of a song cycle of sorts) , the songs were almost all interlocked with the previous songs on the album. It's genre is hard to place my finger on. I suppose its country, yet there is very little twang here. Its folk, but there are elements of full choirs and little details all over the album which seem to fly in the face of the idea I have of a bare bones Folk album. There are no moments which really rock, or get stuck in your head. Instead this album is one 40 minute piece of interconnected stories of love and leaving, being left and looking for someone.

The album starts off and you seem to be in a room with Mickey. You're in his head and seeing and feeling what he is seeing and feeling and thinking. He is struggling with the decision before him of stayting or going. His mate is laying in bed asleep next to you. The album within a minute has fully in Mickey's headpsace. The opening track is a series of distinct musical segments. And you hear how all these parts logically go from one to the next, until the inevitable conclusion comes. And the fact that you are following along with this story and know in your heart where it must end doesn't make it any less sobering or heartbreaking. Then the thunder claps, the rains fall, and you are ushered into the next song. This song "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye" is the reverse angle of what you just heard in the previous song. You are now hearing and feeling the other end of the leaving. I am not doing great describing how stunning this all is. But it sure is stunning.

The first half of the album is distinctly connected by the sound of rain, its very clearly a theme and it is suitably dreary and sad and introspective. The lyrics are full of deeper meanings, and metaphors and similes to die for. Newbury conveys all the small details of loss without using too many words. He just gets you there and fully immersed in this world of contradictions and indecisions, and its all so seamlessly executed.

Another peerless aspect of this album is how much it uses the studio. For many of these country or folk albums people will use the oft repeated idea of "You know, its like you're right next to this person and he's there playing these songs from his heart and its like you're there in the same room or around the fire with him just listening." I often say that as well. But the thing with this album is that is not at all the idea I get. Instead Mickey Newbury uses the studio to put you in his head, he uses the far off sounds to convey where he is at exactly. The brilliantly recorded choirs which seem to come from the far off distance, the sound of rain and thunder to accentuate some low down feeling, the way the bass lines don't sound like they are next to you or even in the "room" but instead sound like they are raining down on the whole world around you, the way the orchestra flourishes and the sounds drop out at perfect moments, the way Mickey whistles at some points here and how that goes along with the far off train whistle, the whole sonic world is so clear and unique, its really unlike any album I've heard.

Now that is all about how the structure of the album amazes me. The themes, the landscape, the flow. This is the base of the album, but it would be merely really cool and ambitious if it wasn't for the songwriting. Mickey Newbury was one of the greatest songwriters of his generation. His long narrative about the star crossed lovers in "San Francisco Mabel Joy" is perhaps the best example of this. That song has to be heard to be understoof how cool it is. And the songs which make up the first half are full of stunning insights and turns of phrase. Newbury was clicking on all cylinders here.

And as far as Mickey's vocals, wow. He didn't have some rangey pitch perfect voice like Joni, some otherworldly voice like Buckley or Morrison. His voice is most similar to John Prine at times, and Guy Clark at other times, and there is a bit of Cash at times, etc. But that was the thing, he switched up his voice from matter of fact country boy, to that of a moaning, pain-ridden lost soul, to that of a deadened soul, back and forth all over, depending on where the song took him. He gets so much emotion out of every line. Yeah, I love his vocals here.

As far as a break up album, sure this is the best ever. But it goes above that. It hits at some themes which transcend breakups or love lost. Or maybe it doesn't. Maybe it just depends on from where you are coming to this album. I don't know. All I know is there is not a false note here in my opinion. The album is seamless studio masterpiece. Its also a poetic singer/songwriter album which will make TVZ fans swoon. It is many things. One of the most fully realized long players I have ever heard. And I think its the greatest thing I've heard in a long long time.

"Lord, his daddy was an honest man, just a red dirt Georgia farmer
His momma lived her short life having kids and baling hay
He had fifteen years and an ache inside to wander
So he hopped a freight at Waycross and wound up in L.A.

Well the cold nights had no pity on that Waycross Georgia farm boy
Most days he went hungry, then the summer came
He met a girl known on the strip as San Francisco's Mabel Joy
Destitution's child, born on an L.A. street called 'Shame'"

Rating: 10/10

best tracks: she even woke me up to say goodbye, looks like baby's gone