''Bad Love'' is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

, released on June 1, 1999. It was Newman's first solo album since 1995's ''

Randy Newman's Faust ''Randy Newman's Faust'' is the ninth studio album and a 1995 musical by American musician and songwriter Randy Newman, who based the work on the classic story of ''Faust'', borrowing elements from the version by Goethe, as well as Milton's ''P ...

'' and followed a 3-year hiatus during which Newman had focused on film soundtracks, receiving several

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations.

Background

The album finds Newman bitter and satirical – as "biting as ever, yet unafraid to tackle personal and heartfelt concerns". Newman tackles issues such as the state of American culture in "My Country", which chronicles suburbia's growing dependence on television, and "The World Isn’t Fair", which takes a look at the world through the eyes of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

. Another subject is aging – "Shame" takes a negative look at an "older man courting a younger woman" via the barbed lyrics and an exchange between the lead vocalist and the backing singer. "I’m Dead (But I Don't Know It)" is more self-referential in dealing with aging rock stars and commenting: "Everything I write sounds the same / Each record that I’m making / Is like a record that I’ve made / Just not as good". "Every Time It Rains" was composed for

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

but he declined to record it, while "I Miss You" was composed for Newman's ex-wife. Newman later said, "Before I started ''Bad Love'', I wasn't exactly sure I could do a rock 'n' roll record at 65, or however old I was. But I was satisfied that it was a good record. Maybe my best record." This album was Newman's only release for

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...

Critical reception

It received generally positive reviews from critics, placing 11th in the 1999 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated that the songs on ''Bad Love'' "should rest comfortably alongside his other four-star offerings."

Track listing

All songs written by Randy Newman.

Personnel

Notes

{{Authority control Randy Newman albums 1999 albums Albums produced by Mitchell Froom Albums produced by Tchad Blake DreamWorks Records albums Albums arranged by Randy Newman Albums conducted by Randy Newman Albums recorded at Capitol Studios Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders