Randy Newman (album)

Randy Newman
Studio album by
Randy Newman
ReleasedApril 1968[1]
Recorded1968
Genre
Length27:24
LabelReprise
Producer
Randy Newman chronology
Peyton Place
(1966) 		Randy Newman
(1968) 		12 Songs
(1970)
Singles from Spring
  1. "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"/"The Beehive State"
    Released: 1968
Revised cover
Cover used for later releases

Randy Newman is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman, released in 1968 by Reprise Records. The album is sometimes referred to as Randy Newman Creates Something New Under the Sun, written on the reverse of the album sleeve.[4][5] Newman had been a noted songwriter for some years prior to the release of his debut, which was advertised as sounding "like a greatest hits".[6] In contrast to his later albums which usually feature Newman and his piano with a rock backing, Randy Newman is highly orchestral.

Randy Newman was not a commercial success. It never dented the Billboard Top 200; indeed, according to Ken Tucker, the album sold so poorly that Warner offered buyers the opportunity to trade the album for another in the company's catalog.[7] The album was out of print for over 15 years until it was issued on CD in 1995, remastered by Lee Herschberg. Randy Newman has received critical attention in recent years. In 2000, it was placed number 716 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[8] In 2017, the album was ranked the 97th greatest album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.[9]

  1. ^ Billboard magazine April 27, 1968, pp. 1, 48
  2. ^ Deming, Mark. Sail Away Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  3. ^ Butler, Christian (6 November 2016). "Randy Newman: still biting, still brilliant". Spiked.
  4. ^ Courrier, Kevin (7 November 2005). Randy Newman's American Dreams. ECW Press. p. 119. ISBN 9781550226904. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ William Ruhlmann, Review of Randy Newman, Allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  6. ^ "Billboard" (PDF). Billboard. 27 April 1968. p. 1. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  7. ^ Tucker, Ken (1986). "The 'New Beatles'". Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. New York: Summit. p. 512. ISBN 0-671-54438-1.
  8. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 229. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  9. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. August 22, 2017.