Today marks the long-awaited release of Randy Newman's Harps and Angels, his first album of new music since 1999's Bad Love and his second album for Nonesuch after the 2003 collection Songbook, Vol. 1. At noon ET, NPR will broadcast a recent concert Randy gave at LA's new Largo, in which he and his band performed the new record in its entirety. Alex Chadwick, the host of NPR's Day to Day, introduced the event, and says he jumped at the offer ("YESYESYESYESYES" being his e-mailed response).

"This is music," Chadwick says in describing the concert; "this is Randy Newman, sometimes my favorite songwriter of my lifetime. And this is him telling stories about his family between the songs, laughing with the band, easy, warm, intimate. Listen and enjoy."

For more information and to listen to the live stream at noon, visit npr.org.

Also from NPR, All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen invited Randy to guest DJ this week's show with songs from his younger days, from his famed uncle, composer Alfred Newman, to Toscanini conducting, to Ray Charles to the Beatles, as well as a few of his own songs. "I really liked his older stuff," says Boilen of Randy. "I like him better when he's older."

You can listen now at npr.org and download the podcast there.

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The album reviews continue to come in, with Associated Press writer Steven Wine writing that Randy, with Harps and Angels, "has produced a record to rival his best work, and it may be the best album of 2008."

Wine calls the new album "typical Newman fare in that it's unlike anything else," and says of Randy:
[W]hile he has ranked for decades among America's best songwriters, with these 10 songs he raises the bar still higher. His comedic touch with the lyrics is sharper than ever, and his droll delivery makes the most of the material. The music is also a delight, with Newman tapping his talent as a film composer more than on his previous solo albums.

You can read the complete review at baltimoresun.com.

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Variety's Phil Gallo calls it "among the most important released this year," finding that Randy "thrives in a world that emphasizes the craft of every element, from the arranging to rhyme schemes to maximizing the effect of his punch-drunk vocals ... his orchestral arrangements bear a complexity not heard elsewhere ..."

Gallo echoes Boilen's sentiments when he concludes:

Newman's triptych of 12 Songs, Sail Away, and Good Ol' Boys, released between, 1970 and '74, set him apart from all other singer-songwriters of the day. Harps and Angels, more than any other album in his career, returns us to those days of discovery, reminding us once again how singular a voice Newman remains.

To read the full review, visit variety.com.

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USA Today's Elysa Gardner writes: "Few troubadours can so deftly blend aching poignancy and biting wit; like the greatest American songwriters, from traditional pop on, Newman has an enduring knack for stories and observations that pique the heart and mind."

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Pop Matters' Ron Hart gives the album a 9 out of 10, describing Randy and the album this way:

What’s great about Randy Newman is that he’s possibly the only artist in American pop who can offer the most touching, gushing scores ... and deliver what could very well be the most controversial album created by a white man in 2008 in the same breadth. But that’s why he’s one of the greatest of his generation ... Harps and Angels belongs up there with 12 Songs and Sail Away as one of Newman’s greatest works ... And what a better time to have picked to release it than this most crucial election year.

To read the full review, visit popmatters.com.

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The Hartford Courant's Thomas Kintner writes:

Randy Newman has been one of this country's finest songwriters for nearly five decades as a performer. His is a unique voice whose balance of linguistic liveliness and melodic craftsmanship has generated songs of powerful endurance.

That review can be found at courant.com.

And St. Petersburg Times music critic Sean Daly calls the album "a legit contender for album of the year," on that should proved to be "all great things to all listeners—especially, those who enjoy seeing sacred cattle get prodded." While the album may be "wild, wicked," writes Daly, "it's also gorgeous, robust, sweeping."