Havana Midnight Bob Neuwirth Diesel Motor Records, 2000 Buy it online Tracks 1: Havana Midnight 2: The First Time 3: Dead Man's Clothes 4: Miracles/Milagros 5: Don Quixote 6: The Call 7: Look Up 8: Havana Farewell 9: Aracely's Natias   Reviewed by David Middleton	Much has been made of Bob Neuwirth's trip to Cuba, his visit with Oscar-nominated arranger/composer José Maria Vitier and the collaborative album, Havana Midnight, that came out of their association. Visa difficulties, contrasting musical disciplines, comparisons to Ry Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club and the au courant hipness of it all -- but none of that really matters, least of all to Neuwirth. Doing anything artistic, in Neuwirth's estimation, hardly needs reason. Just to do it is enough. Neuwirth believes that the art should come first and finding a venue for it, second. The trip to Cuba was, for Neuwirth, a musical experiment, not meant to make money or bring fame but to see if cultural and artistic differences could be successfully shared. Havana Midnight is testament to the notion that art can be made for art's sake. Good art in fact. Arranged and recorded in under a week, Havana Midnight is an album that defies genre (though Neuwirth himself likes to call it CuBilly). Classical, jazz, blues, traditional Cuban and folk are but a few of the musical influences these nine songs glide in and out of. With Neuwirth composing, singing and playing guitar and Vitier arranging, playing piano and conducting a small orchestra of conservatory-trained Cuban musicians, Havana Midnight combines the best of both artist's experience. Vitier's dedication to musical structure along with his lovely instrumental and vocal arrangements keep Havana Midnight a tightly woven blend of Latin-edged harmonies and countermelodies to Neuwirth's laissez-faire folksy style and raspy, almost stream of consciousness vocal meanderings. Neuwirth is no great vocalist -- he has what some might call a weathered Willie Nelson sound -- but he sings true and honest feelings that seem to be wrung straight from his soul. Throughout his career, Neuwirth has kept a pretty low public profile. Yet, with his credentials, you'd wonder why you may not have heard of this talented performer before. He has toured with such luminaries as John Cale, Warren Zevon, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan, written songs for Janis Joplin (with whom he wrote the immortal "Mercedes Benz"), Concrete Blonde and k.d. lang, produced albums for T-Bone Burnett and Vince Bell, even filmed the Monterey Pop Festival. And that just scratches the surface of Neuwirth's diverse list of accomplishments. With Havana Midnight, Neuwirth comes across as a song writer with a flair for poetry that is melancholy, cryptic and humorous. And often all of these in the same song. Who made you feel like a million pesos Where did all that money go When is an open ended question Why is a rose is a rose is a rose Who is the moon to cast shadows How does love go when it goes Why would a man chase a dragon then sing songs In a dead man's clothes -- in a dead man's clothes Every modern border town hell hole in the world Claims a living legend as its own Far from home, every late night two-bit jukebox Has a song for someone that's gone When I'm gone turn me into ashes -- someone throw these words on a stone -- "There blows one very lucky guy dressed to the nines in a dead man's clothes" Without the apprehension of having to please record companies and executives or the worry about cost per hour in a U.S.-based recording studio, Neuwirth and Vitier have come up with an album that is without artifice. As a result, Havana Midnight is infused with a relaxed and unpretentious mood. The album works its way through its nine songs as peacefully as the reflection of a Cuban moon slipping across the water. | August 2000 David Middleton is the art director of Blue Coupe magazine and his in-depth knowledge for all things Cuban is pretty much limited to reruns of "I Love Lucy". He's got a lotta 'splainin' to do.	Without the apprehension of having to please record companies and executives or the worry about cost per hour in a U.S.-based recording studio, Neuwirth and Vitier have come up with an album that is without artifice. As a result, Havana Midnight is infused with a relaxed and unpretentious mood.