There was no Randy Newman compilation available in America until Rhino released the four-disc box set Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman in the fall of 1998.
There was no Randy Newman compilation available in America until Rhino released the four-disc box set Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman in the fall of 1998. Boasting two discs of album highlights, a disc of rarities, and a disc devoted to 'Film Music,' Guilty attempts to be a definitive artistic portrait, yet it winds up a little frustrating. Dedicated fans don't have much need for the first two discs; even if they provide an excellent summary, they're designed for casual listeners, who won't have much interest in the other two discs.
![Guilty 30 Years Of Randy Newman Rapidshare Downloads Guilty 30 Years Of Randy Newman Rapidshare Downloads](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TVOq_AcKGKU/Tga-jMUo94I/AAAAAAAAAOM/x1kX_VMi4cE/s1600/12tipos1.jpg)
![Newman Newman](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FU8cGR8aMew/Tq1akZQs2WI/AAAAAAAACvY/7f69oFnX9SU/s640/NOVIAZGOb.png)
'Odds & Ends,' the third disc, is the jewel in this crown for longtime fans, since it contains a wealth of rarities, including the excellent 'Gone Dead Train' from Performance, a weird Pat Boone-produced single from 1961 ('Golden Gridiron Boy'), a selection of 1968 songwriting demos, a host of working tracks for films, and a revelatory 'Masterman and Baby J,' which contains no rapping. 'Film Music,' the fourth disc, is another welcome addition to his catalog. Newman is a sensitive, accomplished film composer in the classic Hollywood style, and not only are his scores are rewarding on their own merits (as are the excerpts here), he's written a handful of great songs, such as 'I Love to See You Smile' (Parenthood) and 'You've Got a Friend in Me' (Toy Story), which have not appeared on a Newman album until now. These final discs are valuable for serious fans, yet they may not want to purchase the entire box in order to acquire the rarities.
And that's the problem with Guilty - the package is lovely and the execution first-rate, but both casual and dedicated fans would have been better served if the set had been divided into two different compilations. Stephen Thomas Erlewine.