The Urban Hickster: January 2026

"Every kid that's singing right now is either mimicking Lefty Frizzell or George Jones. He was the first country singer to do little vocal twists. And that country style, and the clenched jaw style of George Jones, are basically what everybody is doing now."

- Mickey Newbury, 1997 interview

Without little fanfare or promotion, which not surprisingly aligns with the career of the oft-overlooked bard singer/songwriter, the late Mickey Newbury's mid 70s to early 80s career has returned to streaming services, bringing mass availability to several songs that have been lost for practically decades.

I am a fan of Mickey Newbury's music by means of his underwritten legacy brought to light by the magic of the internet. He is my favorite country singer/songwriter of all time. He is a masterclass of everything that makes an excellent performer: Supurb songwriting, emotive singing, and solid studio production. The dude was a phenomenal whistler too.

Newbury's music has largely been out of print and widely unavailable for years. He was one of the rare fortunates to own the rights to his own catalog since perhaps the late 1980s, but unfortunately the masters were lost. So when the CD era and digital eras landed, his music had practically no distribution and no presence, save for CDs and non-master digital tracks sold solely by his estate up until Fat Possum Records purchased his entire catalog in 2025, according to the Fat Possum website and a social media post by son Chris Newbury describing the family's decision to sell rights to Fat Possum.

So in disbelief, I was shocked that Newbury's three "classic" albums (Looks Like Rain, Frisco Mabel Joy and Heaven Help the Child) appeared on streaming services mid 2025 in their original form. Previously, they had been cluttered all together in a compilation called An American Trilogy, which was a shame because they are such beautiful testaments to artistry as they were originally presented to the public. So, still in disbelief I awaited the other long-lost studio albums to appear on the platform, the very same tracks that had been so rare that I could only purchase them though the family's website via digital tracks or a handsome CD box set.

And sure enough, on a silent early December night, Newbury's six studio albums appeared on streaming platforms, as promised by Fat Possum. And unless my ears deceive me, it appears the tracks are the original masters, but I have no evidence of this, and the tracks may very well be high fidelity reproductions of the original vinyl LPs.

To celebrate this occasion of Newbury's music seeing the light of day, here are ten tracks you can rediscover on your favorite streaming platform in 2026.

1. Wish I Was (Willow Tree) (1978)

Newbury's ode to humility is one of his absolute finest tracks. It's hard to believe this track was delivered by a country singer, proving Newbury's commitment to following his own muse. The rest of the album, His Eye is on the Sparrow, I can't really recommend to casual listeners.

2. The Sailor (1981)

Newbury released a lot of emotional songs with a melodramatic production but on his After All These Years he finally gets proper clean orchestral production to back him up. It's clearly a personal song, as Newbury mentions his wife Susan and his son Christopher. The album "After All These Years" is packed with mid-era Newbury gems. Highly recommended.

3. Blue Sky Shinin' (1979)

Newbury had such a refined taste and this track sounds like it could be an American standard from the days of old. He croons so well on this bittersweet track. The album The Sailor (which does not include the title track and does not relate to sailing at) is all over the place production-wise. Picture yacht rock and a honky tonk band trying to collaborate with a pop-soul producer, but damn, it has so many uplifting tracks, which is completely uncharacteristic of Newbury, and because of that I recommend giving it a listen.

4. Song of Sorrow / Let's Say Goodbye One More Time / That Was the Way It Was Then (1981)

Perhaps I'm cheating on this one by including multiple songs, but in true Newbury fashion some of his songs sound so similar that instead of fleshing them out entirely, Newbury bleeds them together in a tasteful medley. Practically the whole first side of this record is a medley and instead of bemoaning such a long track, listeners will revel in the seamless transition from track to track. Newbury is truly an artist for faithful listeners who listen to an album front to back.

5. Apples Dipped in Candy (1975)

Apples Dipped in Candy is one of Newbury's most unpredictable songs, as it masquerades as a country hoedown and then unveils a smokey bluesy stride before mellowing out into a ballad at the end. Truly unique. The album "Lovers" suffers from terribly muddled and dates production, but it's certainly his strongest album from his mid-period.

6. Lovers (1975)

Lovers is a tender heartbreaker, following a couple's decline from romance to separation. The emotional singing and storytelling just get you every time.

7. Goodnight (1975)

Newbury really knew how to close albums and this closer is an unexpected gem on the surprisingly strong album Lovers. Here, Newbury does what he knows best: craft wonderful, wistful ballads.

8. Bless Us All (1977)

Bless Us All is a back track from the "Rusty Tracks" album, which is absolutely Newbury's worst album. The album is fleshed with unfinished ideas and covers of American standards that just fall flat. Bless Us All is a delicious dark track that builds as Newbury explores the winners, losers and dreamers who live amongst us.

9. I Came to Hear the Music (1974)

Like many of Newbury's mid-era albums, I Came to Hear the Music is packed with half baked ideas and tracks that just don't work at all (Dizzy Lizzy). The title track is very similar to the title track on Newbury's prior album Heaven Help the Child. It's a sweet ballad that builds as Newbury's voice swells. Unfortunately, it still falls pretty short of his finest ballads.

10. Looking for the Sunshine (1979)

I wrote that The Sailor, despite questionable production, is the most chilled out album of Newbury's career. If you could choose one of his records for a lively party, The Sailor would be a fine choice. The album has plenty of Newbury's liveliest tracks in his while catalog, and Looking for the Sunshine is the liveliest studio track Newbury ever released.

Stream a personal playlist of Mickey Newbury's essentials here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2OMmZSxUci7rDArywRuSrC?si=_m69BVofQ96WdCyeTENMPg

The original fourteen Oz books are such a treasure. They are light-hearted and whimsical stories that never take themselves too seriously. They are for the curious, the creative and the young at heart. And as a bonus, these books have such incredible chic original drawings by illustrator John R. Neil.

Shout out to Del Rey publishing, as these mass market 1979 paperbacks, with eye-catching art by Michael Herring are responsible for me taking a chance on the series when I came across them in my local library when I was 10 in early summer of 2000. I like the attempt to market the series for teens and adults, as they are fun reads for children and adults alike, especially with the inclusion of all the fantastic black and white original artwork, not to mention publishing several of the Oz books by Baum's successor Ruth Plumly Thompson. Those books are more for children, and they certainly don't hold a candle to Baum's delightful fairyland.

Here, I rank the 14 original Baum Oz books. They are not particularly serial so you can read them in any order, unless for historical or chronological reasons you prefer to read them in the order they were published.

#14 The Road to Oz (1909)

A solid last is The Road to Oz, notoriouy devoid of plot. Half of it consistents of a travelogue to the Emerald City and the other half centers around a birthday celebration and yet another description of all the characters in and surrounding Oz.

The illustrations are standard but the original edition did not include color plates or color illustrations like the other books.

Below Average

#13 The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)

This book, like many mid-period Oz books, is simply par. It has Cap'n Bill and Trot, characters from Baum's book Sky Island, but honestly I can't remember much else about it.

Average

#12 Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)

Another mid-period Oz book that is just par. The return of the Nome King is great but the story isn't particularly memorable. Not to mention, this is recylced from a play interpretation of Ozma of Oz, so it's sadly an all too familiar story.

Average

#11 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)

This is probably the biggest dip in quality after the first three excellent books. The adventures and characters here are exceptional, as the characters wander through unknown fairlylands, and the storyline is fairly dark and twisted. However, a weak plot cannot really save this one.

Excellent illustrations, as usual, from Neill.

Average

#10 The Emerald City of Oz (1910)

Baum attempted to end the series with this split plot. The return of the Nome King and the invasion of Oz is the highlight, with several curious creatures and communities in Oz as a real treat.

#9 The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)

This is a decent mid-period book, with a decent plot and character development.

#8 The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)

Baum's longest Oz book is a joy to read.

#7 Rinkitink in Oz (1916)

This book borrowed an older unpublished manuscript that was revamped to include Oz characters at the end. It's a brilliant story and shimmering fairytale in my opinion. It was nice to have a book that wasn't saturated with the predictable characters and storylines that had begun to saturate mid-era Oz books.