Randy Newman

"Here we are, living in paradise," sang Elvis Costello a few albums ago, and while Randy
Newman probably would agree with that statement, he'd be more interested in its
underlying frustration: if this is paradise, why aren't we happy? On his ninth album,
Newman has chosen to explore the ambivalences of paradise, not only sundrenched
climes, but ostensibly ideal situations as well: parties, self-confidence, true love... More >

The reason 1979's Born Again took three years to sink in for me was that Newman never pinned down the distance between himself and the creeps he wrote his first-person songs about. Because he's gained control as a singer, his oafish drawl here turns into a unifying voice, and the accompaniments are as eloquently integral as the American-colloquial pastiche of his Ragtime soundtrack. So this time the baffled racist of "Christmas in Capetown" and the happy-go-lucky Disney hero of "I'm Different" and the sentimental pimp of "Same Girl" and the mournfully manipulative patriot of "Song for the Dead" and the unflappably egoistic rock star of the outrageous "My Life Is Good" all seem to be the same guy. And while that guy isn't Newman, Newman does go out of his way to understand his point of view. (Grade: A-)