Randy Newman’s Born Again

Sixth album of Randy Newman occurred a little bit weaker presentation than its predecessors: Little Criminals and especially earlier Good Old Boys. Trying to continue the pattern with provocative song on opening of the A side, Randy Newman placed on first row the real apotheosis of money. Trying to convince listeners the love for money is as good as love for anything else… and sometimes even better, he noticed he doesn’t love Jesus. In second chorus he says: They say that's money / Can't buy love in this world / But it'll get you a half-pound of cocaine / And a sixteen-year old girl / And a great big long limousine / On a hot September night / Now that may not be love / But it is all right. If somebody was still unsure about Randy’s intentions, this exposure can help to see this work as a regular iconoclastic.
Released in August 1979, album was a quite good attempt to bring Newman’s songs closer to the rock style. This time the choice of rock was meaningful gesture against the culture of the discotheque and pop culture. Despite how excellent musical setting is, this time songs doesn’t rock as firmly as these from Newman’s earlier recordings. His attitude is still sarcastic and mocking. In one of best works he is satirically mythologizing career of pop music band Electric Light Orchestra (The Story of Rock and Roll Band).

Randy Newman’s Born Again

Not like in Good Old Boys it is hard to find the second bottom for this songs. Many of them are just wider continuation of personal misfits stories from Little Criminals. Like those in closing the A-side They Just Got Married. The same as before Newman’s sense of humor is presenting by Spies, a document of still alive in ’70s suspiciousness against undercover agents of foreign special forces. Sometimes he is just a serious songwriter, sensitive to social problems and honest in his endeavours. In the lack of mercy, Kiss-like-painted Randy just gives us a hint how not to be merciful. And this makes him a Vonnegut of popular song. His consequence in breaking the clichés can convince, that Randy Newman is one of greatest songwriters of our times. Even if it’s hard to find any reason to take too seriously this production, full of witty lyrics and well balanced instrumental parts are enough good to save Born Again in memory.

Randy Newman's Little Criminals

Three years after a great success of the album Good Old Boys, in October 1977 Randy Newman decided to premiere his sixth album Little Criminals. Previous successes made him well known all over the word as a singing pianist, stage personality and eccentric songwriter. In new project he has continued with more courage the idea of concept album. And this time the whole issue was more a set of songs which are loosely bounded by the idea of general depravity, than a traditional cycle of songs. The leading idea is to expose the gallery of immoral characters – not the great malefactors, rather small crooks we meet in everyday life. And the Little Criminals became the highest-charting album by Randy Newman.

Despite this the conception of Little Criminals sometimes looks less clear than in previous recording. It may seem more hermetic because songs are changing it’s style and every next song differs not only in musical idea but also in style of lyrics and subject’s point of view. Perverse in sense of humor and in cultural context Little Criminals gave us a view to an American failures and mistakes but still made easy to identify with the heroes of the songs.

Randy Newman's Little Criminals

This time Randy Newman was set as a star of pop music, accompanied by very good sidemen and even by back vocals of musicians from the popular group Eagles. One song Baltimore was heavily quoted. Vision of dying city where “ain't nothin' for free”  and “ain't nowhere to run to” was in times of recession especially bearing. Covers of Baltimore have been recorded by Nina Simone, The Tamlins and Nils Lofgren. And more popularity means more unprepared listeners. In first song of the album Newman begun text with the phrase “short people got no reason to live” and it became immediately famous as an aim of many protests against alleged cruelty of song lyrics and its author. Of course such accusation can be only an effect of misunderstanding the idea of whole work. Anyway Little Criminals album close many sarcastic, than poetic moods. And even if from this perspective new songs sometimes are not enough clear or maybe sometimes contain some personal connotations, this album is still enough distanced and critical against social reality to be comprised in genre of satiric rock.

Randy Newman's Good Old Boys

   Randy Newman is a composer of many soundtracks for Hollywood movies. He is skilled piano player and brilliant stage personality. But popular culture do not recognize the polymathic artist. For years he was seen only as an author of songs. And as in creative output of some romantic era composers the songs Randy Newman composed for his own lyrics are best known part of his work. His songs can be not only the great narrative medium, but also effective discourse area. To see, let's just try some of these songs on a Redneck living in Birmingham with wife Marie who is desperately trying not to loose his dignity.

   The Good Old Boys is fifth album by Randy Newman. Twelve songs in straight sleeve with stylized for amateur and out of focus photo of somebody who can be the title Good Old Boy has been published by Reprise Records in September 1974. From the beginning it was concept album. Projected song about main character was withdrawn and hero of the whole cycle became more general personification of Deep South inhabitants. It is sure this group portrait could be easier to accept if there were less racism and drinking references. But this would make the picture complete unreal.

Randy Newman's Good Old Boys (1974)

   Maybe it was the spine of American consciousness in early seventies, to articulate the true emotions about something everyone knows and not to loose positive attitude. Maybe it was the question of respecting their nobility and dignity. Randy Newman’s songs never before was so straightforward and probably never again touched the point of American self-confidence so directly. And all songs create this multidimensional picture: Rednecks, Birmingham, Marie, Mr President, Guilty, Louisiana 1927, Every Man a King, Kingfish, Naked Man, Wedding in Cherokee County, Back on My Feet Again and Rollin. One of them is artistic document of South past - Every Man  a King is original song by Governor of Louisiana in the years of Great Crisis Huey P. Long and Castro Carazo.

   As the poet Randy Newman is as wise as lyric and so serious as satirical. The great musician who has the gift to translate his vision into simple melodic structures. And he did this in his songs with perfection and class. Even if some of them are something man have to „think twice about playing in civilized company”. While it’s still hard to classify it into existing genres, in its time this record established quite new perspective of song – somewhere between Leonard Cohen and Frank Zappa. In subsequent records – especially in  Little Criminals and Born Again – Randy Newman continued this idea with even greater effect.