Disc of the day
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
Features Disc of the day
Anthony Newley
Ain’t It Funny
(Verve, 1972)
Because Hollywood success counts for nothing when middle age, divorce and depression come calling.
With the news that a musical about one of Britain’s greatest songwriters and performers is about to premiere in London maybe the time is right to dig out one of the stranger releases from this king of the London stage. Ain’t It Funny was the second half of MGM’s two-album deal with Newley and his long-time writing partner Leslie Bricusse, sealed in the wake of Sammy Davis Jr’s success with his cover of The Candy Man, written by Newley and Bricusse for Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory Mel Stuart’s 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s adventure. The first album for MGM, Pure Imagination, was effectively Newley and Bricusse treading water, a mix of new and rerecorded collaborations including some four songs culled from the Wonka soundtrack. However, Ain’t It Funny was something else.
Born to a single mother in Hackney in 1931, Newley had left school at 14 before finding success as a child actor, playing The Artful Dodger in David Lean’s Oliver Twist. . For a while he could do no wrong, writing for the stage and directing, scoring hit after hit and starring in what can safely be described as the world’s first post-modern sit-com. But by the early ’70s cracks were beginning to show. Newley’s marriage to Joan Collins was on the rocks and the 40-year-old was going through some kind of mid-life crisis. Album opener Overchewer (geddit?) finds Newley lamenting his inability to get with the times (“Here comes the middle-aged silent majority Geritol rock’n’roll star”) while Easy For You Captain Candy is Tony’s mean-spirited dig at Sammy Davis Jr, making all those millions covering such Newley-Bricusse tracks as What Kind of Fool Am I?, Gonna Build A Mountain and, of course, the Candy Man. However, the majority of the album is comprised of black-cloud break-up ballads ranging from the all-alone country lope title track (“When you’re down you’re down I guess / Why spread around that old virus of gloom”) to the painfully simple Me Without You and the operatically vicious I Do Not Love You (“I’m not the fool who’d follow you”). Nearly ten years since his death from cancer Newley is yet to be reinstated as a genuine showbiz great and national treasure but if you’re at all interested in why anyone should care here is a good place to start.
Andrew Male
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 26/11/2008
Further Listening
Anthony Newley – The Decca Years (Decca, 2000)
Sammy Davis Jr – Lonely Is The Name (Reprise, 1968)
Original Cast Recording – Stop The World, I Want To Get Off (Decca, 1961)
Previous Disc of the day
-
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Magnificent late-'50s singles round-up that keeps on giving.
6:00 AM GMT 20/11/2009
-
-
Isley Brothers - The Brothers: Isley
The Cincinnati siblings bed into their heavy period.
6:00 AM GMT 18/11/2009
-
Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land
The trumpeter's most soulful excursion entrances MOJO messageboarder.
6:00 AM GMT 16/11/2009
-
-
end of body content back to top
Footer
Join us on:
© Copyright Bauer - all
rights reserved.
Reproduction of this
website, in whole or in
part, in any form or
medium without express
written permission from
Bauer is prohibited. All
use is subject to our
Terms of Use
|
|
Comments
Comment on this post
Yes, yes and thrice yes. Over the top, will probably take a couple of plays to get onto the wavelength, but if there is a Lionel Bart Don Black Leslie Bricusse Allen Klein bone in your body, absolutely worth the effort.
Also worth seeking out is the biog Stop the World to see just how big he was both here and in the States. It is an almost completely forgotten story.
Posted by Tuppy Glossop at 4:06 PM GMT 26/11/2008 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Yes, yes and thrice yes. Over the top, will probably take a couple of plays to get onto the wavelength, but if there is a Lionel Bart Don Black Leslie Bricusse Allen Klein bone in your body, absolutely worth the effort.
Also worth seeking out is the biog Stop the World to see just how big he was both here and in the States. It is an almost completely forgotten story.
Posted by Tuppy Glossop at 4:08 PM GMT 26/11/2008 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Yes, yes and thrice yes. Over the top, will probably take a couple of plays to get onto the wavelength, but if there is a Lionel Bart Don Black Leslie Bricusse Allen Klein bone in your body, absolutely worth the effort.
Also worth seeking out is the biog Stop the World to see just how big he was both here and in the States. It is an almost completely forgotten story.
Posted by Tuppy Glossop at 4:12 PM GMT 26/11/2008 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
As a fan of over fifty years standing I have to say that Anthony Newley was quite simply, a genius. I have been appalled at the way in which he has been virtually ignored in his home country. In November 2008 I was privileged to see Gareth Bardley's show about Newley. Never having seen the man himself work live, it was a wonderfully remaniscent evening of a gifted and complex man. Thank goodness for actors such as Mr Bardsley and David Boyle who between them are working hard to ensure that Anthony and his amazing talents are not forgotten
Posted by Anne Marsden at 1:15 AM GMT 18/04/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: Anne Marsden
Anne,
are you aware of the forthcoming BFI DVD reissue of The Small World Of Sammy Lee? Very exciting!
Posted by Andrew Male at 10:17 AM GMT 20/04/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
RE: Andrew Male
Hello Andrew, thank you very much for the information re The Small World of Sammy Lee. I'll set about finding the DVD to add to my Newley collection at once. I always looked on his performance in this film as a masterclass in acting. The man could act the socks off any other actor on the planet, including the late Lord Olivier. Once again, many thanks
Posted by Anne Marsden at 12:06 AM GMT 10/06/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Comment on this post