Land of Dreams (Randy Newman album)
Land of Dreams the eighth studio album by Randy Newman, Released in 1988, the album features vignettes of his childhood in New Orleans.
Land of Dreams | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 20, 1988 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 40:18 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | James Newton Howard, Jeff Lynne, Mark Knopfler, Tommy LiPuma | |||
Randy Newman chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | B+[2] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
Reception
It placed 10th in the 1988 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.[4] "Whether or not ['Dixie Flyer' and 'New Orleans'] are simple autobiography, they're presented as such," wrote Greil Marcus, "and for a man who's always sung as a character actor, it's a shock".[5] While "Dixie Flyer" was the name of the train line mentioned in the lyrics,[6] "Dixie" was also the nickname of Adele "Dixie" Fuchs/Fox, Randy Newman's mother, who, as the song describes, came from a southern Jewish family.
Chart performance
The album's single "It's Money That Matters" rose to the top of the Mainstream Rock chart for two weeks (and peaked at #60 on the Hot 100), to become Newman's only number one hit on any U.S. chart; it features Mark Knopfler on guitar.[7] Prior to the album's release, the song "Something Special" was closing title music for the 1987 MGM production Overboard starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell and was also featured in the trailer of the film Awakenings, for which Newman also wrote the music, and the piano bridge from the song "Dixie Flyer" would subsequently often be utilized as break or filler music, most notably on the Car Talk radio program. The song "Falling in Love" features in the credits to the 1989 Tom Selleck film Her Alibi and was used as the opening theme of the short-lived 1990 ABC sitcom, The Marshall Chronicles.
Track listing
All songs written by Randy Newman.
- "Dixie Flyer" – 4:10
- "New Orleans Wins the War" – 3:27
- "Four Eyes" – 3:34
- "Falling in Love" – 3:00
- "Something Special" – 3:07
- "Bad News from Home" – 2:45
- "Roll with the Punches" – 3:29
- "Masterman and Baby J" – 3:27
- "Red Bandana" – 2:35
- "Follow the Flag" – 2:15
- "It's Money That Matters" – 4:04
- "I Want You to Hurt Like I Do" – 4:07
Personnel
- Randy Newman – piano, vocals, arranger, conductor
- Mark Knopfler – guitar & background vocals on Dixie Flyer
- Tom Petty – guitar, background vocals
- Dean Parks, Buzz Feiten, Steve Lukather, Michael Landau, Mike Campbell – guitar
- Lee Sklar, Nathan East, Neil Stubenhaus – bass guitar
- Jeff Lynne – keyboards, background vocals
- James Newton Howard – synthesizer, keyboards
- David Paich, Guy Fletcher, Larry Fast, Michael Boddicker, Robbie Weaver – synthesizer
- Kevin Maloney – synthesizer, background vocals
- Phil Jones - Drums and Percussion on 'Falling in Love'
- Carlos Vega, Phil Jones, Jeff Porcaro, John Robinson – drums
- Lenny Castro – percussion
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone
- Marc Russo – saxophone
- Dan Higgins – flute, tenor saxophone
- Jerry Hey – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Twila Rice, Bob Hilburn Jr., Nicole Jones, Karen Verkoelen, Jeannie Novak, Adrienne Howell, Dana Drum, Deborah Neal – background vocals
Charts
Chart (1988) | Peak position |
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Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] | 12 |
US Billboard 200[9] | 88 |
References
- AllMusic
- Robertchristgau.com
- "Land Of Dreams". Rolling Stone. 1988-10-20. Archived from the original on 2022-12-12.
- Christgau, Robert (February 28, 1989). "The 1988 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- Marcus, Greil (September 1988). "Real Life Rock Top 10". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- Prince, Richard E. (1968). Louisville & Nashville Steam Locomotives. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. pp. 141, 158. ISBN 025333764X. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- Randy Newman - "It's Money That Matters" (official video) on YouTube
- "Swisscharts.com – Randy Newman – Land of Dreams". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
- "Randy Newman Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2022.