Randy Newman: Good Old Boys Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Randy Newman: Good Old Boys Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 26, 2024

I guess if you're a musician born into a family with one of the most redolent names in at least the history of American film music, you'd better have something new to offer, and in that regard, it's completely commendable how wonderfully different Randy Newman's music is than either of his famous uncles, Alfred and Lionel, and arguably much more so than his own cousins David and Thomas, whose music tends to live in the same general orchestral space as their legendary father (Alfred). Newman's completely unique and maybe even slightly peculiar songwriting sensibility is well on display in Good Old Boys, a kind of honky tonk infused take by Newman on various characters and situations with what might be called a Southern Gothic flair. This was the album that actually introduced Newman to a fair number of people, even if it was his fourth studio effort, and if the album didn't spawn any huge hit singles, it did engender quite a bit of airplay on what used to be called Album Oriented Rock stations, with such outré singles as "Naked Man" showing up regularly and helping to introduce audiences to Newman's idiosyncratic sensibilities.

The album's track list can be seen in the screenshots of the disc menu I've uploaded to accompany this review.

Randy Newman: Good Old Boys Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This is another Rhino Quadio release with a static disc menu, and one which further offers the option to toggle between audio codecs via the colored buttons on your remote, meaning you don't really need even to have a display or monitor on.

Randy Newman: Good Old Boys Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Randy Newman: Good Old Boys features DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. This album may frankly not offer the same kind of whipsaw immersion that can be on hand (and/or ear) in some other Rhino Quadio releases, if only because so many of the songs feature Newman and piano with either no or only intermittent orchestral accompaniment. The imaging choices here range from near stereo, to more ample engagement of all four channels, and in fact some of the songs do have Randy and his piano emanating from all four speakers simultaneously. The orchestral accompaniments can kind of bubble up at times and are similarly positioned either toward the rear or alternatively out of all four channels (i.e., rarely relegated solely to the front speakers). Fidelity is excellent throughout.

Randy Newman: Good Old Boys Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on the disc. The insert booklet reproduces the album credits and song lyrics, and also includes the Quadio staple of a photo of the master tape box with label. Rhino's standard verbiage on bass management setup is also included. The disc is silkscreened with the vintage brown-ochre Reprise Records label.

Randy Newman: Good Old Boys Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've often felt if someone like Stephen Foster were alive and writing songs today, he might sound something like Randy Newman. Newman's unique approach toward both lyrical content and musical structure are given wide reign here, and the album is provocatively subversive. Audio is top notch, though perhaps not quite as consistently immersive as some other Rhino Quadio efforts. Recommended.