Newman's second album, 1970's 12 Songs, was widely praised upon its release, but the record failed to sell. Live repeated the same pattern in 1971, but 1972's Sail Away became a moderate hit, due to positive reviews and Newman's constant touring. He followed the record album in 1974 with Good Old Boys, an ambitious concept album about the South that received considerable controversy over its song "Rednecks," whose ironic sense of humor was misunderstood by many. The song set the stage for 1977's "Short People," a simple satire of bigotry and prejudice taken from Little Criminals. While the irony in "Short People" was barely hidden, the song offended many listeners, and the ensuing furor helped the single reach number two on the charts. Newman supported the album with his first tour since 1974.

In 1979, he returned with Born Again, which received mixed reviews, and Newman began a career as a film composer two years after its release. His first score was for Milos Forman's Ragtime, and his work was nominated for two Academy Awards. Newman released Trouble in Paradise to strong reviews in 1983, and the album spawned &"I Love L.A.," a parody of shallow yuppie culture that was misinterpreted and became an anthem for '80s greed. Newman didn't release another album until 1988's Land of Dreams, which contained his first attempts at personal songwriting. Like most of his records, the album was greeted warmly by the critics, yet it failed to sell; "It's Money That Matters," a rewrite of "I Love LA," did become a minor hit.

Newman spent most of the '90s composing film scores and working on a musical adaptation of +Dr. Faust. The resulting musical, Faust, was initially released as a concept album in the fall of 1995 to mixed reviews. A stage version of +Faust opened the same month as the album's release, and it received better reviews. Newman garnered another Oscar nomination in 1996 for "You've Got a Friend," which was featured in the Disney computer-animated film, Toy Story. His career was celebrated in 1998 with the release of the four-disc box set Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman.

Newman split with his longtime record company Reprise in early 1999. He signed with DreamWorks and released Bad Love, his first proper album since 1988's Land of Dreams, in the summer of 1999. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide