Randy Newman - Trouble In Paradise (1983)

For years, I listened to covers of the song Same Girl from smooth jazzers David Sanborn and Chris Botti so I picked up this disc to hear the original version. I was also familiar with the ironic, iconic anthem I Love L.A. from the radio and (far more likely) MTV back when it bubbled under the pop charts at #110 in April 1983. I like the album overall, but its themes of excess and hedonism written in character get to be a little depressing after awhile. (What else would you expect with an album title like that, Mark?) I would have loved the themes back in the '80s, however, mainly because I wouldn't have fully understood the deadpanned facetiousness back then. And from what I read elsewhere, there's still plenty of adults who don't pick up on the subtlety of the lyrics, perhaps fooled by the upbeat music. There's no denying Newman can write hooks in practically any genre, and there's lots of familiar studio greats in the back up band, including Nathan East, Paulinho Da Costa, Neil Larsen, Ernie Watts, and Dean Parks, plus Steve Lukather, David Paich, and Jeff Porcaro of Toto. This is one of those CDs that I'm glad I picked up and I'm happy to finally become familiar with the songs on the album, but it won't go into rotation here at blog headquarters.

In 1989, Rolling Stone magazine listed Trouble In Paradise at #67 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the '80s:

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "He may be the king of wit in pop music today, but that's mainly because he is a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind."
• High Fidelity: "Another strong pop work originally recorded on digital gear."
• Rolling Stone (★★★★): "both humorous and heartfelt"
• Robert Christgau: A- 

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #64
• CashBox: #54
• Rolling Stone: #30

Tracks: My top picks on this listening are I Love L.A. (which includes a typically fantastic solo from Lukather), The Blues (a duet with Paul Simon, #51 pop, #36 AC), the hilarious My Life Is Good, and the aforementioned Same Girl, a ballad about being in love with a junkie, is hauntingly beautiful.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. You didn't ask, but my all-time favorite Newman song is When She Loved Me, recorded by Sarah McLachlin for the movie Toy Story 2.