His Eye Is On The Sparrow
by Mickey Newbury

"Friends all tell me how much I've changed,
I tell them no one stays the same." (I Don't know What They Wanted Me to Say)

His Eye is on the Sparrow is Mickey Newbury's eighth album. It is a small, yet significant change in the direction of his music.

Newbury is the underappreciated king of "outlaw country," though "outlier" would be a more appropriate term than "outlaw," as was too skilled of a songwriter to be confined to one genre. He had penned hits for pop, R&B, and country before he even became a recording artist, and had struggled as a "square peg" ever since in the glitzy Nashville scene.

After his marvelous anti-establishment Rain/'Frisco/Heaven album trilogy, Newbury had delved further into the Nashville country genre, producing great songs but finding little success. His Eye is On the Sparrow expands his expermentation on his Lovers album: classic pop and gospel.

The Sparrow LP is long out of print and the masters supposedly lost, so it is only available for purchase at Newbury's website. On acquiring a copy of the LP, one may see in the distance a rooftop sign that says "Jesus Saves." That is the theme of the album: Gospel and Christianity, which had been mostly absent in the entirety of his music up to this point. Combine the gospel with classic pop and you have a new formula that Newbury would follow for the rest of his recording career. The country element is still here, but it is pushed back to practically one track here, Goin to Alabama.

Newbury is focused, driven, and determined to entertain you. The result is a magnificent return to form and his most engaging album since Heaven Help the Child.

Recommended.

All but one song written by Mickey Newbury.

Digitally available at Mickey Newbury's website.

Track Pick: Wish I Was
Gems: Juble Lee's Revival, Goin' to Alabama, His Eye is On the Sparrow