Randy Goodrumm

Randy Newman was the nephew of film composers Alfred, Emil, and Lionel Newman, which would suggest at least some familiarity with the field, even though he had only scored one minor movie (Cold Turkey). And in his songs, heard on his series of solo albums, he displayed far more knowledge of popular music styles of the early 20th century than any of his singer/songwriter peers. Listening to his records, you could always tell that he knew his way around Scott Joplin's rags. Who better, therefore, than Newman to make his debut as a big-budget film composer by scoring an adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime? So must movie producer Dino DeLaurentiis have reasoned in giving Newman the assignment. And the result worked out quite well. Newman naturally re-created much of the cakewalking Tin Pan Alley style of the turn-of-the-century era depicted in the film, but he actually had a more challenging assignment than might have appeared, since the story moves from one social stratum to another and ranges in tone from the comic to the melodramatic to the tragic.

Following a very brief stint with prototype heavy metal heroes, Blue Cheer (only half of an album) Randy Holden released this solo album featuring only himself on guitar and a drummer. It's a masterpiece of thundering behemoth rhythms and a soaring wailing guitar. Holden's guitar sound is drenched in lysergic acid. His mastery of feedback rivals anything by the master Jimi Hendriz. One could even say his innovative and experimental style is in a class by itself. Unfortunately, Randy Holden never received much acclaim during his music career for reasons of bad management and associations with less talented musicians, but this single rare album, long unavailable even on vinyl is proof that many musical geniuses are so far ahead of their time that few listeners are able to appreciate their greatness. His retooling of "Fruit & Iceburgs" from his collaboration with Blue Cheer on their third LP (NEW AND IMPROVED)is a brutal musical journey into the paranoiac synesthesia of hallucinogenics far surpassing the original version. "Blue my Mind" also represents Holden's gripping ability to hypnotize the listener and absorb one into the musical landscape he creates. All in all a great album!

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.

Warmer is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Randy VanWarmer. After moving back to the United States from Cornwall, England in 1978 and settling in Woodstock, New York, twenty-three-year-old VanWarmer signed to local label Bearsville Records. A year later Warmer was released and produced by Del Newman. It was initially released on vinyl, 8-track, and cassette, and in 1995 it was released on compact disc. "Just When I Needed You Most" was written by VanWarmer when he was eighteen and still in England, and the song has been described as "a ballad of heartbreak from a man's point of view." It reached No. 4 on Billboard in 1979.

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!