Trouble in Paradise

iTunes Review

The presentation is pure ‘80s studio pop, expert L.A. session players providing the color (Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, David Paich) and superstars adding harmonies throughout (Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Bob Seger, Rickie Lee Jones, Paul Simon, Lindsey Buckingham). But the songs are pure Randy Newman: satirical, biting, sung in the voices of untrustworthy narrators, bigots, pompous blowhards and generally people who should think before they sing. “I Love L.A.” catalogs the high, low and banal points of his chosen city. “My Life is Good” takes a practical look at the conspicuous consumption of the Rich and Famous (that has since spiraled out of control). The winners often look like the losers, as the pathetic narrator that lives in a shack by the airport in “Take Me Back” could easily fill the shoes of the guy who thinks he’s special in “I’m Different.” “Song for the Dead” is simply eerie for its lack of satire as the ugly truth of war is laid out in patriotic emptiness. These are easy songs to hum, but not to sing. Newman never shies from the decay he sees facing him in the sunshine.