Randy Newman has announced his first new album in 9 years, Dark Matter, out August 4. The album was produced by long-time Newman collaborators Mitchell Froom, Lenny Waronker, and David Boucher. The album’s nine songs include the 2016 released “Putin” plus songs about the Kennedy brothers, Sonny Boy Williamson, science vs. religion, love and loss, and more.
“In Randy Newman’s best music he leaves you wondering where you stand, what you think, what you believe, how the world works. [‘Putin’] is a postcard that may take years to truly be delivered.” - Pitchfork
“Newman ... has a knack for writing songs that … are so attuned to what’s going on in the U.S. that they become predictive, articulating uncomfortable thoughts that are in the air but had theretofore gone unarticulated.” - Vanity Fair
Dark Matter, Randy Newman’s first album of new material in nine years, is the follow-up to 2008’s acclaimed Harps and Angels, which The Guardian praised for its “sumptuous melodies, devastating pathos and thorny, irony-laden character songs,” calling it, “the work of a true master of popular song.”
Newman, who is known for writing from the perspective of various narrators, many of whom are unreliable, tried something new on Dark Matter: “If there is anything consistent about the songs, there is often more than one voice, in the big ones, and it’s different for me, a difficult thing to bring off, to make it comprehensible,” he says. “I think it works. They cover more ground than most songs do and portray a number of different characters. Audiences are smart. They’ll understand the songs. I hope they like them as well."
“I’m proud of the record,” Newman continues. “I think it’s entertaining—I hope it’s entertaining—and that’s eighty percent of what I try to do. Also, I’m doing something different than I’ve ever done before. It’s a step forward for me. And considering how long I’ve been doing this, I’m kinda proud of that.”
After starting his songwriting career as a teenager, Newman began recording as a singer and pianist in 1968 with a self-titled album. Throughout the 1970s, he released several other acclaimed albums such as 12 Songs, Sail Away, and Good Old Boys. As well as his solo recordings and regular international touring, Newman began composing and scoring for films in the 1980s. The list of movies he has worked on since then includes The Natural, Awakenings, Ragtime, all three Toy Story pictures, Seabiscuit, James and the Giant Peach, A Bug’s Life, and most recently, Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3.
Between 2003 and 2016, Nonesuch Records released three volumes of The Randy Newman Songbook, which contained solo recordings of songs from throughout Newman’s five-decade career, along with a three-CD box set of all volumes (a four-LP, limited-edition vinyl version included bonus tracks).
Randy Newman’s career has been impressive to say the least - his many honours include six Grammys, three Emmys, and two Academy Awards, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 - the same year he was given an Ivor Novello PRS for Music Special International Award. Newman also was presented with a PEN New England Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award in 2014.
Dark Matter Tracklisting:
- The Great Debate
- Brothers
- Putin
- Lost Without You
- Sonny Boy
- It’s a Jungle out There (V2)
- She Chose Me
- On the Beach
- Wandering Boy
Produced by Mitchell Froom, Lenny Waronker and David Boucher
Recorded and mixed by David Boucher
Randy Newman – piano/vocals
Matt Chamberlain – drums
David Piltch – bass
Blake Mills – guitar
Mitchell Froom – additional keyboards
If you want to catch some classic Newman tunes like "You’ve Got A Friend in Me" and "Short People" while you wait for the new record, check out The Randy Newman Songbook.
