Randy Newman: American Dreams

by Kevin Courrier

Among his peers, Randy Newman is considered one of the most respected singer-songwriters in contemporary American music. For over 40 years, he has composed a variety of hits for artists as diverse as Judy Collins, Three Dog Night, and Tom Jones. In 1997, Newman caused controversy with the chart-topping “Short People,” wrote the stage musical Faust, and became a successful composer for such acclaimed films as The Natural, Avalon, Toy Story, and Monsters Inc. Yet, despite his vast body of work, Newman is still far from being a household name.

This book examines why this enigmatic, audacious composer has been so largely unacknowledged — and misunderstood — by listeners and fans alike. With detailed precision, Courrier delves into the reasons for Newman’s peripheral status on the cultural landscape, suggesting that, at heart, he has always been a musical outsider and built a career in the mainstream by donning a brilliant disguise. This is an illuminating portrait of the artist as a masked man — an Artful Dodger taking readers on an equivocal voyage up through the streams and tributaries of a vast and sometimes tragically complex American domain.

Genres: Music

348 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did this book get on my nerves? I love Randy Newman, and think he richly deserves a book that takes his entire career seriously. And I agree with many of Courrier's overall points about Newman's work. He shares my regard of Newman's albums, that 12 Songs, Sail Away and Good Old Boys are the masterpieces, and Land of Dreams and Bad Love are the strongest of his latter works.

But Courrier frequently pivots off of Newman to discuss other works, writers, musicians etc. to ostensibly shed light on his work. A few pages on Huey P. Long makes sense, since he is pivotal figure in the songs and themes of Good Old Boys. But using "The Beehive State" to examine the history of the Mormon religion, or turning Little Criminals into a brief on Elvis Costello's career reveals the frequent lack of focus that mars this book. Adding to this, there are no new interviews here, and while Courrier did his research and then some, it makes the book feel just a little bit more inessential, and a little bit more unworthy of someone of Newman's stature.

[Deke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I definitely don't agree with the author on many points, and I do wish the analysis of songs incorporated at least some musical elements, it's still good to read an in-depth, song-by-song book about the great Randy Newman.