Little Criminals

This article is about the music album. For the 1996 film, see Little Criminals (film).

Little Criminals is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman. Like most of Newman's work, the album eschews traditional pop-music themes ("I'll Be Home" is the only love song on the album) in favor of musical story-telling, often featuring quirky characters and cynical views. The first song on the album – "Short People" – became a hit single in its own right. The album itself peaked at #9 on the US Billboard 200 chart, Newman's highest-charting album to date.

Little Criminals
Studio album by Randy Newman
Released	September 23, 1977[1]
Recorded	July–September 1977
Studio	Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood, and The Burbank Studios
Genre	Rock
Length	38:21
Label	Warner Bros., Reprise
Producer	Lenny Waronker, Russ Titelman
Randy Newman chronology
Good Old Boys (1974) Little Criminals (1977) Born Again (1979)

Some of the instrumental work and backing vocals on the album are performed by members of the Eagles. In particular, Glenn Frey played guitar on two tracks, Joe Walsh played guitar on three tracks, and Don Henley and Tim Schmit sang background vocals on one track each. Frey and JD Souther, who had earlier been the duo Longbranch Pennywhistle, sang background vocals on three tracks.

Newman wrote, conducted and played keyboards on all tracks. Synthesizers were programmed by Michael Boddicker.

In September 1977 the British music magazine NME published the following interview with Newman talking sardonically about his then new release: "There's one song about a child murderer," Newman deadpans. "That's fairly optimistic. Maybe. There's one called 'Jolly Coppers on Parade' which isn't an absolutely anti-police song. Maybe it's even a fascist song. I didn't notice at the time. There's also one about me as a cowboy called 'Rider in the Rain'. I think it's ridiculous. The Eagles are on there. That's what's good about it. There's also this song 'Short People'. It's purely a joke. I like other ones on the album better but the audiences go for that one."^[2]

"Baltimore" was covered by Nina Simone, Nils Lofgren, the Tamlins, David Gray, Billy Mackenzie, Lianne La Havas, Jazmine Sullivan, and Mink Stole. "In Germany Before the War" was covered by British band Diesel Park West on their covers album "God Only Knows" in 1992, and by Marianne Faithfull on her album Easy Come, Easy Go, in 2009. The song "I'll Be Home", meanwhile, had been written by Newman years previously, and was originally recorded in 1970 by Harry Nilsson on his album Nilsson Sings Newman and by Tim Hardin on his 1972 album Painted Head.

The album's cover artwork is a photographic portrait of Randy Newman by Bob Seidemann. It shows Newman standing on the West 7th Street overpass above the I-110 freeway in the Financial District of Los Angeles.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
The Village Voice	B+[6]

The New York Times opined that Little Criminals "is the first Newman album with a full complement of musical witticisms to match the verbal ones."^[7] Record World said that the single "Baltimore" "is as serious as 'Short People' was funny, and its haunting melody and dramatic lyric linger well."^[8] The album placed 8th in the 1977 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll,^[9] and in 2000 it was voted number 468 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.^[10]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Short People"	2:54
2.	"You Can't Fool the Fat Man"	2:44
3.	"Little Criminals"	3:04
4.	"Texas Girl at the Funeral of Her Father"	2:40
5.	"Jolly Coppers on Parade"	3:46
6.	"In Germany Before the War"	3:39

All tracks are written by Randy Newman

Side two

No.	Title	Length
7.	"Sigmund Freud's Impersonation of Albert Einstein in America"	3:02
8.	"Baltimore"	4:02
9.	"I'll Be Home"	2:47
10.	"Rider in the Rain"	3:54
11.	"Kathleen (Catholicism Made Easier)"	3:35
12.	"Old Man on the Farm"	2:14

Personnel

• Randy Newman – vocals, keyboards and synthesizer
• Michael Boddicker – additional synthesizer and synthesizer programming

1. "Short People" – 2:54
   • Glenn Frey, JD Souther, Tim Schmit – backing vocals
   • Klaus Voormann – bass
   • Milt Holland – congas
   • Jim Keltner – drums
   • Waddy Wachtel – guitar
2. "You Can't Fool The Fatman" – 2:44
   • Willie Weeks – bass
   • Milt Holland – congas
   • Andy Newmark – drums
3. "Little Criminals" – 3:04
   • Willie Weeks – bass
   • Andy Newmark, Rick Marotta – drums
   • Glenn Frey – guitar
   • Joe Walsh – guitar, slide guitar
   • Milt Holland – percussion
4. "Texas Girl at the Funeral of Her Father" – 2:40
   • Ralph Grierson – piano
5. "Jolly Coppers on Parade" – 3:46
   • Klaus Voormann – bass
   • Milt Holland – congas
   • Jim Keltner – drums, temple blocks
   • Waddy Wachtel – guitar
6. "In Germany Before the War" – 3:39
   • No contributions are specified
7. "Sigmund Freud's Impersonation of Albert Einstein in America" – 3:02
   • Willie Weeks – bass
   • Jim Keltner – drums
8. "Baltimore" – 4:02
   • Glenn Frey, JD Souther – backing vocals
   • Willie Weeks – bass
   • Andy Newmark, Rick Marotta – drums
   • Glenn Frey – guitar
   • Milt Holland – percussion
9. "I'll Be Home" – 2:47
   • Klaus Voormann – bass
   • Jim Keltner – drums
   • Waddy Wachtel – guitar
10. "Rider in the Rain" – 3:54
    • Don Henley, Glenn Frey, JD Souther – backing vocals
    • Willie Weeks – bass
    • Rick Marotta – drums
    • Waddy Wachtel – guitar
11. "Kathleen (Catholicism Made Easier)" – 3:35
    • Willie Weeks – bass
    • Rick Marotta – drums
    • Joe Walsh – guitar
    • Ry Cooder – mandolin
12. "Old Man on the Farm" – 2:14
    • Randy Newman – piano

Technical

• Lee Herschberg, Loyd Clifft – engineer
• Mike Salisbury – cover design
• Bob Seidemann – cover photography at 1013 7th Street, Los Angeles, California^[11]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1977–1978) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[12] 29 Canadian Albums (RPM)[13] 9 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 3 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 26 US Billboard 200[16] 9

Year-end charts Chart (1977) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 18 Chart (1978) Position Canada RPM 100[18] 47 US Billboard 200[19] 53

Sales and certifications

Certifications for Little Criminals

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20]	Gold	50,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[21]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA)[22]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Liner notes, Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman, 1998
2. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 304. CN 5585.
3. AllMusic review
4. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
5. Rolling Stone review
6. Christgau, Robert (October 31, 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
7. Maslin, Janet (25 Sep 1977). "Randy Newman: The Moral Is Implicit". The New York Times. p. 96.
8. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 25, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
9. Christgau, Robert (January 23, 1978). "The 1977 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
10. Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 167. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
11. "Musical Maps".
12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 216. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
13. "RPM Top 100 Albums - March 4, 1978" (PDF).
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Randy Newman – Little Criminals" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
15. "Charts.nz – Randy Newman – Little Criminals". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
16. "Randy Newman Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
17. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1977". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
18. "RPM Top 100 Albums of '78 - December 30, 1978" (PDF).
19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1978". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
20. "Canadian album certifications – Randy Newman – Little Criminals". Music Canada. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
21. "Dutch album certifications – Randy Newman – Little Criminals" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved July 16, 2022. Enter Little Criminals in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1978 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
22. "American album certifications – Randy Newman – Little Criminals". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 1, 2023.