A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman

Singer/songwriter Randy Newman is an anomaly among his pop-rock peerage, music journalist Hilburn (Paul Simon: The Life) attests in this authorized biography. Not viewing himself as the romantic, Newman skirted the straight-ahead, creating an acclaimed career writing as a character, not a confessor. The same can be said for this biography. Hilburn successfully chronicles a reluctant interviewee with a private lifestyle who can be at once revealing but not too revealing. Hilburn adores his subject, bolstering scholarship with other authorized interviews, gradually revealing an artist who may ultimately prefer that his art speak for itself. Less effective is when Hilburn tries to connect Newman to contemporary events, producing some text that is timely but not necessarily timeless. Nevertheless, the highlights are when someone, especially Newman himself, exposes a moment or insight that, like the composer’s best songs, becomes revelatory. The results reward the reader who pays as much attention to what is being said as what is being unsaid.