Lovers (Mickey Newbury album)

The period leading up to the recording of Lovers was not a good one for Newbury; his father had suffered a stroke, he had endured painful back surgery and had been hospitalized for pneumonia, and he was drinking heavily.[2] AllMusic's Tom Jurek, who compares the album to Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, writes, "It's as if he's trying, through hard country, blues, gospel, R&B, lounge jazz, folk balladry, and even rock, to plead, beg, borrow, and scheme his way (apparently unsuccessfully) from under the bleak cloud that surrounds him." The album was produced by Chip Young, who had helmed Newbury's previous release I Came to Hear the Music, and was recorded at Youngun Sound Studios in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Although primarily recognized as a country singer and songwriter, Newbury stocked Lovers with a plethora of musical styles, including blues ("You've Always Got the Blues"), gospel ("Lead On") and heartfelt balladry ("Lovers", "Goodnight"). The title track's evocative line, "To think they once tore down a wall for a door" was inspired, by songwriter Hank Cochran, who lived in an adjoining apartment to country singer Jeannie Seely and, having grown tired of going into the hall to knock on her door, cut a hole through the wall with a chainsaw.[3] Newbury continued to mine new territory, especially for country music, by including a drum solo on "Let Me Sleep." In his Omaha Rainbow interview, Newbury stated that "Apples Dipped in Candy "was a reminiscent kind of thing, going into those kind of songs you hear on the riverboats. Kind of a blues, New Orleans feel."

The album marked the end of Newbury's remarkable artistic run with Elektra. Peter Blackstock of No Depression proclaims the early seventies "was a fertile time for budding songwriters, and Newbury was the best."

Lovers peaked at #172 on the Billboard albums chart.[4] AllMusic: "Given the sadness, melancholy, and even grief expressed on his earlier recordings, Newbury's familiarity with the shadow side of the soul is well-known, but none of his recordings cuts such a deep furrow into pain, pessimism, heartbreak, and futile longing as Lovers."

All tracks composed by Mickey Newbury

1. "Apples Dipped in Candy"
2. "Lovers"
3. "Sail Away"
4. "When Do We Stop Starting Over"
5. "Lead On"
6. "How's the Weather"
7. "If You Ever Get to Houston (Look Me Down)"
8. "You Always Got the Blues"
9. "Let Me Sleep"
10. "Good Night"

• Chet Atkins -guitar on "Apples Dipped in Candy"
• Bergen White - string arrangements
• Charles William Bush, Ed Caraeff - photography

Citations

Bibliography

• Ziemer, Joe (2015). Mickey Newbury Crystal & Stone (2nd ed.). AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781504914833.