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There’s Trouble brewing!  On October 17, Rhino will reissue Randy Newman’s seventh studio album, Trouble in Paradise, as a 2CD expanded edition featuring previously unreleased demos and a rare concert performance.  Proving that good things come to those who wait, this deluxe edition belatedly follows the definitive expansions of Sail Away and Good Old Boys, both from 2002.

Like Little Criminals (which introduced “Short People” and “Baltimore”) Trouble in Paradise was heavily influenced by the Los Angeles scene and, as a result, often resembles a sequel to that 1977 effort. (1979’s Born Again, a darker and more prickly set, came in between.)  Co-producers Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker enlisted Rickie Lee Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Jennifer Warnes, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Don Henley, and Bob Seger to provide vocal support for some of Newman’s strongest compositions to date; musical contributors included the prolific likes of Steve Lukather, David Paich, and Jeff Porcaro of Toto, Nathan East, Lenny Castro, Paulinho da Costa, Jerry Hey, Jim Horn and Waddy Wachtel.

The key single was, of course, “I Love L.A.” which catalogs quite a few reasons one shouldn’t care much for the city (“Century Boulevard – we love it!  Victory Boulevard – we love it!  Santa Monica Boulevard – we love it!  Sixth Street – we love it!”). Yet there’s no condescension in Newman’s voice when he croons “Everybody’s very happy ’cause the sun is shining all the time,” and the pulsating melody and gleaming production don’t tip his hand.  The end result? The city, and indeed much of the country, embraced “I Love L.A.” as totally sincere. It’s since become the kind of genuine anthem it could seemingly be spoofing.

Yet there’s much more to Trouble in Paradise.  Randy’s then-labelmate Paul Simon dropped by to duet on “The Blues” (a moderate success that eclipsed “I Love L.A.” on the singles chart).  “Real Emotional Girl” became one of Newman’s most-recorded songs, a beautifully tender ode to the woman of the title. The biting “My Life is Good” turned the artist’s venom towards the many excesses of the “me” decade; a fictional “Randy Newman” is the coked-up protagonist of the song who encounters Bruce Springsteen, just about ready to abdicate his title of “The Boss” to our Mr. Newman.  The blistering and sadly prescient “Christmas in Cape Town” may well be the most vicious song ever written with Christmas in its title, sung from the perspective of an unrepentant racist white South African who nonetheless suspects a violent reckoning might soon be due. The harsh language of the song and a handful of others in the Newman oeuvre prompted The Los Angeles Times‘ Mike Boehm to ponder in 1991, “If today’s pressure for politically correct speech had been in effect 15 or 20 years ago, Randy Newman might have been shouted down before he got the chance to emerge as one of the most respected songwriters in pop music.”

“Christmas in Cape Town” makes for uncomfortable listening, as it should.  Much the same could be said of “Same Girl,” sung from the perspective of a pimp “reassuring” an addicted prostitute that she’s still “the same girl.”  It’s spare, haunting, and quietly powerful as the listener knows there’s no way out for the woman.  The closing track, the dark and elegiac “Song for the Dead,” takes a broader approach as it eloquently ruminates on the nature of war itself.  Filled with powerful and incisive songwriting as well as comedy and drama in equal measure, Trouble in Paradise refused to play it safe.  Newman hadn’t stopped challenging his listeners, but he had perfected the formula to do so in an accessible pop style.

Rhino’s generously expanded edition adds the singer-songwriter’s largely unadorned, often intimate demos of every track on the album save “Mikey’s” as well as demos of two previously unreleased tunes, “Big Fat Country Song (Something to Sing About)” and “Rainbow.”  The second disc offers the CD premiere of Un Samedi en Decembre, a promotional live album originally issued only in France.  The 14-song set was recorded on December 10, 1982 for French television and includes “Christmas in Cape Town” alongside Newman classics such as “Marie,” “Sail Away,” “Louisiana 1927,” “Short People,” “Rednecks,” and “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today.”

Additionally, a 180-gram black vinyl pressing of Trouble in Paradise will also be available as part of Rhino’s audiophile-aimed Rhino Reserves series, remastered from the original analog tapes by Matthew Lutthans.  Rhino.com is currently accepting pre-orders along with such online storefronts as Music Direct and Rough Trade.

Look for the deluxe editions of Trouble in Paradise on October 17 from Rhino.  You’ll find the pre-order links and track listing below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Randy Newman, Trouble in Paradise (Warner Bros. 23755, 1983 – reissued Warner/Rhino, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. I Love LA
2. Christmas in Cape Town
3. The Blues
4. Same Girl
5. Mikey’s
6. My Life Is Good
7. Miami
8. Real Emotional Girl
9. Take Me Back
10. There’s a Party at My House
11. I’m Different
12. Song for the Dead
13. I Love LA (Demo)
14. Christmas in Cape Town (Demo)
15. The Blues (Demo)
16. Same Girl (Demo)
17. My Life Is Good (Demo)
18. Miami (Demo)
19. Real Emotional Girl (Demo)
20. Take Me Back (Demo)
21. There’s a Party at My House (Demo)
22. I’m Different (Demo)
23. Song for the Dead (Demo)
24. Big Fat Country Song (Something to Sing About) (Demo)
25. Rainbow (Demo)

Tracks 13-25 previously unreleased

CD 2: Un Samedi en Decembre (Warner Bros. (France) PRO 1016, 1983)

1. Ragtime
2. Louisiana 1927
3. It’s Money That I Love
4. Sail Away
5. Old Man
6. Love Story
7. Short People
8. Christmas in Cape Town
9. Rednecks
10. Baltimore
11. I Think It’s Going to Rain Today
12. You Can Leave Your Hat On
13. Marie
14. Ragtime