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Article: Randy takes the rough route to the heart Randy Newman Royal Festival Hall, London
- Article from:
- The Scotsman
- Article date:
- February 24, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 The Scotsman. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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HE WAS afraid it was going to be the hardest evening of his life,
surrounded as he was by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. But he was
being modest if not disingenuous. Randy Newman's songs are
deceptively simple: they can stand alone with one man at the piano,
or be scored for orchestra with all their complexities and
subtleties .
Newman's track record as a multi-Academy Award nominee for film
scores and songs are evidence enough that he knows his way round a
stave. His reputation is built on cruel humour, as a chronicler of
man's (and it is mostly men's) foibles. He strips away
sentimentality even though one suspects he is sentimental, just as
he understates his own melodies, perhaps ...