Congratulations to Randy Newman, whose new release, Harps and Angels, debuted at #30 on Billboard's Top 200, a career high.

Fitting, then, that Randy is SPIN magazine's Artist of the Day today for what writer Timothy Dwenger calls the "brilliantly written pop standards" on Harps and Angels. The article recognizes Randy as "one of the most respected songwriters this century," calling him a "master composer," and describes his efforts on the new album this way: "Complimented by outstanding production values and a bevy of top-notch studio musicians, Harps and Angels is musically, as well as lyrically, intricate and intriguing." For more, visit spinmag.com.

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The Cleveland Free Times's Brian Baker says that despite the nine years since Randy's last album of new songs, Harps and Angels "is worth the wait."

"From the very start, Randy Newman has been a rare commodity in the music industry," writes Baker. "A contemporary songwriter with a Tin Pan Alley sensibility and an affinity for the Great American Songbook, Newman has also served as a laser-sighted social critic who offers glimpses into humanity's ills through straight reportage or wily narrative."

For the new album, says Baker,

the multifaceted composer draws on every strength he's exhibited throughout his amazingly diverse career. He effortlessly blends his roles as storytelling balladeer, skilled arranger, intuitive film scorer and scathing sociopolitical commentator, each role informed by his abiding love and deep understanding of Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin and Woody Guthrie.

The reviewer concludes: "Harps and Angels is both a great Randy Newman album—which is an impressive feat on its own—and a brilliant and important album in the wider context of popular music."

To read the complete review, visit freetimes.com.