Unreliably narrating ironically cheery, old-timey boogie-woogie and showtunes for new bleak times, Newman's back from the soundtrack racket (and Songbook celebrations) with his first set of freshly-penned songs in almost ten years. Deliciously ambiguous in dealing with U.S. highest-ups on "A Few Words In Defence Of Our Country" (and slyly skirting offence again on "Korean Parents"), it's when Newman names names, calling out cause-celebre spokesmen like Bono, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne on the slap-bang "A Piece Of The Pie", that this show really kicks into high gear.