Thursday, September 15, 2022

Steve Goodman: “The Best Of Steve Goodman” (2021) CD Review

This is certainly not your typical greatest hits compilation, but then again Steve Goodman was not your typical singer/songwriter. The Best Of Steve Goodman does contain the songs you’d want on such a compilation, but includes live recordings and even a couple of previously unreleased tracks. So while being a good place for new fans to start, this album is also something that longtime fans will appreciate. Some of these tracks were previously included on the compilation No Big Surprise: The Steve Goodman Anthology, which came out in 1994, while others come from Live Wire, which was released in 2000. Only a few tracks actually come from his original studio albums.

The disc opens with what is still Steve Goodman’s most famous composition, “City Of New Orleans,” a song that has been covered by a lot of artists over the years, including Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson, who each had a hit with it. The version included on this disc is a solo demo version, and it is absolutely wonderful. This is one of the previously unreleased tracks, and it is unknown just where and when this recording was made. It is longer than Steve Goodman’s studio version, and features some really nice work on guitar. That’s followed by “Yellow Coat,” one of the tracks previously included on No Big Surprise. It was recorded in 1981, but this song is a decade older, having been featured on Steve Goodman’s self-titled debut studio album, which came out in 1971. The version on this compilation has a more somber sound, and I actually think this is better than that first rendition. The version of “Would You Like To Learn To Dance” included here was recorded on that same date in 1981, and was also included on No Big Surprise. There is a wonderfully intimate feel to this recording. “You sing so much better when you sing with a smile/That’s what makes all the notes come out so sweet and high.”

This disc’s version of “You Never Even Call Me By My Name” is another track that was previously unreleased. It was recorded live on Johnny Cash’s America on July 2, 1982, and Johnny Cash introduces Steve Goodman. Though it is clear from a bit of the introduction that Cash is referring to “City Of New Orleans,” not “You Never Even Call Me By My Name.” Cash says, “It’s one of the classic railroad songs of the age.” Then Steve Goodman introduces “You Never Even Call Me By My Name,” mentioning that it was co-written by John Prine, and that David Allan Coe also recorded it. This is a total delight. I’ve heard this song many times, and it still makes me laugh at certain points. That’s followed by “The Dutchman,” a song that Steve Goodman did not write, but popularized when he included it on his 1972 LP Somebody Else’s Troubles. It was written by Mike Smith. The version on this CD was recorded at WFMT in Chicago, and originally included on No Big Surprise.

The live version of “Chicken Cordon Bleus” included here was originally included on Steve Goodman’s 1983 album Artistic Hair. This is a fun track, and the audience is into it from the moment he starts it. Just before the end, Steve Goodman asks, “Where are the chords?” That’s followed by another live recording, this one from 1977, and originally included on No Big Surprise. “Lincoln Park Pirates” comes from his 1972 LP Somebody Else’s Troubles, and is one of Steve Goodman’s songs about the city of Chicago. He is clearly having a good time with this one, and this recording is wonderful. Then “This Hotel Room” comes from Live Wire. Steve Goodman introduces the song, joking, “You know, I hate songs about the road, you know, because who cares.” The audience gets really into it, clapping along and hollering out at certain moments. Yeah, you get a sense what a great performer he was from this track. “Banana Republics” also comes from Live Wire.

“Video Tape” was recorded in London in 1977, and was originally included on The Easter Tapes, which came out in 1996. This song was originally included on his 1977 LP Say It In Private. “If your life was on video tape/Wouldn’t everything be all right/When your head hurts the morning after/Then you could roll it back to late last night/You could replay all the good parts/And cut out what you don’t like.” That’s followed by “My Old Man,” another track from Live Wire. Steve Goodman introduces this one. It’s a funny and sweet song about his father, and the audience is clearly into it. “He only made it to fifty-eight/And for the first time since he died/Late last night I cried/And I wondered when I was going to do that/For my old man.” Geez, those lines have me in tears. That’s followed by a live recording of “Men Who Love Women Who Love Men” from 1979, with a full band. I love this song, which is a song about various forms of love. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “There are those who make love to machines/That don’t talk back and are easy to clean/And there are those who will tell you out loud/That they can only make love in a crowd.” And I love these lines: “In the pursuit of true love’s joy/Boys will be girls and girls will be boys/But sometimes it’s hard to know what to do/When you don’t know who you’re talking to.”

Then we get a few tracks from Affordable Art, Steve Goodman’s last studio album, beginning with “Talk Backwards,” a song with a jazzy vibe. “Souvenirs” is a song that John Prine wrote, and John Prine joins him on it. I still can’t believe Prine is gone. Though Affordable Art is a studio album, there are a few live tracks on it. One of those is the hilarious “Vegematic.” It might come as no surprise that Shel Silverstein had a hand in writing this one. “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” is another live track from Affordable Art, this one obviously about the Chicago Cubs. Steve Goodman was a big Cubs fan, and did not live long enough to see the Cubs win the World Series in 2016 (the only good thing that happened in that foul year). It is fitting to follow “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” with “Go Cubs Go,” a song released as a single in 1984. This song was used as WGN Radio’s Cubs theme. It became popular again in 2016 when the Cubs finally won the World Series (first time since 1908). That is followed by “Face On The Cutting Room Floor,” a song from Santa Ana Winds, the first posthumously released Steve Goodman album. It is about a woman who wanted to make it as an actor, but was led astray. “She is history/No one will give her the star on the walk/She’d have a hundred if pillows could talk/Where have I seen her before/Well, she’s the face on the cutting room floor.” This collection concludes with Steve Goodman’s somewhat playful rendition of the classic number “As Time Goes By,” featuring some good guitar work.

CD Track List

  1. City Of New Orleans
  2. Yellow Coat
  3. Would You Like To Learn To Dance
  4. You Never Even Call Me By My Name
  5. The Dutchman
  6. Chicken Gordon Bleus
  7. Lincoln Park Pirates
  8. This Hotel Room
  9. Banana Republics
  10. Video Tape
  11. My Old Man
  12. Men Who Love Women Who Love Men
  13. Talk Backwards
  14. Souvenirs
  15. Vegematic
  16. A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request
  17. Go Cubs Go
  18. Face On The Cutting Room Floor
  19. As Time Goes By

The Best Of Steve Goodman was released on November 5, 2021 through Omnivore Recordings.

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