Randy Newman Bad Love CD

Not counting orchestral soundtrack albums and the guest-filled theater piece FAUST, BAD LOVE was the first album of Randy Newman songs in over a decade. As he moved into the '80s, Newman often blunted his lyrical wit with glossy L.A. overproduction, but with the help of '90s uberproducer Mitchell Froom, he's back on track here. Froom harnesses the power of Newman's piano and a full orchestra (who share the spotlight with a small band) for a sound that recalls Newman's early-'70s glory days.

Newman's famous irony and sarcasm are honed to a fine point here, but pointed more often at the singer than at the outside targets that filled his early albums. Newman's ironic streak is such that the listener becomes uneasy wondering how much distance exists between the composer and the unpleasant characters he portrays. On "Shame," he's a wealthy older man whose pleas to a younger, kept woman turn violent. "The World Isn't Fair" addresses Karl Marx directly in an attempt to reconcile the fall of socialist ideals with the prosperity of a liberal capitalist. Newman's lyrical prestidigitation would be for naught without his well-developed sense of humor and Gershwinesque melodic sensibility, which help make BAD LOVE such a powerful work.

Recorded at Sunset Sound Factory and Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California.

Recording information: Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, CA.

Personnel includes: Randy Newman (vocals, piano); Steve Donnelly (guitar); Gregory Leisz (pedal steel guitar); Brandon Fields, Martin Krystall, Jack Nimitz, Brian Scanlon, Thomas Scott (saxophone); Stu Blumberg, Oscar Brashear (trumpet); Bruce Fowler, George Thatcher (trombone); James Self (tuba); Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Gregory Cohen (bass); Pete Thomas (drums); Carmen Carter, Donna Davidson, Linda Harmon, Scottie Haskell, Luana Jackman, Teresa James, Melissa Mackay, Kate Markowitz, Bobbi Page, Sally Stevens-Eskew, Carmen Twillie, Terry Wood, Herb Pedersen (background vocals).

Rolling Stone (7/8-22, pp.146-147) - 3 1/2 Stars (out of 5) - "...typical cast of unsettling characters...gorgeous, hymn-like melodies....The effect is complex and deep in way that only Newman can be, and for that reason alone, BAD LOVE is good to have..."
Spin (9/99, p.195) - 7 out of 10 - "...his third real album in 20 years....it lets him blur the line between himself and his deliberately repulsive characters with a rejuvenated belch..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/4/99, pp.81-2) - "...[Newman's] in form with BAD LOVE, which is really an album about bad lonesomeness....His best work has always produced the queasy feeling that he (and you) could relate to his untrustworthy narrators, and there's plenty to identify with..." - Rating: B+
Q (8/99, p.106) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...a rare treat in more ways than one....[Newman's] droll, sardonic lines and pithy satires of the heartless and clueless are sharper than ever....BAD LOVE is [his] best album since SAIL AWAY, and his most accessible yet."
CMJ (7/12/99, p.28) - "...BAD LOVE ranks among his best-sounding albums. Stocked with poignant, tastefully arranged songs about the fall of Marxism and European colonialism...one of his better collection of songs."
Mojo (Publisher) (7/99, p.93) - "...quietly spectacular return to championship form....this eccentric blend of vinegary satire and conversational intimacy remains a blessed thing....Accept no substitute."