Whenever you mention Randy Newman, most people stare blankly at you and then suddenly realise that they have a Green Eggs and Ham discussion group, tonight being why he did not eat them on a train. Yet, despite his only modest commercial success, he did at least have one hit, kind of and if you discount his movie songs. Short People is the song that made Randy Newman less obscure than he might have been. It was almost certainly the fact that short people detested it was what made it famous. As usual, the point of the song was missed. If you listen to the lyrics some of the reasons that short people "got no reason to live" are totally absurd - bigots invariably find the most stupid reasons to hate people and that was the point of the song. It could just have easily been tall people, fat people, black people, gay people etc etc. Randy just happened to pick the diminutive. I guess the lack of understanding of Randy is one of the reasons he's not very popular - they often believe that he is being a bigot himself, when of course he speaks for other people in his songs. I don't profess to understand the meaning of all of his songs, but with a bit of lateral thinking and the assumption that Randy doesn't actually think what the song character is saying and you can usually get the general meaning of the lyric.
Of course after Short People, most new listeners will be on unfamiliar territory and I must confess that I find it harder to interpret his earlier albums. You Can't Fool the Fat Man has nothing to do with fat men but some kind of character study of a criminal from what I can tell. Little Criminals, on the other hand sets up a curious tale of a group of teenagers about to rob a petrol (sorry, gas) station and also hints at the kind of in fighting that these kinds of gangs invariably descend to. One of Newman's always classic intimate character studies comes in the shape of Texas Girl. It is economic with lyrics and production values, but it is in these types of song that Randy lays out his more emotional side.
I have absolutely no idea what Jolly Coppers is meant to be about. I assume it has something to do with policemen, although the fact that copper is more of an English slang term than American seems curious. If I was to descend into a more crass than usual comment, I'd say that it has a great laid back tune and makes for a jolly enjoyable song, especially considering the meaning of the next item. In Germany Before the War is another character study, but this time is a portrait of a man stalking a young girl. The lyrics themselves don't seem to be all that terrible at face value, but when you appreciate the meaning it all makes more sense and his comments are all twisted into a new meaning, especially the final lines "We lie beneath the autumn sky, my little golden girl and I. And she lies very still." Albert Einstein etc etc has to be one of the strangest song titles I've ever heard. I wonder if Randy lies awake at night thinking of really daft titles for his songs. Probably. Of course the title has more meaning than might be imagined as I always took this as a song that reflects the way that "foreigners" perceive America and possibly some hint at how American's perceive "foreigners." Baltimore is a portrait of a city in decay and is quite long for a Randy Newman song, yes it breaks four minutes... The harmony and arrangement remind me of somebody else, but I can't think who, possibly Van Morrison, but I can't be certain. Whatever the case, it's a favourite of mine, even if it is a fraction depressing.
Rider in the Rain is a curio country and western effort, complete with twanging guitar and backing chorus "He's a rider in the rain." The final two tracks seem almost like afterthoughts in some ways. While the lyrics might be profound, the music just doesn't have much impact. In fact Old Man on the Farm makes almost no impact at all. Then again, all Randy Newman albums seem to end on a bit of a whimper compared to the kind of finale that might be desired. I must admit to having a preference for Randy's later albums; perhaps its the arrangements or perhaps its that I understand the songs more readily. It's more likely that in many ways Little Criminals is actually quite depressing and while I can appreciate the songs for their content and arrangement, I don't actually always enjoy them. While many consider this to be one of his best albums, I feel that younger fans who want to expand their Newman collection might do well to pick one of the later albums. Randy's music covers so many different genres that liking one album and not another is not all that surprising. The fact that he can successfully cover so many musical genres is a testiment to his skill as a composer, but is perhaps one of the reasons he has never achieved the fame he deserves.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 38:39