Serenity in Hell

Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10

Oooohhhhhhh maaaaan. Glancing at that album cover, I would have thought that this would have been Randy Newman's return to form after that unusual Born Again album. (You know ... how he looks all normal there, as if it were a snapshot taken by a friend, and he's not wearing face-paint and such) ... but NOPE. Trouble in Paradise travels even further down the road of experimentalism, electronicism and pop-glory.

Not that I ever think that there is anything wrong with either three of those things. Technically speaking, I love it when an artist experiments, goes poppy (which can make things easier to enjoy), and dresses up songs with electronic noises! After all, that's like Brian Eno! And nothing gets better than BRIAN ENOOOOOOOOOO, pretty much.

But unfortunately, the material here is weaker ... quite a bit weaker than we've ever seen from this guy! Too many of these songs seem bleak or the melody seems weak and there's one case of TOO MUCH experimentalism ("Mikey's").

Nevertheless, Randy Newman still exhibits exceptional tastefulness throughout the album. Even though he might be singing a few too many DANCE songs, he doesn't turn into a Phil Collins. This is Randy Newman and he's trying to have fun!

Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10 (This is a bit of a downer for Randy Newman ... but it remains interesting. And there are a few good songs on here as well.)

Average Song Score: 8.2 (A nice handful of good, memorable songs. Unfortunately, there's a lot of relatively weak material on here.)

Album Tilt: 7.5 (Not so great as a collective album. Things seem random and unfocused.)

Artist Rating: 8.0 (Well, it could have been worse. Randy Newman could have been BORING! ... He's experimenting, and such is usually a good thing.)

Track Reviews

I Love L.A. 9/10

A dance song???? Seriously? This is the same good old Randy Newman to be sure, but ... I hadn't exactly pictured him doing dance songs! Well, it's not like he sacrificed his artistic integrity too much, anyway. This is very fun, after all, and the melody is pretty good.

Christmas in Capetown 7/10

This is a little disappointing, actually. The melody isn't that good and ... I do enjoy Newman's instrumental creativity on this (that was leftover from his cool Born Again album, but ... it just didn't turn into a great song here).

The Blues 8.5/10

Holy crap! Do you know who Randy Newman sounds like here? SUPERTRAMP!!!!! ... Well, I like Supertramp and Nnnewman gives us a good melody, so there's absolutely nothing, really, to complain about here. ... But ... why would Randy Newman want to be Supertramp when he could be Randy Newman???

Same Girl 7.5/10

Okay ... this is more like Randy Newman. No intricate pop production. No silly dance grooves. This is just him and a piano ....................... being rather bleak.

Mikey's 7/10

Whoah! This is a REALLY STRANGE song! Sounds sort of New Wavey and experimental at the same time. ... Interesting. ... It's not particularly good, though. Uhhhh... Hmmm...

My Life is Good 10/10

This song is weird and awesome at the same time! AND IT'S HILARIOUS!!!! OH MAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!! This thing cracks me up every time. The melody itself is very unfocused (and has about three seemingly unrelated themes), though, but all parts of it are fun and funny! (I especially love that part about Bruce Springsteen ... ohhhhhh man, I laugh UPROARIOUSLY EVERY TIME I HEAR THAT!!!!!!!!) Easily the best song on the album. NO CONTEST!!!!

Miami 9.5/10

I love this song, too. It's so happy and upbeat! This sounds like a regular good old Randy Newman song, except the song production is more polished ... and that's not a bad thing, of course! I love the piano in here, especially. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

Real Emotional Girl 7/10

This is another regular sounding Randy Newman song, except this one is slower paced and bleak. OooooooOooooooooooOOOooooooooo...

Take Me Back 7.5/10

Upbeat and happy, but where's the melody? ... And why the 80s pop organ??? ... Oh, wait. I forgot for a minute that this album was made in the 80s. Hmmmm...

There's a Party at My House 8/10

There's a party at your house?!????!!! Awesome! I'll bring over some pretzels and some cheese dip! Will there be women there? Because that would be even COOLER. ... Anyway, what's with this song? It's a plasticy sounding R&B dance song! MAN!!!! RANDY NEWMAAAANNNNNNNN. But it's fun. And the melody is kinda catchy. And the lyrics are ........ uhhhh, interesting.

I'm Different 8.5/10

NO KIDDING. And this is another fun, upbeat, almost regular song from Randy Newman! The lyrics are nice'n'cynical just the way I like my Randy Newman. And the song is catchy!

Song For the Dead 9/10

Heyyyy!!! This is a PRETTY song! It's one of his slower-paced, bleaker songs, except this one is verrrrrrry pretty indeed. ... Yup. Very pretty. Now who can go for some soup? Mmmmmmm... Soup................

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