Good Old Boys

I’m guessing that this album made the list pretty much just for the song Rednecks - which is pretty great. I think the rest of the record is just kind of ok.

Need to spend more time on this one - challenging subject material.

Who doesn't love a good satire? I guess the satirized? In any event, Rednecks is a great opener that plays like an tongue in cheek anthem as Newman celebrates "keeping the niggers down." Gotta love the line: "College men from LSU; Went in dumb, come out dumb too." Birmingham has a theatrical sound, but is a nice rooted ode to the location. Mostly in the background for two listens. The music itself was pretty but didn't often grab my attention. Going with a middling 3 for this listen.

Still absolutely love Newman's voice. It's so cheesy, but so nostalgic and just great. Maybe growing up on Toy Story had something to do with that. As for the rest of the album, it was perfectly good.

Such a unique voice that I unfortunately can't unhear the voice used in Family Guy in the episode with Y2K. Piano is very nice through the whole album. The use of the N Word as many times as he used it is not so very nice.

I really liked the last album we got by Mr. Newman, which was almost 2 years ago! Ok whoa had to look up the lyrics on this first song and yes he indeed does the N word like 10 times. It definitely makes sense in the context of the song but damn it is jarring to hear the Toy Story voice say that! Pretty solid, but didn't move me like the previous album by him.

*Recognizable voice and unique sound for its time. *too many slow to mid tempo songs, but I liked the songs that moved

I get he’s supposed to be quite humorous and I may get that more if I listened more but everything he does just sounds samey. Not a huge fan

That version of Fever was anemic lol

Fine

It’s all the same.

Lol this sounds like tory story music. I wonder if it is the same artist. Ah shit it absolutely is. Hm interesting.

Crazy opening track

Jolly but not really what I'd listen to

I don't recommend writing satirical songs. Most people don't get it. He's got an almost Ray Charles kind of vibe to him but it gets a bit samesy. Beware of the Naked Man is weird.

That first song wasn’t a comfy listen, but I felt better to discover the actual meaning behind it. Quite a tale really. Overall, this was an interesting album. It addressed some important topics. It’s hard to separate him from Toy Story at this point, but that’s ok. I enjoyed the themes and vibes.

Noen gode sanger

It's a relaxing record, songs were nice and it's an album to play in the background. Would need more listens to listen to it more intently, but I enjoyed it regardless.

I got a real Buzz when this popped up as i knew of the man but, hadn't dived into anything. I'd had a Peep at his back catalogue Andy it seemed promising. The acerbic wit, the good storytelling and the Slinky piano playing all seemed great. The lyrics were a bit Hamm fisted and moRe ex rated than i was expected but nothing to make me go Caboom. A nice album, but there was something that overshadowed it, that i couldnt put my finger on.

Takes a long hard look at Randy...

It's okay.

Quite an interesting start to the album. Glad I listened to it with headphones. No way that song gets made today, even though the message seems to be anti-racist. Overall it was OK. Not something I'd necessarily go looking for, but wouldn't turn off (Rednecks - if in company aside).

Not sure about the lyrics in that first song, good job I was on my own. Completely utterly straight down the middle average no complaints more than really go looking for this sort of music.

I quite enjoyed it, probably won't listen to again - maybe one song.

Start off to say, I do really enjoy Randy's style. Clear that the Toy Story song is his general style, and that song was great, so hearing a full album of tunes like that was a good time. But I think (and it's the general elephant in the room) starting off the record with Rednecks was certainly an introduction and choice. And while I get the point of the song, I can't help but think the song lost the plot by the extremely liberal use of slurs. For comparison, the Dead Kennedy's song Holiday in Cambodia is also one where that slur is sung by a white man, but its used once as an extremely jarring and cutting point. And that song is fantastic. So I do feel Redneck's point could have been made more tactfully. That said, I generally enjoyed this album, it's a little repetitive in sound and probably isn't one I'd go back to, but yeah. Newman gets points for the superior Rollin' (Sorry Fred Durst).

I was expecting a lot of "You've got a friend in me" - but that was not the case. Pretty solid album! Gets a 3 in my books!

Surprising bit of commentary. Singing and musicianship are alright

The first track really caught me by surprise lyrically but I see what Randy was going for. This was pretty enjoyable overall though I don't love the style - it gets a little boring for me.

I know the song comes from a good place, but it’s crazy to hear this white guy just dropping hard R’s

Didn’t realize that Randy Newman gives me Van Morrison Nora Ephron movie sync energy until listening to this. Also “Marie” is surprisingly tender and heartbreaking!

I get what he's doing here, but it doesn't land for me. Something about white dudes from California satirizing Southern racism is tough for me to get into. Otherwise, there are some catchy songs, and I don't hate it all. Solid 3

8/23 - hey this fuck made that toy story song!!!! its 5am and im tired im gonna listen to this later

I'm not sure how to rate this album. I can see that Newman is a great songwriter, but this sort of music is something I just don't care for.

I know he's done a lot of Disney songs but god it's strange listening to this.

3 08.13.2025

I listened to it a bunch but I'm not sure how much of it i took in

Songs sound the same. He has better songs on other albums

Randy Newman is hilarious. One of the great satirists of our time.

Rednecks song was spot on, don’t know if it was intended that way though

Pretty decent, but a few clunkers and not nearly as good as 'Sail Away'.

Just kinda meh. Nothing stood out.

Shocking until you get the intent

point6.

I was not familiar with Randy Newman outside of Disney films, which kinda ruined it for me a little bit. This is progressive story telling about places middle class white folks probably aren’t familiar with. Question is, is this appropriation or bringing an underground scene into the mainstream?

Marie //

Wasn't ready for how hard the political satire goes on Rednecks. Wouldn't fly today but hes not wrong here. Political songs interspersed with...bullshit? Weird vibes. Upon further reflection, I realize I will probably end up thinking about this album forever.

Easy listening Country Rock from one the masters of the genre. I'm familiar with Randy Neman via various Pixar movies, but hadn't heard any of these songs before. The album is OK, and while I wouldn't personally buy the album, I would keep it if I received it as a gift.

In my previous review of the previous Randy Newman album, I noted that he somehow already sounded both old and old-fashioned back in the early 70's. That's still the case on this record. It's not bad by any stretch, but I couldn't really connect to the music. Just didn't do much for me.

This is a guy who's really got his own thing going, and sometimes it's fun or poignant, and sometimes it feels rambly. It's never something that has grabbed me when I'd I can appreciate it conceptually. I liked "Louisiana, 1972."

Different enough from other stuff to be interesting - especially lyrically (I'm presuming Rednecks isn't pro racism!). Not interesting enough to want to listen to any of it again however

Alright, let's address the elephant in the room to start the review. Yes, Randy Newman drops multiple hard-Rs in "Rednecks," the opening track on the album Good Old Boys. It is very jarring to hear the Toy Story man sing a racial slur. However, that song, as well as many of the other songs, is written as a heavy satirical piece from the perspective of an ignorant Southern man. The album's kind of a concept album in that regard, what with there being a general source of inspiration for most the album's songs. While I'm not defending the use of the word per se, I can understand the motivation and purpose behind it. It's like that John Lennon song, you know? Anyway, the album's pretty good. I'd go as far as to call it better than the other Randy Newman album on the list, Sail Away. The lyrical themes are interesting. Again, it is jarring at times, but I think the messages come across well. I do love me some good satire, and this album has that. Randy Newman's voice is kind of silly, but it's honest, which is good. The instrumentation here is pretty strong as well. I like the vibes. It doesn't feel as much like Toy Story music as the prior album, which works to make the themes hit harder. I've gotta say. Randy Newman is a pretty respectable artist. Good stuff. High 3/5.

3/5

Not super familiar with Randy Newman at all, but this was about what I expected it'd be.

I only knew of Randy Newman due to the Family Guy sketch, so I was expecting this album to be annoying, but it's actually pretty good.

I don't know about that one.

This album begins with a provocative song about Southern racism and Northern hypocrisy, and then completes its 30 minutes or so with short songs that are fine, just fine snippets of Southern characters and history. Not an uninteresting theme necessarily. But this kind of parlor music just leaves me wondering: who would buy this record in 1974 and play it more than once? Which was all that was asked of me, I guess, and now I’m good.

De stem van het toch wel bekende 'You've Got a Friend in Me' van de film Speelgoedverhaal. Ik vraag me af wat hier precies de doelgroep van is. Het neigt wat naar country, zeker in het begin, maar het is niet echt voor de échte cowboys. Het is meer een soort ge-croon voor de iets beter bedeelde Amerikaanse pensionado die zich een paar weekjes in het jaar lekker terugtrekt in het casino, ofzo. Een leuke kroeg-act, alleen is de band daar misschien net wat te uitgebreid voor. Een band in dienst van een zanger die niet super goed zingt en vooral z'n verhalen wil vertellen. Af en toe wil 'ie de voetjes van de vloer krijgen. Verhalen over een simpele gast uit de werkende klasse, daar gaan ze hard op die boomers in de casino's. Ik zie het helemaal voor me. Op de scootmobiel richting de eenarmige bandiet en dan 10-12 uur lang niet van je plaats komen. Dit is niet voor mij gemaakt maar ik zit toch op een soort twijfelspoor: vind ik dit nou kansloos of is het eigenlijk nog best wel aardig. Ik neig naar dat laatste en ik verbaas er mezelf een beetje mee. Voor een keer wel geinig. M'n luistercompagnon heeft hier een hele summiere beoordeling bij, maar hij raakt eigenlijk wel de essentie: "Vermakelijke teksten op een blij pianootje". Ik ga mee met zijn 3 sterren.

Good bit of satire

A nice album. I kept waiting for “A Friend in Me” 3/5

I admire Randy Newman more than love him. The songs are interesting. Gently shocking and sometimes grimly funny but the music doesn't excite me much.

Randy Newman est un auteur-compositeur-interprète qui a su se forger une place à part dans le paysage musical américain. Souvent sarcastique, parfois cynique, mais toujours doté d'une tendresse sous-jacente, il est un observateur aiguisé de l'âme humaine et de ses contradictions. "Good Old Boys", sorti en 1974, est sans aucun doute l'un de ses chefs-d'oeuvre, un album conceptuel qui plonge au coeur du Sud des États-Unis. Dès les premières notes de "Rednecks", le ton est donné. Randy Newman ne mâche pas ses mots pour dépeindre les préjugés et l'ignorance, mais il le fait avec une intelligence qui dépasse la simple caricature. On sent une volonté de comprendre, même les aspects les plus sombres de la mentalité sudiste, plutôt que de simplement juger. C'est cette ambiguïté, cette capacité à adopter le point de vue de ses personnages sans pour autant cautionner leurs actes, qui rend l'oeuvre de Newman si fascinante. L'album est une succession de vignettes, de portraits dressés avec une précision chirurgicale. On y croise des figures emblématiques du Sud, du gouverneur Huey Long dans l'éponyme "Kingfish" à des personnages plus anonymes, mais tout aussi évocateurs. La musique, un mélange subtil de piano, d'orchestrations riches et de touches de blues et de country, sert parfaitement le propos. La voix de Randy Newman, si particulière, tantôt murmurante, tantôt moqueuse, est l'instrument central de cette exploration. "Louisiana 1927", l'un des titres les plus célèbres de l'album, est une ballade poignante sur les inondations du Mississippi. Ici, la satire laisse place à une compassion sincère pour les victimes. C'est un moment de pure émotion, une preuve de la polyvalence de Randy Newman, capable de passer du rire jaune aux larmes en un clin d'oeil. Cette capacité à toucher le coeur, même en dépeignant des situations difficiles, est une force majeure de l'artiste. L'orchestration est une composante essentielle de "Good Old Boys". Les arrangements sont souvent somptueux, ajoutant une dimension épique à certaines chansons. Le piano de Randy Newman, toujours présent, est le pilier autour duquel tout le reste s'articule. Il est le conteur principal, celui qui donne le rythme et l'ambiance à chaque histoire. En résumé, "Good Old Boys" est un album majeur, un jalon dans la carrière de Randy Newman et dans la musique américaine en général. C'est une oeuvre courageuse, intelligente et profondément humaine. Sa capacité à mêler humour noir, satire sociale et émotion pure en fait un classique intemporel. Un beau 3 sur 5.

Nice record. I like the New Orleans(?) jazz touches here and there. These songs are appearently satirical, but honestly I didn't catch any of that other than a few moments here and there, but that's because I wasn't paying that much attention to the lyrics. I still enjoyed it, although I'm not sure we need two Randy Newman albums on this list, even if it's hard to decide which is the better one. Key tracks: Birmingham Marie Guilty Louisiana 1927

can’t wait for toy story 5 where Andy time travels to the 20s and has a midlife crisis

WHO GAVE BRO THE PASS????

uh, political satire... the toy story song he wrote is 100000% better than this. 3/5

Not my style

Honestly feels weird to hear him sing something that isn't Disney. Offbeat but not super interesting.

Preaching to the choir, it's got to be funnier than this... perhaps it once was.

It's weird that the Toy Story guy is singing a satire album about the south. Like I get it, but I can not separate the two. The songs are spot on, harsh and vulgar and I understand where it's coming from. It sucks this album feels like it was written recently. It's terrible that an album written in 1974 still feels relevant. It shouldn't, we should be better. It also sucks because all I see are Buzz and Woody while the album plays. This is not the album to be seeing Buzz and Woody while I listen!

3/5

Parece um álbum de trilhas sonoras de filmes, as letras são bonitinhas, e melodias agradáveis.

Can't relate to either the style or content but appreciate it's a good album of its genre.

I understand the dislike of the lyrics, but I think the rest is rather nice

Relaxing

Like being in the middle of a Disney film.

It’s a little strange for a guy from LA to make a whole concept album from the perspective of the south. He’s obviously a talented songwriter and it’s an interesting listen but it does feel heavy handed at times

3.5 Never really listened to Randy Newman before very closely. This wasn't as marbled-mouth as much as I would have initially thought and I enjoyed the recording. Got a bit of the concept through the one listen and thought it was interesting.

A fabulous songwriter. Great album.

This is not how I remember the Toy Story soundtrack. Seriously the opening track is really something, I’d never heard it and it’s a wild swing that mostly connects.

Every time I hear Randy Newman I think Toy Story: family friendly, folksy, fits in a movie montage but not really something I want to listen to in other contexts. After a bunch of listens, I really only got into a couple of tracks: "Marie" and "Guilty".

The trouble with satire is the degree to which your audience may be able to interpret the intended message as an anthem versus a thought-provoking lesson (see: Born in the USA, Killing in the Name Of.) So while I get what Newsman is trying to put down with 'Rednecks,' the message misses the mark for me - especially given the extent to which times have evolved to where white folks just really don't (and shouldn't) use that word anymore. The album is fine, solid grandpa and/or little kid music (minus the slurs and references to whores) - but nothing I'd go back to. & very much wonder why so many songwriters & bands of this era were *obsessed* with the south.

I only knew Randy Newman from the Toy Story song, so I was not ready for a satirical concept album about the American south. I don’t think the satire hits the same way in 2025, because basically every song sounds like a MAGA rallying cry. Who or what exactly is being lampooned here? It’s complicated. Newman holds up a mirror to America and what we see is pretty ugly. He’s not celebrating the characters he portrays, but he’s not entirely condemning them either. And these bluesy, jaunty piano songs are tonally confusing. You can just imagine the twinkle in his eye as he wistfully sings about racists and abusive drunks. It feels wrong. What’s really upsetting is the perspective Newman is singing from, these good old boys, has been weaponized, and it’s taken over American politics. The issues he’s highlighting - racism, poverty, crises of modern masculinity - have not been solved in any way. All we have is angry people wielding power and no solutions. It’s a lot to pack into a collection of songs that sound like You’ve Got a Friend in Me. But this album is light years away from a heartwarming animated movie theme. Rednecks - Had to go to Wikipedia for context on this one. Sure, roast the libs, they’re hypocrites, etc. But for obvious reasons this song doesn’t go down well in 2025. Really though, I feel like using that slur didn’t come off well in 1974 either. It’s a super jarring way to start off an album. Anyway I guess little has changed in 51 years except things are worse now. Mr. President - I think this must have been based on Nixon, but it’s eerie listening to this during a second Trump presidency. Louisiana 1927 - All I could think was, Katrina. It’s really sad how relevant this song remained. Rollin’ - The album ends on a curiously carefree note. Just pour yourself a whiskey (or roll up a joint?) and we ain’t gonna worry no more.

★★★½

Esch so chli Country mässig no guet, stohd aber jetzt ned wörk use oder so

Solid country singer/songwriter with hockey tonk piano. Questionably problematic lyric content

Randy Newman and I apparently listen to a lot of the same music. But I don’t expect he wants to listen to me play and sing. I definitely don’t want to listen to him. It’s like watered-down gumbo. Why you gonna eat that mild soup when so many others cookin’ so hot?

3.5

6,23

These are definitely not the lyrics I expect to accompany this music. He has a humorous bite that is part satire, part sincere disgust. I appreciate it, but I don't love it.

Randy Newman is good at doing his cheeky, loungy tunes thing. They're not bad, but also not something I see myself coming back to.

This album had me Rollin’.

Not terrible. I like it musically. I like songs based on characters.

I liked this album. I listened to it while trying to decide whether to make brownies or just make dinner. After the first track, which I had to rewind to make sure I heard what I heard, I decided to just start dinner. I like Randy Newman, but after The Family Guy skit on him I have a hard time listening to him without having a little chuckle. He does have a way of singing things like he is describing them, and he kind of never stops. That said I think that some of the songs are really clever, some are really heartfelt, and the album warrants more listens, as did Sail Away. The rating could go up with more listens, but 3.5 feels good for now.

5.5/10 Highlight: Rednecks

I never cared much for Randy Newman

Very retro-sounding for its time. Could be 50s or even older, judging by the piano, strings, and bluesy style of vocal/melody. Randy Newman's voice is iconic for his later You've Got A Friend In Me and It's A Jungle Out There (among many others!). He sounds like your local bar alcoholic who's convinced he can tell you a good story but then goes off on a half-hour tangent about Reaganomics. Also, as I like to say, if any human was ever born from an egg, it would be Randy Newman. He's such a musical oddball that you can't help but respect the Newman grind. A pretty long career (starting in 1968) and yet his sound hasn't changed all that much. I realise it could dangerous to claim to enjoy the opening track, Rednecks, but it's pretty good if you ignore the lyrics. (The lyrics send a message, but they're tone-deaf and drop an entire star off what would've been a solid 4-star record.) But the rest of the sound, including the remaining lyrics, is solid. Jaunty, mostly acoustic, decent production, and excellent compositions – including fun melodies and chords. The strings are very pretty, particularly in Louisiana 1927 and Birmingham, and there isn't a single track where they sound too cheesy or out-of-place. It's a straightforward likeable sound – not much else to say. There's not much of an "album arc"/experience that most 5-star records have. That is, Rednecks could just as easily have been placed anywhere in the track listing rather than at the beginning, and Rollin' anywhere rather than at the end. This is an issue with many promising albums on the list. 3/5 Key tracks: Birmingham, Mr. President, Louisiana 1927

no guys you don’t get it he said the n word hard r seven times for artistic purposes

Cute little songs. 7.8/10

You can understand why Disney decided on Randy for a lot of their movie music! I think his distinct voice and use of acoustic/orchestral instruments is really good. Despite that, the album was maybe a bit too slow for me and didn't have enough distinction for me to remember any standout songs

5/10

god forbid a white boy catch a vibe

Alright, especially with some context lol

I love Randy Newman, very nice album - few of the songs were really great, others just nice, so it wasn't anything crazy. Still, a very pleasant album even though I think some of the best Randy Newman songs are on his other albums.

Eh. It's not for me. I guess it's just having grown up on Toy Story, but this just doesn't feel right to my mind. I'm going to give it 3 stars because I'm sure it's not actually as rough as I felt it was, but just my ear wanting to hear "You've got a friend in me" when I hear Randy's voice.

Seen as the best Randy Newman has to offer, but for me this one is the lesser brother of the amazing Sail Away

Lost episode of School House Rock on race relations in the South? This is a pretty bizarre album by today’s standards. Retroactively his voice now sounds like everything is a nursery rhyme for children.

I was originally going to give this a 2, but honestly this is a pretty cool album

I’d like to revisit this album again. I think it could grow on me. I recognize there was something particular about its lyricism, its storytelling, its concept, that’s worth delving into a bit deeper. I was familiar with Guilty via the Jimmy Barnes / Joe Cocker cover, this was the first time hearing the original version as far as I’m aware. For a first listen it was ok, a solid 3.

Börjat riktigt bra med Rednecks, som sen visade sig vara den bästa låten. Gillar hans röst, det svänga pianot och den satiriska texten. Därefter blir det tyvärr lite tråkigare. Balladerna och låtarna i lägre tempo är inte riktigt lika spännande och lite för likriktade, även om jag gillar Louisiana 1927 och det i övrigt aldrig är dåligt. På det stora hela en stabil trea.

Having Toy Story be the first introduction of Randy Newman truly does not prepare you for him singing the n-word with a hard R. Anyway this is a concept album with some lovely tunes. But the chances of me sitting down and listening to this in full again are basically nil. 3/5

Do you like listening to Randy Newman sitting at his piano singing songs of varying quality? I'm not entirely sure that I do, but you gotta give the man credit for consistency! (There are some songs on here that are pretty good--I just don't see myself ever putting them on again.) (18 known/30 new)

Newman's piano heavy songs evoke an America long forgotten. The music is drenched in somewhere between Jazz and Blues, and the lyrics seem to spy on US-American lives somewhere in the middle of the last century. As a whole, the album is nice enough, but nothing I would neccesarily re-visit. 3/5

I rather liked the first Randy Newman album I had here. It had this unique vibe of feeling nostalgic, witty, snide, and a little angry at times while all feeling wholesome. This one attempts something similar, though doesn't quite reach the same heights, at least for me. This album doesn't hit like the other one. Maybe it's that the sound is similar enough that it doesn't strike me as fresh anymore. I don't know, but it just didn't hit like before. The concept of this album, though slightly loose, is views on the south from various people's points of view. Which I didn't know going it. Knowing that, I give the album a little more credit than the two stars I was going to give it. It seems a little out of left field, but I can roll with it. We need to talk about "Rednecks." I agree with the message he's trying to espouse here. I agree with the sentiment. I don't agree with his use of the N word. I liken it to John Lennon's "Woman is the N***** of the World" - the message is there, I agree with the sentiment, but he never should've used that word. It was a different time, obviously. We know better now. So I can forgive it a little bit for it being a different time. But don't tell me it wasn't at least a little frowned upon back then. Don't tell me he thought what he was doing was perfectly above board. He knew. And that's where I don't agree with it. I know the song is from the perspective someone who uses that word, a character being portrayed by Newman. But I still can't support it like I wouldn't support it today. Anyway. Three stars. Not as good as his last outing, but not bad. I'll always enjoy an attempt at a concept album. Standout Tracks: Birmingham, Louisiana 1927

Despite being a great composer (that can be heard even on this early album) his texts are something else. If that could be instrumental, would be lot better

Feels like a cleaner less dirty Tom Waits (early stuff)

Hard to say what to think of this one. Randy Newman was the proto-Gen X "Everything is horrible so we might as well laugh" songwriter. Hard to tell when he's being ironic or not sometimes. There's a lot of heartfelt emotion tied up in this series of songs -- but leading off with "Rednecks" where he's using the hard-r...doesn't come across the same in 2025 as it did in 1975. Worth listening to, but not all that fun.

Kinda chill. I would add this to my movies soundtrack

I actually quite liked this, but I just really struggle to take Randy Newman seriously, because when I hear him all I can think of is South Park taking the piss out of him.

A fine listen. A little too twangy for me, but I guess that makes sense for the album. Not something I will revisit. Didn’t hate it though.

3.1 - I like Randy Newman for about 2 songs and then his cadence becomes so similar and boring.

I wanted Randy to charm me, but this was quite a snooze. Fave Track: Naked Man 2.7/5

ehhh

Ég veit bara tvennt um Randy Newman. Hann gerði Toy Story tónlistina og hann var skotspónn í frábæru Family Guy atriði. Ég verð samt að segja að ég fílaði þessa plötu og mig langar til að hlusta á hana aftur. Hún fær 3.5 en ég set hana í 3 af því að mig grunar að ég muni gleyma henni

Holy shit that first track... It's described as satire/parody but I can see a few people using that as their own anthem. The album was good, but he's a better writer than he is a singer.

Brzmi jak żywcem wyciągnięte z toy story tylko dużo więcej niggerów i negrosów. 3/5

decent

Definitely love his voice, but didn't know any of the songs. Still pretty good, though.

Autentycznie nie wiem, co o tym myśleć. Ten album to satyra, jasne. Ale szczerze mówiąc momentami gość jest tak przekonujący, że serio nie wiedziałem, czy to aby na pewno satyra. Miałem poważne wątpliwości. I na początku myślałem, że gość tak z pełną powagą to nagrał. Album jest ciekawy, spójny i w bardzo pobudzający do myślenia sposób omawia ważne problemy. Zarówno krytykując obiekty swojej satyry jak i wystawiając na próbę nasze własne granice i umiejętność wyważonego osądu. Cały album jest niesamowicie ryzykowny, balansuje na granicy satyry i czegoś, co może w łatwy sposób zostać zawłaszczone przez postaci, które są krytykowane (myślę, że wyrwane z kontekstu "Marie" czy "Guilty" spokojnie mogłyby zostać uznane przez mężczyzn, o których mówi za wzruszające i szczere). Równo 50 lat po wydaniu tego albumu czytanie go jak podręcznika, z którego czerpie Trump, naprawdę nasuwa się samo. Z drugiej strony to, w jaki sposób większość tych piosenek przypomina "You have a friend in me" z Toy Story (to nie przypadek - stworzył ją i zaśpiewał Newman) i piosenki z Monsters Inc. powoduje, że trochę mózg się zacina. To nie są skomplikowane utwory, ktoś napisał w global reviews, że Newman zna więcej obraźliwych słów niż sekwencji akordów. Ale są chwytliwe, klarowne, przyjemnie się ich słucha (oczywiście jeśli nie oburzają Cię teksty). Po słabych ocenach widać, jak bardzo wzrósł poziom kontrowersyjności tego krążka i jak bardzo ludzie nie potrafią spojrzeć ponad używanie n-bomb i używanie sformułowań wyjętych z ust rednecków, rasistów, szowinistów i innych -istów. W dzisiejszych czasach ten album nie miałby żadnych szans. Kojarzy mi się trochę z "I'm not racist" Joynera Lucasa (swoją drogą genialny kawałek, dzięki Cichy za pokazanie mi go pewnego wieczoru na Wałowej), ale on jest czarny i sam się tłumaczył dając ostatnie słowo czarnemu (choć zastanawiam się, czy jednoznacznie staje po stronie czarnych i czy część jego krytyki włożonej w usta MAGA-typa nie jest szczera). "Good Old Boys" jest trudniejsze w odbiorze i widać to po ocenach w Global Reviews. Ludzie nie potrafią spojrzeć poza n-bomby i fakt, że podmiotem w piosenkach jest redneck (wykreowana persona). Jednak fakt, że to właśnie ten gość został nadwornym kompozytorem Pixara wciąż mi rozsadza banię XD. (Ciekawostka, stworzył też muzykę do "Marriage Story").

Album pełen gorzkich obserwacji, "Good Old Boys" to satyryczny portret amerykańskiego Południa. Randy Newman łączy piękne melodie z tekstami pełnymi kontrowersji i sarkazmu. Warto przesłuchać dla fantastycznego głosu Newmana. 3.5/5

A very intriguing listen with some great tunes and some challenging lyrics. Not what I expected from Randy Newman, excellent.

Good fun.

-started this one feeling a little iffy but it grew on me by the end. short and concise with no frill, which I like -though not entirely suited to my taste it‘s a really good addition to its genre I’d say… thank you for your work on the Toy Story and Cars soundtracks Randy Newman -Favorites are Rednecks, Louisiana 1927, and Back On My Feet Again

Hard to get the Pixar comments out of my head. It is very listenable but I’m not too focused on the lyrics.

Randy Newman is the opposite of how I feel after eight months of fatherhood.

hearing randy newman saying the n word is so surreal, like i knew his solo music was crazy offensive but its still weird actually hearing it racism but its funny and kind of nuanced. def didnt need to say slurs but whatever. guys he mad you got a friend in me he can do no wrong

It was OK, I get why people say every song sounds the same though

First listen. Not bad.

Interesting. First song started a little rough, and a few other wild references. But that was the 60’s.

Well, its been a long time since my last review, but its been a helluva Holiday season. Welcome to 2025. If anybody has kids, they know Randy Newman from many of the Disney movie soundtracks. Pretty unique voice and that heavy piano sound with most of his songs. Because of his association with Disney movies, I was a little stunned by the opening track. I get it suppose to be parody, but it still made this listener cringe each time I listened. Outside of the opener, I found the album to be a very good album to have running in the background while at work. Solid tunes with very a very enjoyable piano sound. I can't say I would save this album as a download, but I certainly wouldn't change if it randomly pooped up on Spotify. 2 songs stood out to this listener and yes, it's because they make me think of of wife, Marie and A Wedding in Cherokee County. I absolutely love the line, "I have loved you since the very first time I saw your face." There is no doubt, I was fortunate to experience "love at first sight." I married her. We're still married and I love her more and more each day. I know I'm one of the lucky ones. Anyway, Randy Newman has a very enjoyable and distinct sound. Thought this album was pretty good. I'll go with a 3.5. 3.5

3 My dad prepared me for this album, but even still, as someone almost exclusively familiar with Randy Newman within the context of Toy Story, the first song on this album was pretty shocking. Yes, I get the song is a sort of satire and making fun of the titular rednecks, but I really can’t imagine cranking the song again in any sort of context. Like, you definitely couldn’t be like “Yo, hand me the aux” and then put this on without judgment being cast on you by everyone around - unless you are just a group of racist rednecks and missed the point of the song. That out of the way, I actually enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. I’m not someone who usually listens to a lot of piano-based artists outside of Elton John, but questionable lyrics aside, I thought there was a nice vibe to just about everything here, and aside from the whole Southern everyman concept, I kind of liked the whole “heartbroken drunk” thing he had going on as well. My favorite songs here were probably Birmingham, Marie, and Louisiana 1927, though I didn’t think anything here was bad - Every Man a King was kind of campy in a carnival sort of sense, but it still worked within the context of the album and didn’t outstay its welcome. Overall, decent album that was pleasant enough to listen to, but it didn’t blow me away by any means, and song #1 is probably going to dissuade me from putting this on again anytime in the near future. I get the messaging, and I’m with you brother, but there’s other ways of going about that still enables your music to be listenable around other people.

Sounds just like Toy Story and Princess and the Frog. Rednecks did not age well. Marie is a pretty song. Strange amount of substance abuse songs. Kingfish has some eerie chords around 2:07 that are cool. Rollin' with the strings is also nice. Pleasant enough album.

Glad musik. Känns som varenda låt skulle kunna vara med i Toy Story.

Enjoyable sound, enjoyed Louisiana 1927 in particular

Rednecks was a…surprise to be sure. The album is interesting in that it sounds really good but the subject matter is treading a fine line. Hits close to home considering I know the Good Old Boys-type folks. Just not sure what to put.

I thought this guy was a living meme, turns out he has good stuff. Nothing I'd go out of my way for however.

It sounds like Randy Newman, and that's about all I can say about it. It isn't horrible.

Very pleasent album though I kept waiting for buzz and woody to make an appearance

Very distinctive voice, to the point that everything sounds a little bit like you've got a friend in me. I think that first track was a tongue in cheek heightened caricature of what Randy sees as misplaced southern stereotypes but it was still jarring to hear the toy story bloke sing it. It's generally quite pleasant and nobody else sounds like him but I think his voice made him famous rather than the music which is fairly pedestrian. 2.5.

Music for people that don't want a challenge. All tracks on this album are inferior to You Got A Friend In Me. All tracks are near identical. Kingfish is alright. I did not hate it.

Let's be clear: Newman would be cancelled for some of this today. And it would be on him – he clearly fancied himself a provocateur but the targets seem obvious and the jokes aren't as clever as he thinks (and his fans do). There are moments to be sure – "Marie," "Guilty" and "Louisiana 1927" – and real craft here but also a whiff of hackery. The instrumentation doesn't exactly suit the material either, with strings and brass that lay it on the thick, the cheese and sappiness and borderline sentimetality (and wouldn't Newman cringe to be accused of such?). Also, taking points off for the pretty crappy soundtrack work that would follow, though perhaps they were crappy by design since the movies were same. Though his partisans love to claim a lack of appreciation, his position in the canon – resting heavily as much on novelty hits and lame (if no doubt well compensated OSTs) as anything of more substance – seems about right, which is why it's safe to forget him.

Why the Disney man say the n word? A lot more politically charged than what I thought Randy Newman’s music would sound like. 5/10

I think Randy Newman has a recipe for songwriting that works. At the same time, I think Randy Newman uses the same recipe every time, and that gets old quick. Like, it's not bad, but it's so predictable. I like some unpredictability in my music. I don't want to be able to predict the next rhyme, or where the music will go next. If I feel like I'm ahead of what's happening, why listen?

Never did I expect the guy who wrote "You've Got a Friend in Me" to have a song with the n-word used 8 times...

For some reason wanted to hate this. It's a bit shocking at times, but the satire is there

Randy Newman always provokes nostalgia, even when he's singing about derogatory slurs. I had mixed feelings about this odd album. Favorite Song: "Kingfish".

It's fine

Wow those lyrics on the first track... I know that it's supposed to be lampooning those views but it's still rough to hear. Aside from that, the album is really enjoyable if somewhat slight. His voice just transports me to being a kid watching Toy Story though which makes it hard to not be happy while listening.

Tämmöstä jonka tahtiin sopii kyhjöttää pubin nurkassa 3/5

AIka hauskaa vinoilua tuo ykköskappale. Muuten vähän keskimääräistä toimivampi kantrilevy, jonka sanoitukset on osuvia. Taitaa silti jäädä kolmoseen.

Kinda gentle I think? 2.5

Well-crafted album from a gifted songwriter. Could never sing "Rednecks" today.

going into this listen, the main song i associated with randy newman was “short people”, which has to be one of the stupidest songs i have ever heard. so, the bar was low. most songs are pretty listenable, to be honest… however, most of the songs are PAINFULLY similar. and “rednecks” just seems like an excuse to write a song full of the “n word”. but over all, not a bad album.

No short people

Previously rated: Sail Away (3/5) *********************** Standard Randy Newman sound. This one was more political than Sail Away. I won't hold it against him too much.

Satire is a tricky topic, one that I have no right discussing, so I'll just avoid the slur can of worms that this album can be. Otherwise, this album just sounds like the guy who wrote the Toy Story soundtrack decided to make a bunch of Harry Nilsson-esque tunes, which is exactly what it is. That means there are some really pretty tunes, some songs that make you want to bob up and down, and a lot of songs that feel just like they could be played on a speaker and no one would bat an eye were they not paying attention to the lyrics. It's okay, dare I say pretty, but whenever I focus on Newman's voice something just bothers me. It isn't grating, per se, but it is lacking, and that fits for most of these songs, luckily, but thirteen tracks of it can be a bit much, even with how short it is. Still, nice enough, I suppose.

Ok

The Toy Story guy opens with some hard R's in his first song. I don't really agree with the hypocrisy callout that Newman signals to in Rednecks because, while there are many racial issues in America's largest cities, it's still progress from literal slavery. The rest of this album sounds ok, I kind of like his distinct voice and the clarinets present throughout the album.

Not gonna lie, this is pretty mid for me. The compositions, while pleasant, sound like anyone could have come up with them and I don't have much use for "biting satire" or really any kind of comedy in music. Still, it is a toe-tapper.

I don’t know anything about Randy Newman apart from the Toy Story song. It turns out that’s his signature sound.. earthy country rock sound.

Huh. The guy who made "You've got a friend in me" for Toy Story opens up an album with a satirical take on racism in the North versus the South, and includes liberal use of the N word. This album is fifty years old, so it's hard to appraise the value of this storytelling in a day where pretty much any non-black artist using that word would instantly get canned, and for good reason. I like the song overall, but I'm not in a position to evaluate the choice of words really. For that song alone, I'm not going to give this any higher than a three. Other than the opening track, his lyrical abilities across the album really shine, and I found the instrumentation simple but effective. It's not really my style of music to listen to, so I doubt I would've given this higher than a three anyway, but for the right person, I would recommend this with a caveat for the opening track.

Favourite song - back on my feet again

Standard Randy Newman fare without the Pixar related familiarity we're accustomed to.

Better than Bob Dylan

60/100 First song actually had me laughing. The satire on here is great and overall this is a good album but some of the tracks do seem to be less original than the standouts.

Nice, but I would not seek it out... It's ok...

Weird album, I get what Newman is trying to do here but (in 2024 at least) it is missing its mark. Too crude, the point often hammered down. Maybe it was necessary when it came out.

Pleasant, but not his best stuff.

“Good Old Boys” von Randy Newman ist ein brillantes Album, das die Südstaatenkultur und Politik mit scharfem Witz und Melodie erforscht.

song reco: rednecks ⭐⭐⭐ i've known him because he sang some of disney osts. this is a nice album.

It's okay, I like Marie

To start with “Rednecks,” it’s a little jarring to hear a white guy singing the N word over and over, especially in a Southern accent. It’s pretty plain to see that it’s meant as a satire on Northern contempt for Southern racists, when historically the North is not without guilt on race issues. A game of “moral equivalence“ that is far too complex to get into on an album review post, but suffice to say this song could not be done again in 2024 - or even sung on karaoke night ever. The rest of the album is very well written and arranged. Randy Newman is an exceptional talent. We can all arrive at our own judgements on the content.

Not quite sure what to make of Randy. He's got some good lyrics. Easy enough to listen to his music.

Un buen álbum de "música de hall", con letras claramente subversivas que buscan darle un nuevo "filo" al género que Newman está interpretando. Las interpretaciones ofensivas, no son realmente ofensivas y se entienden bajo un contexto de "crítica", "parodia", o incluso "sátira". Interesante, pero en ocasiones puede ser musicalmente plano. De todas formas, lo recomendaría para cualquiera que quiera escuchar LP que busca activamente cuestionarse la estética tradicionalista con una letra rupturista.

Turns out I prefer Randy Newman in small doses.

first listen.

He never appealed to me

No. 209/1001 Rednecks 2/5 Birmingham 3/5 Marie 3/5 Mr. President 3/5 Guilty 3/5 Louisiana 1927 3/5 Every Man a King 3/5 Kingfish 2/5 Naked Man 3/5 A Wedding in Cherokee County 3/5 Back on My Feet Again 4/5 Rollin' 3/5 Marie 3/5 Average: 2,92 I didn't actively dislike this, but felt mostly bland and boring.

This sounded very familiar and I was wondering why but it's because of the "You've Got a Friend in Me" song from Toy Story. Quite a nice album, nice having this in the background. I thought that I knew this way of singing because of a Family Guy sketch, and yes - that is correct as well.

That first song really caught me off guard. I appreciate what he was trying to do with this album, and most of the songs were pretty enjoyable. I just personally don't like to listen to a white man singing racial slurs even if that man is criticising racism.

I hated the last Randy Newman album on this list, so was expecting to hate this. Surprisingly, it was pretty good.

býsna áhugavert. grunar að hún vaxi við fleiri yfirferðir, fær því 3,5.

I'm sure this is the second of his albums to have featured on my list - and still all I can think of is Pixar! Hard to believe that Randy Newman has anything other than a good day.

Nice one.

A lot of horse slop. Boomer ranting about the South. The fact that my dude sang the most iconic song of my childhood is making me cringe to infinity. It took the entire length of the album to get to something semi interesting (back on my feet again, naked man) these songs keep me having coming back, so respectfully a 3 despite all the junk.

Ganz OK, würde ich nicht kaufen

It's Randy, but in the 70s and a bit more racy lyrics

So lala

Classic Randy Newman. I actually knew several of these songs.

Sure sounds like Randy Newman, which isn't a bad thing. I've always like Randy Newman even if he's not someone I'm going to go out of my way to listen to. The lyrics of Rednecks though; was not prepared to hear that many hard "R" n-words that early in the morning. Reading up on the context for the song was interesting. Made me think quite a bit about how conversations about race and politics have changed in 50 years, and sadly how much has not changed as well. Provocative lyrics aside, I don't really see me putting this on again, but it deserves better than a 2, so 2.5/5.

Assumed I wouldn't like this, but it's decent. I enjoyed the lyrics I picked up. Rare case of maybe ok situation to use the n-word? It does its job. 3.25/5

I want to give Randy Newman credit, but even listening to his classic stuff, I’ll always see him as the guy who made the Toy Story songs I didn’t like even as a day one fan. I just don’t vibe, sorry guy. C-

Rednecks- 2.9/5 Birmingham- 3.6/5 Marie- 4.2/5 Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)- 3.8/5 Guilty- 3.1/5 Louisiana 1927- 3.7/5 Every Man a King- 4/5 Kingfish- 3.3/5 Naked Man- 3.8/5 A Wedding in Cherokee County - 4.1/5 Back on My Feet Again- 3.6/5 Rollin' - 3.5/5 Marie (Demo)- 4.2/5 Total- 3.7/5 If Randy Newman did sausage party instead of toy story

Hearing the hard n word really caught me off guard. It really is dinner party music that you can’t play at a dinner party. I actually love his voice. He has great lyricism but for some reason I just don’t really want to listen…

Not the Randy Newman I’m used to. Same voice and piano playing but definitely not the Toy Story lyrics! 😂 Entertaining but not gonna revisit.

I bounced off of this album like a rubber ball.

Not quite sure how I feel about this one! There’s some interesting stuff, some boring, some funny, some sad but true… some songs I really liked, some I didn’t… Really enjoyed ‘Marie’ with its beautiful sadness. Gonna give it a 3 but it could fall on the scale anywhere depending on the day haha

Honnêtement meilleurs que ce que j'aurais imaginé d'un album d'auteur-compositeur-interprète country

Good listen

I can't listen to Randy Newman without thinking about the Mad TV sketch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK-p3mtyhRc

Lol this opening song. After reading about this album more…not sure any message it was trying to send works today. Did it even in the 70s?

Have a cd copy of this album but do not listen to it too music - the quality of the songs is very high but it requires a certain mood to appreciate it (best song: Kingfish).

Good songwriting and nice performance, although I do not care much about a theatrical song like 'Every Man a King'.

Well that's one way to start an album. It's actually pretty good, and the satire is plain to see. The way it mocks society is pretty scathing.

A nice listen

The Toy Story movies ruined this guy but also made his career. Every song on this album made me picture an animated character running through his life from song start to finish. That’s all that I can think of. This isn’t an easy to listen to album because of that but it’s not bad Choice Cut: Guilty

Piano blues with string backing is new for me. It's nice to listen to, if a little melancholic for my taste.

I liked the album surprisingly well. Originally I thought I would finish it quickly, just listen to a few tracks and then move on to something else. But, even if the music doesn't suit my style, I will listen to one or two tracks again. 3/5

it is too hot and this is a weird album lol. chill until you listen too hard (nb from today I'm changing ratings. I was being too nice and the albums I gave 3 before today were awful and worthy of 1 star. This is just mid)

After how cringey the first Randy Newman album I got was, I expected to hate it. Off the bat with Rednecks I was taken aback. Did the Toy Story guy just say the N word? Yes he did. Repeatedly. Once I realized that it was satire I understood the lengths he was going here to pull this off. I respect the effort. This album feels really personal and authentic to Randy. It's not something I'm going to put on outside of this challenge as it really doesn't strike me as the musical genius that it sometimes gets acclaim for. But it was a lot better than I expected going in.

Warm and comforting, but a bit like listening to Toy Story soundtracks

Nobody has a voice like Randy Newman. He’s an excellent songwriter too. Everything on this album feels carefully placed and thoughtfully produced. I like those slightly off key notes in “Guilty” that make the song sound a little drunk. In high school, my friends and I made a silly short film and used “Marie” as the soundtrack for a breakup montage. Totally forgot about that song until I listened to it today. It’s a beautiful, sad song. A lot of these songs are about race and politics and culture in the South. There’s a mix of voices and perspectives. I liked this album although I didn’t connect to the songs very strongly. I’d love to hear more Randy Newman though.

This is yet another entry where I'm gladly forcing myself to listen to an artist that I really never have listened to even though they are massively famous. Besides him doing "You've Got a Friend in Me" I don't know much about his work besides knowing that he was well known in my parent's generation. This lyric-forward piano singer-songwriter type is also one that I don't often listen to, but going through a whole album of it has been really a lovely experience. His voice is great, and is in a tier of great and wonderful-to-listen-to voices, but it also has a sort of "everyman" quality that I appreciate, and isn't pretentious or fake or "put on" whatsoever. The piano that is prevalent in every track is also great, and he definitely has a defined sound that he lives in. This cinematic, pop rock with some blues in there style that lends itself perfectly to scoring a movie. It's a fun sound. It's a solid high 3/5. I think I need to hear more of his other records.

He is weird, but I like it

Man bliver altid i godt humør af sådan nogle ballader

Interesting and full of charm. Didn’t like the use of certain word in “rednecks”, but understand the reason why satire of southern Americans would use it.

Country with some political punch. Especially the intro track that goes hard on criticizing racism - what a great song! Overall not something I would go back listening to as it wasn’t really that interesting too me.

I kind of dug the album, which was a surprise. The gratuitous use of the N-word on the first track is so bad though. Without the first track, this honestly might have been a very surprising 4.

Controversial

I feel like Newman is a great songwriter - I can hear all of these songs getting the production treatment and being hits for big singing stars. This album feels like it’s a collection of demos that are being shopped out for other people to do. The bare-bones production highlights his skill as a songwriter, stripping the tunes down to bare essentials. On the other hand you fell like so many people could actually perform the song better.

Overall good listen. Standout songs: Birmingham A Wedding in Cherokee County Back on my Feet again

That was not as bad as I thought it would be. Quite the jolt from the first song and tapering off from there.

Holy Toy Story! That’s all I can think of listening to this. It’s not bad, but it all just sounds cheesy to me.

OK

Randy Newman does crazy songs. He’s pretty good, and I usually like his stuff.

In the current year, Good Old Boys is a bold and potentially controversial album as Newman tackles southern American platitudes in the form of a satirical voice. Good Old Boys covers racism, class disparity, and tragedy, all in Newman's signature singer-songwriter piano cadence. While the song performances are an enjoyable listen, it is the wit and lyrical acumen of Newman that tends to make the songs memorable. Lines like "President say, 'Little Fat Man, ain't it a shame what the river has done to this poor cracker's land'" and "She will laugh at my mighty sword, why must everybody laugh at my mighty sword" showcase a lot of this ablum's appeal. While impactful, I feel a lot of Good Old Boys relies on it's clever songwriting, and for me it falls just short of being clever enough to praise. Newman still wrote some great songs here, but the overall product of this album doesn't quite sit with me the way it intends to.

Nice, but all the songs sound kind of same-y.

Helt okej inte nån speciell låt som var tråkig men albumet var lite tråkigt i sin helhet.

Randy Newman’s haunting and enigmatic musical confession to a string of unsolved prostitute murders with occult overtones in the backwater bayous of Louisiana keeps it boozy and bluesy all these years later. While contemporary critics on the coasts gave him a pass at the time, probably owing to his charming piano trills, oozing authenticity, dripping contempt for his kinfolk, and romantic notions of power-drunk socialist Governor Huey Long, it’s impossible for the trained listener to un-hear Newman’s mocking taunts to criminal investigators in virtually every track, (and particularly evident in ‘Marie’ — doubtless a reference to Marie DuChamps — a down-on-her-luck mother of two who turned to truck stop solicitation to afford baby formula and went missing October 8, 1972), concealed behind the carefully crafted artifice of a folksy, simple-minded, slack-jawed drunk and mediocre ‘pye-ano’ player. The law may never catch up to Randy Newman, but the truth, while inscrutable, can be found in every bar of this absolute banger of an album. Three enthusiastic stars! You’re killin’ ‘em, Randy, or as you might say, “Bizzle bazzle BWOOMP-a-doo-boopy-doop — and that’s just how the bitch payyyys…”

I know this might sound surprising but I'm a sucker for cheesy American country. This guy doesn't seem to take himself seriously, I'm reading the lyrics of his songs and it's like this cliché American redneck, ngl I kinda dig it. The music itself is nothing special, but it made me smile. 3/5

Was not ready for the toy story dude to drop this much slurs. what a ride. This made me realise we need to bring back working class country.

eh

Not my style of music, but can appreciate the song writing.

Quite enjoyable, very obvious sarcasm. Even when it's from an ironic viewpoint as a protest I can't stand the N-word. The New Orleans style playing is enjoyable and is a refreshing twist on this piano-led music than straight Elton John/Billy Joel troubadour stuff (as excellent as that is). A high three stars.

It was ok. Some of the lyrics were clever with good word play. But the whole thing felt like they let the theater kid play the piano at the party.

A charming album. Imagine you combined a bit of Ray Charles, Bette Middler without the over-the-top-flambouyant Schtick, stride piano and some New Orleans flavor and you’d arrive at the heart, wit, and singalong fun of this album.

you can hear the toy story voice!

Pretty sure Randy Newman is Jewish. Fuckin GOT EM

This was refreshing. Newman clearly has his own style and unique voice and instrumental arrangements. He sounds like the bar piano player or western times sometimes.

I'd heard Randy Newman before, from Toy Story. This is not kid friendly Toy Story music. The Way he combines political and social commentary into an upbeat piano tune is actually impressive. The beginning of Rednecks really surprises you, and then to throw the n-word around like that, until you listen to the lyrics and realize he's throwing the whole country under the bus, everyone's guilty. Is it really satire if he's telling the truth that no one wants to hear. All of it done while sounding like the soundtrack to Toy Story.

idk man, even if we ignore the first song, i saw this one and was like "cool, i wonder what the you got a friend in me" guy did with his actual music, turns out its all kind of that, its not baaaaad but its also not super creative??

Another solid album from Randy Newman chock full of cutting acerbic wit and lots of shady characters. The arrangements keep me at arms length with Randy's albums never drawing me in completely 3.5 stars

3.1/5 Best Track: idk

A son style particulier et reconnaissable. Je pense toujours à Toy Story! Certaines paroles me semblent un peu équivoques avec le recul…

Good vibes, pretty chill. Not much special.

Sérstök stemming hjá Randy. Hvert einasta lag er sögustund sett fram á gamaldags kvikmyndatónlistarhátt. Ágætt í heild sinni, en sérstakt.

The arrangements make it sound like Toy Story, but the lyrics make it sound like edgelord.

Not the Randy Newman I thought I knew…

Guh, it’s really hard to judge. I like the guy ok but it’s really hard to take his voice seriously.

Crazy that this guy ended up doing film scores for like half of the Pixar movies. Album was ok I guess

Lucinda gave me a geography lesson, Randy sprinkles in politics and social commentary. Fave track: Rollin'

Got to say, I liked this one significantly more than the last one. I kinda groaned when I saw another RN album just days after the last one. But this one was much more enjoyable.

I think Randy is getting a bad rap here. I'm as fatigued as anyone of white guys from the 70s but he is different and distinctive at least. He reminds me of a guy writing show tunes without a show to attach them to (or Pixar film). The orchestral flourishes added to rather than took away from the songs

I imagine this will be a 3. It was. Chill, mellow, a little dumb and forgettable, but easy at work.

Probably the most sarcastic record I've ever heard. Kinda glad to be done with Randy Newman now though.

toy story working blue

People obviously find it hard to shake the Pixar thing, but there's some good songs in here, and some nice music. I got over it pretty quickly. I like the backing orchestral bits. Overall quite easy-going and it didn't outstay its welcome. 3.5 rounded down.

Long before he became the go-to composer for film scores/soundtracks and the Toy Story franchise, Newman was a well respected, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter who released quality music much under the radar. A lot of it was satirical, observations of American life, it's politics, it's people and the little things we try not to think about. His life changed commercially with that annoying, Short People song in 1977, but Good Old Boys was three years before the album Little Criminals (that contained Short People). For the most part, Good Old Boys is enjoyable, the songs were fine, but to me, it's not that memorable and unless you really concentrate on the characters and story (it's a concept album!), it's loses me a little.

Oh so viel Sehnsucht hör ich da raus! Schöööön <3

Very Randy Newman. One very difficult song. Some other good ones.

Great story teller. Music is fun. If you don’t read the lyrics or understand satire you will not like this album. 3 stars

This one is tough to evaluate for a few reasons. Just like with Short People, we know that his usage of the N word here is to indict those who use it earnestly, but man does he really lean into it on several tracks. Overall I think I appreciated it but this isnt the sort of thing you can listen to without headphones, especially when he brings in midget and whore again. So odd that the Toy Story guy mostly wrote these biting social commentaries. Like James I struggled to differentiate the songs other than via the lyrics.

Unfortunately my favorite song was also the one where he keeps repeating the n word. I’m kind of torn on Newman. I like his lyrical style at times but can’t really help but tune out as his albums progress. Kind of reminds me of Cohen that way actually. This was not as strong as yesterday though.

Overall decent songs lyrically, minus the fact that today he probably wouldn’t use the n word. Instrumentally they sound quite similar to me. Wasn’t expecting the Toy Story song writer to be using this kind of language, though I know it was mostly for social critique. Probably wouldn’t listen again

Sin más.

Uh...interesting. Randy Newman, guy we all know for the Toy Story song, makes an album about the American South. He's in character for most (if not all) of it, portraying a southern "Good Old Boy," but knowing that still doesn't help the shock of hearing him sing about a "smart ass New York Jew" and then drop the N word repeatedly on the opener. Just strange, man. Totally understand what he was going for, and there are a few songs that I enjoyed, don't get me wrong. Just reeling from the initial shock. This is our second from Randy, obviously more conceptual than the first, but I'd be lying if I said that intro didn't give me whiplash. I'm sure that's what he was going for, and in many respects I think this album succeeds at what Randy sought to do. But it's not something I'd spend much more time with. Favorite tracks: Marie, Back on My Feet Again, Naked Man. Album art: Is that Randy? Guy with some woman at what seems to be a bar, nothing apparently Southern about it to tie the theme together. But I guess he looks like a bit of a jerk so that works. 3/5

Randy is a tough one to rate. I really love his music as I'm listening to it but I never really put it on. The social commentary is great but I don't really listen to music for biting satire. I guess it's a 3, but it's damn good.

It was ok, he sure does have a quirky sense of humor. The strings with the piano pretty much guarantee I won’t be listening to most of it again any time soon, but I would explore more Randy Newman in the future.

I just don't know about this one. It is pretty catchy and wacky, for sure.

I like Randy. I fell into a couple tickets for an opera house show of his and he’s the penultimate showman. Rednecks and Guilty are solid tracks. This is the second album cover so far with an out of focus picture. Was this a thing?

When somebody says country music sucks, this is what I imagine they've heard.

Quirky and inoffensive, nothing stood out though other than hey this sort of sounds like Pixar.

I've never heard Randy Newman besides Toy Story. This is a weird hybrid of like 5% almost Bob Dylan, a chunk of Tom Waits, something almost easy listening like Phil Collins a tiny bit, 2% Paul Simon almost. It's such a strange mix of sound and feeling. Several parts had me look up what year this was released in. Time certainly changes some of these songs. The music and feeling and his voice is actually pretty great at several points. I don't know where he fits into music but I can see why he had a career for sure. I almost have a hard time picturing what someone who bought this album looks like. Maybe AP Mike.

For me a Randy Newman song once and a while is fine. I don't want to listen to a whole album at once. No doubt he is amazing at his craft.

Scathing piano-driven R&B

Woof - this is a real "statement" album. Without reading Wikipedia or understanding that this is a critique of Southern culture, one might mistake the lyrics for something else. I'm not sure what to think about the use of the n-word in a modern context, while it's used as criticism of racism, it's still just awkward to have a white singer use it somewhat flippantly.

OK nothing standout special

A piece of very specific US history packed in pleasant blues and soul tunes.

He wrote Toy Story?!?!

All I can hear is Toy Story & Pixar songs. If my mind wasn't predisposed to think about kids' films, I'd say this is an okay album.

This was one of those in one ear out the other type albums except for all the satirically racist stuff that hasn't aged well. I'm sure randy newman knew what he was doing and was just trying to shit on "good old boys" in the South but that still doesn't fix him using the hard R quite a bit. I think it mainly starts to fall into the pitfall of becoming a bit like the thing you're satirizing. I liked his other album a lot more.

I'd never really looked into Randy Newman's work, but I'm sure most people my age have certainly heard him before. Of course I know of "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story but I had no idea he scored so many Disney-Pixar soundtracks! That of course made it really jarring to hear this biting, satirical record, opening with the hard-R heavy "Rednecks". Damn, not sure you could get away with that now, even if it is scathing satire against bigotry and institutional racism, both back then and still today unfortunately. It's a really complex album for sure - I know I can't really give much commentary about it as there's a lot of concepts I'm neither old nor American enough to understand. Adding to that, it's country music so naturally I don't care that much. Usually I have some aversion of Southern-accented male-vocalist country music, but in Newman's case I can't fully get on with it or take it seriously as he's just typecast as "That Toy Story Guy" in my mind! I'm conflicted. This album definitely deserves to be among the 1001, no doubt. It's important, and worth the thinking, conversations and debates, both about the subject matter of the songs and the general meta of this album's satire. Personally I didn't care that much for this musically, and I don't know if I'll really come back to it, but I'm glad to have heard it. Favourite: Back on My Feet Again

Never got super into Randy Newman. I like him OK, but it doesn't do much for me. I'd rather hear Nilsson singing Newman.

Ikke noe minneverdig, utenom første sang, og ikke på en bra måte 2.8

I liked the non-sappy songs, especially the first one. This album's really got that Disney sound, I recognized it even though I've never seen any of the films he made music for

Easy listening tunes accompanied by sharp satire. Not sure whether I am able to appreciate the latter fully, I imagine I’m missing a lot.

It’s like the hidden second soundtrack to Disney’s The Princess and the Frog

Okay album, but I didn't have time to make through it properly. I will listen again to it soon.

Not my thing, but hey, its the Toy Story guy. Who knew he drank so much

Album 152 of 1001 Randy Newman - Good Old Boys Rating : 3 / 5 Favorite Track : Rollin' It has become hard to listen to any Randy Newman tunes without thinking of a Toy Story soundtrack. That could certainly become confusing when taking in the song subjects from this album. Some scathing satire, one could say. He goes in hard at what he finds to be the bad aspects of the 70s south but, at the same time, gives respectful recognition of the good. So many directions one could go with this. The album is an awesome listen. It certainly is a subject driven album. Got me curious and a little research finds that there have been several studies and essays done on this album. That is where I'll be for a little bit. Give this one a listen, if you're not familiar.

There's a feeling of comfort that comes with this, but I did grow up with the Toy Story movies... Parents were also a big fan of "Little Criminals", the album following this one. Gets a little samey throughout, but it's not enough to not enjoy it. Favorite tracks: "Birmingham", "Marie"