Rolling Stone (p.90)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "Newman works with piano, an orchestra and a Dixieland-style combo, using American musical tradition to amplify irony and yank heartstrings."Rolling Stone (p.90)
- Ranked #16 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "[He's] still fully armed with hilarious rage." Spin (p.120)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "The brilliantly nasty 'A Few Words In Defense of Our Country' flattens any other anti-Bush rant..." Entertainment Weekly (p.68)
- "The stunning title track -- an orchestrated mini-epic about a lout's near-death experience -- prove that Newman, at age 64, has more healthy bile in him than 64 angry twentysomethings." -- Grade: B Dirty Linen (p.85)
- "The man has a knack for taking the most direct path the crux of the matter....He does set the stage for a powerful script." Q (Magazine)
(p.108)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "Drolly funny and packed with the usual array of self-deluded fools and bigots, pride of place goes to 'A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country'..." Mojo (Publisher)
(p.69)
- Ranked #25 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "The set bowls along with jokes aplenty..." Blender (Magazine)
(p.84)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "Newman roots his compositions in uptown-New Orleans R&B, classy and swinging. He mixes in dense string arrangements, breezy horns, even pianette....This is Newman's most unwound album..." Paste (magazine)
(p.56)
- "So many laugh-out-loud moments resonate beyond the punchline, and each new spin of the album reveals another." | 
CD
5
