Randy Leedy

This five disc, U.K.-only box set includes a remarkably solid quintet of full albums from Randy Newman, including his eponymous 1968 debut, 1970's 12 Songs, 1972's Sail Away, 1973's Good Old Boys, and 1977's Little Criminals, the latter of which featured the novelty hit "Short People."
An anomaly among early-'70s singer/songwriters, Randy Newman may have been slightly influenced by Bob Dylan, but his music owed more to New Orleans R&B and traditional pop than folk. Newman developed an idiosyncratic style that alternated between sweeping, cinematic pop and rolling R&B, which were tied together by his nasty sense of humor. Where his peers concentrated on confessional songwriting, Newman drew characters, creating a world filled with misfits, outcasts, charlatans, and con men…

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of this 1995 album from the jazz/R&B vocalist. This set includes a staggering 14 bonus remixes and exclusive interviews with Randy Crawford and Ralf Droesemeyer. This collection is a must for all acid jazz, jazz-funk, soul and dance fans everywhere!

For their expanded 2002 reissue of Randy Newman's classic Sail Away album, Rhino/Reprise unearthed five previously unissued gems. Of these, arguably the most notable is the studio version of "Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong," originally released on the stop-gap Randy Newman Live album; it was left off the album because Newman and his producers felt that he didn't capture the song but, decades later, this sounds every bit as good, if not better, than the issued live version. Of the remaining four bonus tracks, only "Let It Shine" isn't an alternate version or demo, and while it's not quite up to the high standards of the other songs on Sail Away, it's still quite strong. If the early version of "Dayton, Ohio – 1903" isn't radically different, the early version of "Sail Away" is – bouncy and bluesy, its humor more apparent. Finally, the demo of "You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a little rawer than the album version and wholly welcome. Though these five bonus tracks are the main attraction for Randy Newman fans, the remastered sound, the liner notes by David Wild, introduction by Randy, and rare photos make this another wonderful reissue in Rhino's line of Newman expanded editions.

Randy (born Veronica Crawford) is a brilliant American soul singer who had a UK top five hit (Street life) as un-credited vocalist with the Crusaders in 1973, then had two UK top five hits (One day I'll fly away, Almaz) in the eighties as a solo singer. Randy never achieved this level of success in her homeland. Apart from those three major hits, Randy had two other UK top twenty hits (You might need somebody, Rainy night in Georgia) and several minor hits, three of which (Imagine, Secret combination, One hello) are included here. Most of the songs here are originals but, with her outstanding voice, Randy is a great interpreter of other people's songs, as this collection shows. This collection truly is the very best of Randy Crawford, one of the finest soul singers there has ever been.

On his debut album, Randy Newman sounded as if he was still getting used to the notion of performing his own songs in the studio (despite years of cutting songwriting demos), but apparently he was a pretty quick study, and his second long-player, 12 Songs, was a striking step forward for Newman as a recording artist. While much of Randy Newman was heavily orchestrated, 12 Songs was cut with a small combo (Ry Cooder and Clarence White take turns on guitar), leaving a lot more room for Newman's Fats Domino-gone-cynical piano and the bluesier side of his vocal style, and Randy sounds far more confident and comfortable in this context. And Newman's second batch of songs were even stronger than his first (no small accomplishment), rocking more and grooving harder but losing none of their intelligence and careful craft in the process…

This five disc, U.K.-only box set includes a remarkably solid quintet of full albums from Randy Newman, including his eponymous 1968 debut, 1970's 12 Songs, 1972's Sail Away, 1973's Good Old Boys, and 1977's Little Criminals, the latter of which featured the novelty hit "Short People."
An anomaly among early-'70s singer/songwriters, Randy Newman may have been slightly influenced by Bob Dylan, but his music owed more to New Orleans R&B and traditional pop than folk. Newman developed an idiosyncratic style that alternated between sweeping, cinematic pop and rolling R&B, which were tied together by his nasty sense of humor. Where his peers concentrated on confessional songwriting, Newman drew characters, creating a world filled with misfits, outcasts, charlatans, and con men…

Available together for the first time ever - the hits of The Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive - woven together with some highly entertaining stories by the man behind the music - Randy Bachman. Over a dozen top 10 hits performed by Bachman and his band during a live "unplugged" concert set, recorded in Vancouver in April 2002. The arrangements are hot and the stories behind the songs are absorbing as Randy tells the often-humorous anecdotes behind some of the biggest pop music hits of the last 30 years. Tracks include: No Sugar Tonight, Undun, Let it Ride, These Eyes, Laughing, Four Wheel Drive, No Time, American Woman, Hey You, Looking out for #1, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet, Takin Care of Business, Shakin All Over.