The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1

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The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 contains newly recorded, stripped down versions of some of Newman's best known songs, performed by Randy Newman singing and playing the piano without accompaniment.

The album spans a 33-year period, from early songs like "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" and "Living Without You" to "The World Isn't Fair" from his Bad Love album (1999). Also included are three instrumental extracts from his film scores.^[2][3]

Details

Re-recording older songs forced Newman to reassess his previous work. "I was surprised at the consistency. Whether good or bad, there were no real jumps in quality or drop-offs that I could tell when I listened to it. There were no real bad surprises. A lot of things I would have done differently, in terms of tempo or arrangement."^[4]

Newman said the album was different to his other work. "It's sort of an ugly Norah Jones record. You can put it on and eat potato chips and drink Pepsi to it, unlike my other records," he said.^[4]

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Randy Newman

1. "It's Lonely At The Top" (actually a medley of the uncredited "Dexter's Tune", an instrumental from 'Awakenings', and "Lonely At The Top") – 3:13
2. "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" – 3:23
3. "Louisiana 1927" – 2:56
4. "Let Me Go" – 2:37
5. "Rednecks" – 3:05
6. "Avalon" (Instrumental) – 0:58
7. "Living Without You" – 2:16
8. "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" – 2:57
9. "You Can Leave Your Hat On" – 2:32
10. "It's Money That I Love" – 2:16
11. "Marie" – 2:56
12. "When She Loved Me" (Instrumental) – 1:03
13. "Sail Away" – 2:58
14. "The World Isn't Fair" – 3:07
15. "Political Science" – 2:02
16. "The Great Nations Of Europe" – 3:24
17. "In Germany Before The War" – 3:49
18. "Ragtime" (Instrumental) – 1:25

Personnel

Randy Newman - vocals, piano

Lyric changes

A line in "It's Money That I Love" was changed from "it'll get you a half-pound of cocaine And a sixteen-year old girl" to "it'll get you a half-pound of cocaine And a nineteen-year old girl" (in the US, the age of consent varies between sixteen and eighteen on a state-by-state basis).

References