Van Dyke Parks podcast, re Randy Newman

[rn57]

http://mrjeremydylan.com/post/145828409205/my-favorite-album-141-van-dyke-parks-on-randy

One of a series of podcasts in which various notables discuss their favorite album. In this one VDP chooses Randy Newman's debut which he produced, and discusses it in far greater detail than any previous interview, so it's a must for you Randy fans...but Van Dyke touches here and there upon his own career too. He says - and I don't recall his ever mentioning this before - that the honchos at WB wanted to call his first album You Are Now Entering Van Dyke Parks instead of Song Cycle!

[JCarson]

Hey thanks - that's a great link.

That library of podcasts is worth a browse and includes some weird and wonderful albums among the usual suspects. Truly, the Randy Newman debut is up there among the all time greats - not a wholly dissimilar vibe to mid-60s Brian Wilson, such exquisite melancholy: witness especially the intro to Living Without You - man, that's beautiful (and I thought Nilsson's cover version was good).