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While the title tune, 'Rider in the Rain,' 'In Germany Before the War,' and 'Sigmund Freud's Impersonation of Albert Einstein in America' (which was written for the movie Ragtime but not used) are fine songs, much of Little Criminals sounds like Newman was treading water it's not his worst album, but it sounds like the work of a man figuring out what his next move should be. Little Criminals lacks the scope of Newman's best work, the music is skillful but bland, and several of the songs sound like padding (especially 'You Can't Fool the Fat Man' and 'Jolly Coppers on Parade'). As a result, Little Criminals became Newman's first (and only) gold album in the United States, but this set wasn't an especially good way to introduce the average record buyer to his work. Or at least that's what he thought when he wrote 'Short People' the song unexpectedly took off as a novelty hit, and the vertically challenged across the country began attacking Newman for what they saw as an affront to their dignity and well-being. Newman even revisited one of his favorite themes, the pointlessness of racial prejudice, with a metaphor so silly no one could fail to understand it. Mellow Mafia regulars (including most of the Eagles), and his arch, cutting satire gave way to a lighter but less thoughtful tone, with the humor becoming less mean-spirited (though becoming much more venomous than 'Rednecks' might have been difficult). For the most part abandoning the carefully structured orchestral arrangements that dominated Good Old Boys and Sail Away, Newman cut Little Criminals with a handful of pop-friendly session musicians and L.A. Buy the album Starting at $13.09Īfter Good Old Boys, one of the most ambitious and thematically unified albums of his career, Randy Newman seemed to beat a willful retreat for his next project, 1977's Little Criminals. (Some of my closest friends barely reach my thighs.Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs. Randy Newman Little Criminals Rarely Randy Newman Little Criminals Rarely Expect the parody to coast on, and. (Short people are so much better than you and I.) Their knobby knees squeak and creak a lot. Tall people ain't never got no place to sit.

(All men are brothers until the day they die.) (Short people are just the same as you and I.) Sung from the point of view of a prejudiced person, in order to make a Note: this song is NOT against short people. Peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1978 Demento Presents The Greatest Novelty Records Of All Time, Vol. Entered by Jeff Morris, William Ian Gasarch, and Joe Blevins

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