Personnel: Randy Newman (piano, electric piano, synthesizer); Randy Newman (vocals); Ron Elliott, Ron Elliott (acoustic guitar); John Platania (electric guitar); Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar); Russ Titelman, Willie Weeks (bass instrument, electric bass); Red Callender (bass instrument); Bobbye Porter (percussion); Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff (programming); Dennis Budimir (acoustic guitar); Ry Cooder (electric guitar); Milt Holland (drums, percussion); Jim Keltner, Andy Newmark (drums); Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Lee Herschberg.

Audio Remasterer: Dan Hersch.

Liner Note Author: David Wild.

Recording information: Amigo Studios, Los Angeles, CA (02/01/1973); Warner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood, CA (02/01/1973).

Photographer: Shepard Sherbell.

Arranger: Randy Newman.

Whereas 1972's SAIL AWAY played like a superbly crafted collection of short stories, 1974 's GOOD OLD BOYS was Newman's first novel. The literary analogies are not misplaced--Newman brings a writer's eye to character development, detail, setting, and scenario on GOOD OLD BOYS, a concept album about life in the Deep South. The opening track, "Rednecks," is a mercilessly scathing swipe at Southern racism, with a rollicking, sing-along chorus that only sinks the song's knife in deeper. And "A Wedding in Cherokee County" is a lovely ballad about a highly suspect backwoods marriage.

But for every attack on provincialism, Newman offers a tender portrait of a Southern character in the throes of personal turmoil. "Guilty," for example, is a self-destructive man's confessional lament, while "Marie" may be Newman's most heartbreaking and beautiful love song. By inhabiting his characters with uncanny accuracy, Newman achieves a sense of comedy and empathy that might be impossible were he narrating these tales from his own point of view. There are lighter tracks, too, like the good-time "Rolling" and the enigmatic "Naked Man," but even these are graced with the artist's fine arrangements and ear for melody. Unique, confrontational, and moving, GOOD OLD BOYS remains one of Newman's finest achievements.

The crown jewel in the first wave of Rhino's extensive Randy Newman reissue series is Good Old Boys -- which perhaps is appropriate, since it's arguably Newman's finest album. Then again, perhaps its status as the outstanding release in this wave was inevitable since unlike Sail Away -- an equally brilliant record -- Good Old Boys does have a full-fledged back story in the form of Johnny Cutler's Birthday, a rough draft Randy Newman wrote and recorded of the entire album. This is a find of monumental proportions, at least for Newman fans and scholars, because it not only is an embryonic incarnation of one of his greatest works, it has its own character and identity, especially since it has eight songs that did not make it to the final album. Since it captures Newman alone at the piano, providing narrative explanation between songs, this is a remarkably intimate document chronicling the birth of greatness -- and though you have to be dedicated to be interested in this, most Newman fans are dedicated; this is a wonderful listen, revealing and musically absorbing at the same time. It emphasizes the strength of Good Old Boys. Like David Wild says in his fine liner notes, the album is like a collection of short stories, and each of the new songs on Johnny Cutler's Birthday is a newly unearthed story, in the same spirit and sentiment as the original, yet fresh and unpredictable. It would be worth 20 dollars or more on its own, which is why it's such a delight to have it as a bonus disc here, coupled with a remastered version of this great album, along with liner notes from Wild and an introduction from Newman, as well as rare photos and replications of advertisements. Overall, it's a tremendous package. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine