Randy Newman's "Faust"

[sodascouts]

I just got this CD and it's not quite what I expected. Did Don actually ACT in this musical when it was performed, or did he just record the songs for the studio version? I'm surprised that as the title character, Henry Faust, Don only gets two leads on the CD.

[DonFan]

I had much the same reaction when I first heard Faust. No, Don did not perform this, he only sang on the CD.

[sodascouts]

Thanks for the info, DF. I don't think I'll be replaying this CD.

[Freypower]

The musical was never performed.

As a huge Randy Newman fan I think he completely miscued with this. Don's songs are not very good - Bless The Children of the World appears to have nothing to do with the concept and I didn't like The Man at all. Randy and James Taylor as God have the best songs, such as they are. The song Feels Like Home has now been re-recorded by Randy on his new Harps & Angels album, which I have just bought but haven't heard yet.

[sodascouts]

I also had a hard time buying Henley as a Notre Dame freshman from South Bend, Indiana! His voice is too seasoned for the 18-year-old character Newman had created.

"Bless the Children" isn't melodic or anything like that, but if we take it solely as something to establish character, it still falls flat. I'm familiar with the literary tradition of Faust, but I certainly couldn't have figured out what was going on in that song without reading the write-up on the show. Of course, part of that may be because Newmen's Faust bears very little similiarity to that of Christopher Marlowe or Goethe, both of which I've studied.

At least "The Man" is funny, although I could have done without the profanity.