After an extended tour, Newman marked time working on more soundtracks and his long-awaited musical, Faust. His first score was for a 1989 film (again starring Steve Martin) by Ron Howard titled Parenthood. The Acadamy Award nominated ragtime theme, "I Love To See You Smile," remains one of Newman's most recognized melodies, thanks to its subsequent use in numerous commercials (including Colgate toothpaste); the song was also used in NBC's short-lived series, Parenthood, and was also covered on the one-shot novelty LP, The Simpsons Sing The Blues, on Geffen. Regrettably, many of Parenthood's "family related" instrumental pieces ("Helen and Julie," "Gary's In Trouble," "Kevin's Party") seem perfunctory; to that end, Newman even gives the orchestration duties to his colleague, Jack Hayes.
In early 1990, Randy was approached by Steven Bochco (Emmy-winning creator of the popular 1980's police drama, Hill Street Blues) to write some songs for a new police series he was developing, Cop Rock. The show's premise was to incorporate music into each episode by ... yes, having detectives, judges, junkies, hookers and thieves "spontaneously" break into dramatic song (one can almost hear producers' jaws hitting desks upon hearing this pitch). As ridiculous as it may have sounded, Newman was intrigued by the idea and contributed six songs for the pilot episode. Most critics did take a moment to praise Bochco's risk-taking before savaging the show; Newman's original songs, however, stand as some of his best unreleased material.
The show's brief opening theme, "Under The Gun," featured an aggressive Newman vocal and pounding keyboards; the remaining songs all featured vocal tracks recorded by various actors (a few home demos with Newman's piano and vocal have been traced). Newman's first serious foray into rap, "In These Streets" (performed by a gang: "In these streets/We got the power/We got the power") is far more credible than his Land of Dreams rap parody. "She's The One" and "He's Guilty" (performed by a chorus of jurists) actually work better on screen than one might believe; the latter song received an Emmy. And set to one of Newman's most gorgeous melodies, the bittersweet "She Chose Me" ranks among his best unreleased tracks: "I'm not much to talk to/I know how I look/What I know about life/ Comes out of a book/ ... But out of all of the people there are in the world/She Chose Me."
The episode's centerpiece, the gentle lullabye "Sandman's Coming," is sung by a young mother (actress Kathleen Wilhoite) to the baby she's waiting to sell to pay for her next fix. The mesh of scene and song is heartbreaking -- for that brief moment, it's brillantly clear what Bochco wanted to accomplish with this very short-lived series. The song itself is one of Newman's best in years -- he subsequently chose to integrate it within the storyline for Faust.
Newman also returned to work with The Natural director Barry Levinson in 1990, on Levinson's semi-autobiographical film Avalon (Reprise 9-26437-2). The grand orchestral arrangements marked a clear (and for many, welcome) break from Newman's work with synthesizers; the affecting theme "1914" and sweeping "End Title" instrumentals stand out on a solid music-oriented soundtrack album. Newman's own piano can be heard on a decorative track, "The Family."
The following year, Newman teamed with director Penny Marshall (whom he had met in 1984 as a guest while she was a cast member on NBC's The New Show) to score the soundtrack for her Robin Williams/Robert DeNiro feature, Awakenings (Reprise 9-26466-2). As with Avalon, most of the instrumentals are quiet, subtle pieces; among its tracks, "Leonard," "Dexter's Tune" (on which Newman plays piano), and the title theme stand out.
An unusual cassette-only single release was issued by Warners to (mostly West-Coast) radio stations in 1991, containing the hymn-like song "Lines In The Sand," Newman's comment on the then-ongoing Gulf War in Kuwait. The simple, seemingly sincere sentiments were unusually straightforward for Newman: "Oh, sons and daughters/Sail 'cross the sea/Fight now for justice/And liberty/Sail 'cross the ocean/A friend needs a hand/You must try to defend their/Lines in the sand." Newman's underlying disgust at what was America's most politically and financially driven war involvement of the decade seeps through in his signoff: "We old men will guide you/ Though we won't be there beside you/We wish you well."
1992 also saw the issue of Newman's first, and only, CD bootleg to date, Twelve Songs Twice (DIS 122). This soundboard recording (taken from a September 11, 1992 radio broadcast of a concert in Winterthur, Germany) includes two dozen songs dating from throughout Newman's career. Decent.
In January 1993, Newman joined an array of other artists in a special benefit aired on the Disney Channel, For Our Children -- The Concert, performing a shuffle-styled cover of "I've Been Working On The Railroad." A cassette and CD of the full program were subsequently issued (Disney's Spotlight Series 1718).
1994 saw the release of two more soundtracks by Newman, The Paper (Reprise 45616-2), for Parenthood director Ron Howard, and Maverick, for director Richard Donner. The Paper's paper-thin theme, "Make Up Your Mind," was nominated for Best Song Oscar (a platinum- maned Newman grimly battled three Elton John-Tim Rice compositions from the Disney hit, The Lion King in vain); most of the album's instrumentals are as distinctive as their titles: "Marty," "Marty and Henry," "Bernie," "Bernie Finds Deanne." A pass.
The Maverick soundtrack was actually issued in two parts: the initial release (Atlantic 82595-2) was a collection of songs by popular modern country & western artists, Newman excepted -- his "Ride Gambler Ride," while pleasant, seems very much to be an exercise in working in the Western idiom (an alternate earlier take, "Ride Cowboy Ride," also exists). Newman's instrumental score (Warner Brothers 2-45816) was eventually issued eight months after the film's release, no doubt to capitalize on the enormous video audience demand. Newman's energetic orchestrations bring some otherwise derivative themes to life here.