Album: Randy Newman, The Randy Newman Songbook Vol 2 (Nonesuch)

There used to be an ad campaign claiming that "Nobody sings Dylan like Dylan", a boast that applies equally to Randy Newman.

Moreover, Newman never sounds more quintessentially Newman than when experienced, as here, alone at the piano, with the lyrical intricacies and ironies of his songs dependent on just his laconic delivery and trenchant accompaniment for their effect. This second anthology of his Songbook series draws from all phases of Newman's career, from the droll early classic "Yellow Man" through mid-period triumphs such as "Birmingham" and "Baltimore" – both good enough to be adopted as local anthems, and spiky enough to be rejected as such – to recent achievements like the heartbreaking "Losing You", as powerful a piece as any in his illustrious catalogue.

DOWNLOAD THIS Last Night I Had a Dream; Losing You; Baltimore