Little Criminals - RANDY NEWMAN****

Short People/You Can’t Fool The Fat Man/Little Criminals/Texas Girl At The Funeral Of Her Father/Jolly Coppers On Parade/In Germany Before The War/Sigmund Freud’s Impersonation Of Albert Einstein In America/ Baltimore/ I’ll Be Home/Rider In The Rain/Kathleen (Catholicism Made Easier)/Old Man On The Farm

Little Criminals was the most commercially successful album released by sardonic songwriter Randy Newman, helped by the controversial US No. 2 hit Short People. (US:9)

“Randy Newman's Little Criminals is an album doomed to live in the critical shadow of its predecessors. It constitutes a leap towards a poppier sound which irritated many of Newman's more elitist fans, particularly when the lead single Short People almost became a number one hit in America. The lyrical viciousness is also significantly toned down, often replaced with sincerity, sympathy, neutrality or simple storytelling. This did not sit well with the cynical brigade of satire lovers that made up a large portion of Newman's audience.”

“The more I listen to Randy Newman, the more I'm impressed. It's not his voice, even though his nasally vocal has a pleasant, relaxing quality. It's certainly not the music which on Little Criminals is particularly one paced with a soporific, dozy aspect. It's not even the lyrics. They can be incisive, biting and sardonic but they also are simple and endearing with a homey feel. No, it's none of that. What it is, is the subjects he chooses to write about and the subtle twists he puts into the stories.”

“Randy Newman has a unique, appealing way with his music. He writes magnificent brass and string arrangements to complement his piano-based pop/jazz/blues feel. His unique voice somehow appeals to me more than most; and his lyric writing always seems to speak volumes in a few lines of verse.”

“This has a more elaborate sound and more instruments than I expected from this singer-songwriter, but the core is still in the lyrics and the piano accompaniment. The sarcastic mid-tempo songs have a piano rock sound; the saddest songs use a chamber orchestra. Short People is a sharp parody on bigotry. Randy Newman knows the world is a mess, but he keeps his sense of humour while looking at it.”

“I enjoy the stabbing and sneering rhythms, the sarcastic lyrical backhanders, the lazy piano rolls, the little tapa-patta percussion that rolls down like knuckles on concrete. Randy Newman draws me in with his voice and melody, and by the time I have reached Rider In The Rain I know I'm a sucker for the rest of the album.”