If national treasure Randy Newman releases an album, you can bet it’s going to make my list of that year’s best work. And indeed, Newman’s Trouble in Paradise is my #6 album of 1983.
Best known for the minor hit ‘I Love L.A.,’ Trouble in Paradise is a satirical exploration of hedonism and excess, with songs such as ‘My Life Is Good’ and ‘There’s a Party at My House’ showcasing some of the most despicable characters Newman has ever voiced. Of course, they’re also hilarious.
Who but Randy Newman can deliver both laugh out loud funny and hauntingly sad songs with the same finesse?
Today’s SOTD, ‘Same Girl,’ from Newman’s 1983 album Trouble in Paradise, is a somber declaration of love from a pimp to one of his prostitutes. Another thing I love about Newman… he writes songs about things very few artists would ever consider.
Today’s Randy Newman song is far less bleak than this week’s first two entries. It’s quite fun, actually.
Last week’s selection from Randy Newman’s 1983 album Trouble in Paradise was ‘Real Emotional Girl,’ a sensitive portrait of a fragile woman. The Randy Newman of ‘My Life Is Good’ would brush aside that emotional girl in pursuit of the next hedonistic notch on his belt.
Ostensibly playing himself in this track, Newman takes us on a tour of the pleasures of being rich and famous. Travel, drugs, women, celebrity… the good life.
I’m jumping ahead 11 years to Randy Newman’s 1983 album Trouble in Paradise. Newman released three other albums between Sail Away and this one — Good Old Boys, Little Criminals and Born Again — but for some inexplicable reason I don’t own them.
Writing this blog, I sometimes run into these blind spots in my music collection. How can I not own nearly half of Randy Newman’s studio albums? I’m not even talking about the immense body of work he’s put together writing for the movies, just his proper solo albums. This injustice must be remedied!
Meet Me In Montauk 