Since Randy Newman has always borrowed from Hollywood and Broadway musicals in his songwriting, it's not surprising that he wrote his own full-blown musical with Randy Newman's Faust.
Adapting Goethe's classic morality play for the '90s, Newman has his God and Devil vying for the soul of a Harvard college student.
However, neither wins because they can't keep abreast of modern times -- the Devil tempts the student with a recording contract, but the student wants his own video game company since that's where the money is.
On paper, the reworking of the story is fairly intriguing, but the actual execution is heavily flawed.
Newman's humor is forced and not all that funny, while his eye for detail isn't as sharp as it is on his classic albums; furthermore, he sacrifices strong melodies for the lyrics.
The bombastic production -- featuring large orchestras and choirs as well as guest artists James Taylor (God), Don Henley (Student), Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, and Linda Ronstadt -- emphasizes the lack of subtlety in the lyrics and the lack of compelling melodies, making Randy Newman's Faust no more than a noble failure.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glory TrainRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | Can't Keep a Good Man DownRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:45 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 3 | How Great Our LordRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:42 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 4 | Best Little GirlRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:27 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 5 | Northern BoyRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 6 | Bless the Children of the WorldRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | GainesvilleRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 17 MB |
| 8 | Relax, Enjoy YourselfRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 32 MB |
| 9 | Life Has Been Good to MeRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 10 | Little IslandRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 11 | The ManRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 12 | My HeroRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:35 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 13 | I Gotta Be Your ManRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 14 | Feels Like HomeRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 21 MB |
| 15 | Bleeding All over the PlaceRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 16 | Sandman's ComingRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 17 | Happy EndingRandy Newman | Randy Newman | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 58 mins | 134 MB | |||||
| 58 mins | 328 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Aronoff | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 2 | Peter Asher | Producer |
| 3 | Robbie Buchanan | Synthesizer |
| 4 | Denny Carmassi | Drums |
| 5 | Ed Cherney | Engineer |
| 6 | Ry Cooder | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 7 | Don Davis | Arranger |
| 8 | Sandy De Crescent | Orchestra Contractor |
| 9 | Greg Dennon | Assistant Engineer |
| 10 | Mark Eshelman | Assistant Engineer |
| 11 | Michael Fisher | Percussion |
| 12 | David Gleeson | Assistant Engineer |
| 13 | Mark Goldenberg | Guitar |
| 14 | John Goux | Guitar |
| 15 | Don Henley | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 16 | James "Hutch" Hutchinson | Bass |
| 17 | Luana Jackman | Vocal Coordinator |
| 18 | Elton John | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 19 | Jimmy Johnson | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 20 | Jim Keltner | Drums |
| 21 | Randy Kerber | Organ (Hammond), Piano, Synthesizer |
| 22 | Billy Kinsley | Assistant Engineer |
| 23 | Larry Klein | Bass |
| 24 | Michael Landau | Guitar |
| 25 | Kristyn Liang-Chan | Vocals |
| 26 | Doug Livingston | Pedal Steel |
| 27 | Bob Mann | Guitar |
| 28 | Marc Mann | Programming |
| 29 | George Massenburg | Engineer, Mixing |
| 30 | Sue McLean | Assistant Engineer |
| 31 | Gil Morales | Assistant Engineer |
| 32 | Randy Newman | Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 33 | Bill Payne | Organ (Hammond) |
| 34 | Eric Persing | Producer, Programming |
| 35 | John Radzin | Assistant Engineer |
| 36 | Bonnie Raitt | Guest Artist, Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part, Vocals |
| 37 | Marnie Riley | Assistant Engineer |
| 38 | Linda Ronstadt | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 39 | Craig Silvey | Assistant Engineer |
| 40 | Leland Sklar | Bass |
| 41 | Ivy Skoff | Production Coordination |
| 42 | Brian Soucy | Assistant Engineer |
| 43 | Pamela Springsteen | Photography |
| 44 | Matt Still | Assistant Engineer |
| 45 | Brett Swain | Assistant Engineer |
| 46 | Bill Talbott | Assistant Engineer |
| 47 | Steve Tavaglione | Saxophone |
| 48 | James Taylor | Guest Artist, Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part, Vocals |
| 49 | Benmont Tench | Harmonium, Organ (Hammond) |
| 50 | Michael Thompson | Guitar |
| 51 | Carlos Vega | Drums |
| 52 | Waddy Wachtel | Guitar |
| 53 | Randy Waldman | Arranger, Organ, Synthesizer |
| 54 | Don Was | Producer |
| 55 | Frank Wolf | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |