ALBUM REVIEW: Randy Newman - Randy Newman

    The old Los Angeles scene in the late 60s produced a cavalcade of new pop music sounds amidst the rise of psychedelia - I've talked about and acclaimed this sound in the past, and I suppose I'll risk sounding like a broken record. A certain tradition to the music of a bygone time and themes of old Americana throughout poignant compositions and some great hooks, and three people led the charge for this singular brand of baroque pop music - Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, and today's focus, Randy Newman. Newman had already established himself as a songwriter of notoriety by the release of this album, to the point where his debut (sometimes referred to as Creates Something New Under the Sun) was advertised as "like a greatest hits" albums when released. While Newman's debut hints at some of the cynicism and dry wit of his brilliant 70s work, ultimately the album lacks in term of his future work - some particularly weaker cuts and some severe overproduction does shoot the album in the foot at some places. While it's a good enough debut for Newman, it's only a parting glimpse at his brilliance.

    By far the album's weakest aspect is not in Newman's songwriting, which still has hints of sarcasm bubbling beneath, as well as a real tinge of beauty on moments like "Cowboy" and "I Think It's Going to Rain Today", two songs that showcase the best of the album. It's also not in Newman's southern singing accent and his tendency to sing a little higher than comfort on some songs. No, the weakness is in the extreme orchestral influence, which feels just a little bit misplaced on this album. On albums like Sail Away, it was utilized much more tastefully than the overproduction on some of the album's material here - the worst of it is on songs like "Living Without You" or "So Long Dad", whose Brian Wilson-esque production style does more to detract than to add to the experience. I'm gonna put blame on Van Dyke Parks here, seeing that he co-produced this album here - I feel these arrangements would work far better for someone like Parks than they do with the more nasal Newman. It's not always misplaced, and on some songs like "Love Story" or "Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad" you can stomach it better, but more often than not it sounds a bit like a failed experiment.

    Some of Newman's weaker material is also on this album, unfortunately. While moments like "Love Story", "Linda", or the aforementioned "Cowboy" and "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" are still amongst some of Newman's better tunes, there's some material on this that I ultimately find not that enjoyable. "Davy the Fat Boy" is a popular Newman tune, but ultimately I find it too juvenile to be that enjoyable, and "Laughing Boy" is just a little too simple - this song also probably has the worst case of the album's noisy and too "big" production. Even with these weak points, this is Randy Newman, and he's been a beloved songwriter for almost six decades now. "I Think He's Hiding" was a Newman song that I honestly wasn't familiar with prior to this album, and I think it's one of his better tunes on the album. Same goes for "Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad", which may actually be one of my favorite Newman songs - love the rhythm on this version. I will continue to forever rave about the heartbreaking nature of "Cowboy", and the trumpet solo on this one sells it even more for me - really, the slower moments on the album showcase the best of Newman at this stage.

    It should be little surprise that the album didn't sell well, although Newman never was that big of a record mover. Whether or not the album didn't do all that well in part because of its flaws is not for me to say, but I do know that the flaws on this album ultimately hold it back from being one of Newman's finer works. Still, I've seen people defend this album precisely because of its production stylings - it has lovely aspects at points, sure, but I just don't think it suits Newman. For fans, though, I'm sure there will at least be something here to be enjoyed, as many of the things that makes Newman one of the greatest songwriters of his generation is here in a semi-embryonic form. My thoughts? Just get Nilsson Sings Newman instead. 

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Randy Newman.