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Rating: A calculated and succinct light reveals—behind a shutter—the statuesque body of Kim Basinger who improvises (?) a striptease like a seasoned showgirl, all under the eyes of an excited and amused Mickey Rourke: this is the key sequence of the dramatic-erotic craze from the Eighties, "9½ Weeks." A film that—despite its mediocrity—managed to influence the erotic imagery of more than just one generation, thanks to an undoubtful merit of a musical commentary—that "You Can Leave Your Hat On" masterfully belted by 'mad dog' Joe Cocker—so perfectly chosen that it remains among the 'favorites' of countless nightclub shows. It's strange to think that this devilish tune emerged many years earlier—exactly 15, in fact—from the pen of a funny little bespectacled man that few know (and would have a hard time associating with the sensual sphere) but who has left a mark over time more than other artists.
Commercial success never graced Randy Newman, not even when his formula seemed to have everything needed to achieve it: a strange cross between the most lyrical Elton John (the one from the masterpieces of 1970-1973, to be precise—not the baronet who squanders his songwriting talent on pop slushiness for heavy palates) and the most syncopated Billy Joel, with a wink to musical theatre and, why not, to a certain folk tradition. But, as we know, even in music, appearances count, and a quiet and discreet talent often gives way to various freak shows. Thus, even a beautiful album like "Sail Away" (1971)—which includes the original version of the above-mentioned anthem, in its slower and more heartfelt primal form—goes unnoticed by the masses: and it is really a venial sin to miss out on the unusual sweetness of pearls like the title track or "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)."
After that work, however, Randy made many friends, and many would be more than happy to accompany him in his bizarre socio-musical explorations. Among which, the ironic and sharp mockery of "Little Criminals" (1977) stands out, which would grant Randy the only true chart success and fifteen minutes of paradoxical and mystified fame. "Short People," in fact—born as a fierce and entertaining attack on human 'betise'—would be, quite shortsightedly, stigmatized by those who saw in it only the denigration of short people. As if Randy himself were the giant of the mountain. Fortunately, the frivolous affair ends where an album, which for compositional variety and tasteful 'understatement' is almost great, begins. It transitions easily from the slow, funny brass—almost mimicking the walk of the protagonist—in "You Can't Fool The Fat Man" to the robust pop-rock with R'n'B tones of the title track, from pop gems like the scandal single and "Jolly Coppers On Parade" to the tender lyrical effusions of "I'll Be Home" and "Old Man On The Farm," up to the grand mid-tempo of "Kathleen." The harmonies by the Eagles' friends almost play better away than at home, embellishing the delightful parody 'divertissement' in "Rider In The Rain" or moving in the superb "Baltimore." And if anyone still doesn't understand what kind of mind they're dealing with, a glance at certain track names can certainly be helpful ("Texas Girl At The Funeral Of Her Father," "Sigmund Freud's Impersonation Of Albert Einstein In America"—as insane and verbose the titles are, as immediate and less cerebral are the pieces).
Born from the heart as well as the head, funny and sharp like its creator, varied and composite like few works of its time—"Little Criminals" is inspired by a wisdom and melodic completeness that it would be unjust to overlook. Food for thought.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Short People (02:57)
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason to live
They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes on their nasty little feet
Well I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people 'round here
(Short people are just the same as you and I)
A fool such as I
(All men are brothers until the day they die)
It's a wonderful world
Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody to love
They got little baby legs
They stand so low
You gotta pick 'em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars that go "beep, beep, beep"
They got little voices goin' "peep, peep, peep"
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time
Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people 'round here
05 Jolly Coppers on Parade (03:49)
They're comin' down the street.
They're comin' right down the middle.
Look how they keep the beat!
Why, they're as blue as the ocean!
How the sun shines down!
How their feet hardly touch the ground!
Jolly coppers on parade.
Here come the black-and-whites.
Here come the motorcycles.
Listen to those engines roar!
Now they're doin' tricks for the children.
Oh, they look so nice!
Looks like angels have come down from Paradise!
Jolly coppers on parade.
Oh, mama!
That's the life for me!
When I'm grown
That's what I want to be.
They're comin' down the street.
They're comin' right down the middle.
Look how they keep the beat!
Comin' through the heart of the city.
Oh, it's all so nice!
Just like angels have come down from Paradise!
Jolly coppers on parade.
Jolly coppers on parade.
06 In Germany Before the War (03:42)
In Germany before the war
There was a man who owned a store
In nineteen hundred thirty-four
In Düsseldorf
And every night at five-o-nine
He'd cross the park down to the Rhine
And he'd sit there by the shore
I'm looking at the river
But I'm thinking of the sea
Thinking of the sea
Thinking of the sea
I'm looking at the river
But I'm thinking of the sea
A little girl has lost her way
With hair of gold and eyes of gray
Reflected in his glasses
As he watches her
A little girl has lost her way
With hair of gold and eyes of gray
I'm looking at the river
But I'm thinking of the sea
Thinking of the sea
Thinking of the sea
We lie beneath the autumn sky
My little golden girl and I
And she lies very still
08 Baltimore (04:05)
Beat-up little seagull
On a marble stair
Tryin' to find the ocean
Lookin' everywhere
Hard times in the city
In a hard town by the sea
Ain't nowhere to run to
There ain't nothin' here for free
Hooker on the corner
Waitin' for a train
Drunk lyin' on the sidewalk
Sleepin' in the rain
And they hide their faces
And they hide their eyes
'Cause the city's dyin'
And they don't know why
Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live
Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live, just to live
Get my sister Sandy
And my little brother Ray
Buy a big old wagon
Gonna haul us all away
Livin' in the country
Where the mountain's high
Never comin' back here
'Til the day I die
Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live
Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live, just to live
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