Trouble in Paradise (Randy Newman album)

Trouble in Paradise is the seventh studio album by the American musician Randy Newman, released in 1983. It includes "I Love L.A." and the first single, "The Blues", a duet with Paul Simon. "Same Girl" is about a woman addicted to heroin. Newman supported the album playing shows with the Roches.

A cover version of "Real Emotional Girl" by the Canadian singer Patricia O'Callaghan appears on her studio album Real Emotional Girl (2001).

Critical reception
The New York Times wrote: "Newman inhabits his characters so completely that he makes us uneasy, wondering how much self-identification he has invested in their creation. His work achieves its power by that very confusion." The Globe and Mail noted that "Newman still has not the least desire to play it safe: he is still tossing up the great American contradictions—the seductiveness of racism and the paranoia of sex—like a circus performer juggling machetes, with the same appalling, exhilarating effect."

The Miami Herald determined that most of the songs "defy humming... A couple are essentially free verse set to music." The Christian Science Monitor determined that "the polished sound of the album makes it his most commercial effort, yet he has kept his humor and wit alive."

The album placed 13th in the 1983 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, and it was ranked as number 67 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s list.

Track listing
All songs written by Randy Newman.

LP Side 1


 * 1) "I Love L.A." – 3:29
 * 2) "Christmas in Capetown" – 4:21
 * 3) "The Blues" – 3:01
 * 4) "Same Girl" – 2:53
 * 5) "Mikey's" – 2:10
 * 6) "My Life Is Good" – 4:38

LP Side 2


 * 1) "Miami" – 4:04
 * 2) "Real Emotional Girl" – 2:28
 * 3) "Take Me Back" – 4:09
 * 4) "There's a Party at My House" – 2:50
 * 5) "I'm Different" – 2:33
 * 6) "Song for the Dead" – 3:00

Personnel

 * Randy Newman – vocals, piano, synthesizers, arranger, conductor
 * Steve Lukather – guitar
 * David Paich – farfisa organ, Fender Rhodes
 * Michael Boddicker – synthesizers, piano on "Mikey's", hammond organ on "Miami"
 * Nathan East – bass guitar
 * Jeff Porcaro – drums
 * Lenny Castro – percussion
 * Paulinho Da Costa – percussion on "Take Me Back", "Christmas in Capetown" and "The Blues"
 * Ralph Grierson – piano on "Same Girl" and "Real Emotional Girl"
 * Neil Larsen – piano solo on "The Blues"
 * Dean Parks – guitar on "I'm Different", guitar solo on "The Blues", mandolin on "Miami"
 * Waddy Wachtel – rhythm guitar on "I Love L.A"
 * Paul Simon – vocals on "The Blues"
 * Larry Williams – horns on "Take Me Back" and "I Love L.A"
 * Steve Madaio – horns on "Take Me Back"
 * Ernie Watts – horns on "Take Me Back", sax solo on "My Life Is Good"
 * Jerry Hey – horns on "There's A Party at My House"
 * Jim Horn, Jon Smith – horns on "There's A Party at My House" and "Mickey's"
 * Jennifer Warnes, Wendy Waldman, Linda Ronstadt – backing vocals on "I'm Different" and "Christmas in Capetown"
 * Don Henley, Bob Seger – backing vocals on "Take Me Back" and "Christmas in Capetown"
 * Rickie Lee Jones, Arno Lucas, Leslie Smith – backing vocals on "Miami"
 * Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham – backing vocals on "I Love L.A"
 * Technical
 * Mark Linett – engineer, mixing
 * Tim Newman – cover photography