Randy Kaplan is a Brooklyn-based songwriter known for his incisive lyrics and songs that blend American roots, folk, alternative, and pop.
As indebted to I.B. Singer, John Ashbery, and Woody Allen as he is to Robert Johnson, John Prine, and Dave Van Ronk, Kaplan intricately finger-picks his way through his own compositions as well as Tin Pan Alley gems, obscure Broadway numbers, Rap classics, and Delta Blues songs.
Randy spent many years in Los Angeles performing with his band "i" and traveling the U.S. with his acoustic guitar and harmonica. He has released eight records, two geared towards children. Click here for Randy's MySpace site for kids and information about his two kids' CDs.
Here are some excerpts from reviews of Randy's work, ablum by album (for more reviews click here ).
Click on any album title to hear song clips and/or find out more information!
PERFECT GENTLEMAN
"(Kaplan's) lyrics don't underestimate their listener's intelligence, being literate and occasionally not a little highbrow ... unafraid of multi-syllable words or obscure subject matter. Kaplan is a craftsman in the tradition of Paul Simon, to whose "Still Crazy After All These Years" "Perfect Gentleman" is first cousin."
-Jeremy Searle / AMERICANA-UK.com
"Kaplan's musical approach is homemade cheerful multi-instrumental confidence with a harmonica... plunder chests full of styles and rhythms sitting under clever drolleries and nifty tunes... personal story telling, cheerful nuttiness, (and an) ability to slip into and out of the mournful or the weird."
-Sam Saunders / www.WHISPERINANDHOLLERIN.com
"Quality recordings from lo-fi underground recording popster Randy Kaplan. Kaplan's tunes are nice and laidback... often recalling the music of Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. (Rating: 4+++)"
-Baby Sue / www.BABYSUE.com
"Kaplan has a pleasant, easy-going hand in his songwriting, and the songs here are instantly likable... This demonstrate(s) Kaplan's ample writing skills."
-CENT.com
MIRACULOUS DISSOLVING CURES
"On 'Miraculous Dissolving Cures', transcontinental singer-songwriter Randy Kaplan sounds like he can hold the line against most folk-pop comers. He compiles a collection of stories that incorporates elements of longing and loss, and from the get-go of "Crushed Berries"- with the line "My friends will save a fly from a spider's web/But then they'll order rack of lamb or baby back ribs"- there's also a serving of irony. Kaplan, who's obviously well-read, conjures the Big Dipper, Sinatra and Job's wife on "Volunteers," a seeming non sequitur fest. But somehow, everything on the album fits together."
- Kevin Amorim / NEWSDAY, New York
"Kaplan's creativity sends out sparks. One can only hope that if he eventually cheers up, that won't dilute the intensity of his songwriting."
-DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE / Northampton, Massachusetts
"Randy Kaplan is a cheeky songwriter with enough personality to stand out from the dulling crowd of singer-songwriters."
-TIME OUT NEW YORK
LAKE CHAMPIONS
"(Kaplan's) songs are sweetly personal and wonderfully void of pretentious overtones... The stories he sings wind and twist away from the ordinary and toward refreshing new ideas often humorous and bizarre... never predictable."
-THE INDEPENDENT / Lawrence, Kansas
"Long Island-born Randy Kaplan sings of modern romance, male neuroses, and quirky character studies with the off-kilter viewpoint of a man who appreciates the blurred edges as much as the finer points. Like Leonard Cohen before him, and his friend and musical compadre Dan Bern, Randy's self-effacing lyrics make you laugh, cry and blush at their honest simplicity."
-THE BOTTOM LINE / Required Listening preview; New York City
"(Kaplan's) songs display keen psychological insight... His emotional range is broad, running the gamut from uplifting to bleak."
-THE MATTRESS / Olympia, Washington
REBORN AS BEES
"Kaplan originals... resound with a thought-provoking consciousness."
-THE ISLAND VOICE / Long Island, New York
"Melody, lyrics, arrangement, production... it's all here... The lyrics stand on their own as poetry, unique and compelling in its imagery... This guy's no lightweight."
-THE INSIDE CONNECTION / Long Island, New York
BOYISH HIPS
"Kaplan makes us smile as he points out hypocrisy... (He crafts) exceptionally tender songs (and) pens understated tunes that, the more we hear them, eventually evolve into anthems."
-NEWSDAY / Long Island, New York
"Whether he's singing about despair or ecstasy, Kaplan's songs are bittersweet, romantic, and sometimes nostalgic. And his point of view is always original and often startling."
-THE PERDIDO PELICAN; Pensacola, Florida
