While I have Randy Newman on my mind, here’s a song of his written for Dusty Springfield and recorded for her classic Dusty in Memphis album. This is a whole different style for Newman, more of a Burt Bacharach song than anything you’d find on one of his own records.
Unlike some of Newman’s songs that were hits for other people (Three Dog Night’s ‘Mama Told Me Not to Come,’ for example), I can’t really imagine him performing this one. On the other hand, that’s often when you get the most interesting performances. I remember being very impressed with Paul Simon’s live solo version of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ a song he clearly wrote for the voice of Art Garfunkel.
I did some poking around to see if Newman ever recorded this song and it appears he did not. Nor did he record ‘Just One Smile,’ his other contribution to Dusty in Memphis. I guess it was enough for him to hear the British broad in the beehive doing them justice.
We don’t live so good
The rooms are small
And the buildings made of wood
I hear the neighbors talking ’bout you and me
I guess I heard it all
‘Cause the talk is loud
And the walls are much too thin
He don’t really love her
That’s what I heard them say
He sure wasn’t thinking of her today, oh no
(He wasn’t thinking of her today)
I saw them in the front yard
Said the boy in room 149
He was talking to a girl I’ve never seen before
And standing there together, oh they looked so good
I don’t want to hear it anymore
(I don’t want to hear it)
I don’t want to hear it anymore
(Anymore)
‘Cause the talk just never ends
And the heartache soon begins
The talk is so loud
And the walls are much too thin
Ain’t it sad, said the woman down the hall
That when a nice girl falls in love
Ain’t it just too bad that she had to fall
For a boy who doesn’t care for her at all?
(It’s so sad)
I don’t want to hear it anymore
(I don’t want to hear it)
I just can’t stand to hear it anymore
(Anymore)
‘Cause the talk just never ends
And the heartache soon begins
The talk is so loud
And the walls are much too thin
I don’t want to hear it anymore
(Can’t stand to hear it)
(Don’t want to hear it)
I just can’t stand to hear it anymore
(Don’t talk about it)
(Can’t stand to hear it)
Oh, baby, baby
I just can’t stand
Meet Me In Montauk 
I had never heard this song before. And I completely agree that it is hard to hear Newman’s “voice” in the song. I too would love to hear Newman do this. He should release an album consisting only of songs he has written for others. Maybe then we would get something “new” from Newman more than every 10 years!
I love that Newman can write such wonderful songs for women to sing. Sign me up for the album where he sings it. This makes me want to go explore all of the other Randy Newman songs recorded by other artists that I have never heard.
Here’s the other song Newman wrote for Dusty in Memphis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0Chvg6G2xo
And the same song recorded by Blood Sweat & Tears: