Small World appeared around 1988 and had to top the two previous albums by Mr. Lewis and Co. I was at this time tiring of Huey Lewis and did not even bother to listen to it. MISTAKE!!! This is quite possibly their best. The whole album just rocks from beginning to end and I am looking at it from a stand point of just having bought it in 2008! The production is 80's, but it still works wonderfully due to great musicians and good song writing. Amazing.
December 21, 2008 |  | Underappreciated but Excellent |  |
Huey Lewis & the News took big risks in making this album, like hiring jazz saxophonist Stan Getz as a sideman, experimenting with zydeco arrangements, and doing some nearly all-instrumental tracks that were very unlikely to become hits. But that kind of creativity and risk-taking is what makes this album a great achievement for an extremely popular band of the day, and sets it apart from the rest of their catalog.
The songs here are sometimes jazzy, sometimes funky, often rooted in classic 1960s rock, but consistently good. In this sense, Small World shares a musical pedigree with some early Santana and Chicago albums that had a lot of horns, organ, world music influences, and broke the boundaries of mainstream rock. There is a high level of variety, musicmanship, and just plain fun in this album.
I wrote to Huey Lewis years after the album was released and let him know how much I liked it, even though I considered myself mostly a jazz fan. Mr. Lewis actually wrote back and expressed how much he enjoyed working on the album and collaborating with Getz. If you like music that defies category and takes a few risks (and succeeds), give this one a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.
June 28, 2008I like the production , I like the instrumental performances and I like the arrangements. This record is all about good songs and roots music. The hit single "Perfect world " is a song you can listen a hundred times and still enjoy ."The world to me " is simply put a wonderful ballad and "Better be true " is really great . The music fashions will come and go but this record that I first listened to in 1990 can be heard today with the same pleasure.
How many bands can achieve that ?
The secret of Huey Lewis and the News is that they are a natural rock and r&b band , so much the better.
This is a classic, forget the critics.
November 12, 2007 | | A cool album but no Grammy-winner | |
This 1988 release was a cool album but no Grammy-winner like SPORTS and FORE!. Huey Lewis & The News did spawn two Top 20 hits,PERFECT WORLD and GIVE ME THE KEYS(AND I'LL DRIVE YOU CRAZY). 1988's top-selling albums include the COCKTAIL movie soundtrack,U2's RATTLE AND HUM,Guns 'n Roses' APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION,Bon Jovi's NEW JERSEY,Def Leppard's HYSTERIA and Van Halen's OU812. What happened to your Grammy-winning hit-making,guys? After this album,HL&TN were dropped from the soon-to-be-extinct Chrysalis label,whose other major clientele included Blondie,Pat Benatar and Billy Idol. Following this album in 1991 was HARD AT PLAY,released on the EMI-Manhattan label and was available on LP on a limited edition basis. Lewis became an actor,secondarily,appearing in a few films especially 2000's DUETS with Gwyneth Paltrow. Lewis and Paltrow had a hit from that film,CRUISIN',which was originally a hit for William "Smokey" Robinson.
July 10, 2007| | | Small Word Is One Of The Best Of 1988 | |
Huey Lewis is one of those rock n' roll musicians who never forgot the heart was the beat,the rhythm and the blues.After the two massively successful (and satisfying) albums Sports and Fore! Huey & The News decided they just wanted to do something a tad more....artistic.So they turned away from being precieved as a singles act and made a genuine album 'Small World'.One of the best things about this is the two part title song,still that great,funky rock n' roll Huey and his band did so well but ads on still extra funk from the hot Tower Of Power horns and the gritty jazz sax of Stan Getz.Unlike some earlier albums 'Small World' is very strong on New Orleans R&B and jazz stylings;there's even a little bit of a light West Indian rhythm present in the bluesy "Bob Tempo",one of those ultimate party songs!Actually a similar feel is present on the hit "Perfect World".Bruce Hornsby shows up on "Old Antone",another great New Orleans kind of strut.The bouncy "Walking With The Kid" and the fine crafted "World To Me" are great pop and have really great hooks."Better Be True","Give Me The Keys (And I'll Drive You Crazy)" and the the hard groove of "Slammin'" are all extremely funky and the latter again showcases the Tower Of Power horns.As I well remember critics were quick to ravish 'Small World' with every scathing review they could think up when it came out and even though it went platinum like the bands other records it doesn't get the recognition that even the previous album Fore! did.Being an R&B,funk and jazz lover 'Small World' is one of my favorites,even though I love all of Huey's stuff.All of it has a great groove and great sound.But music lovers are not critics;if these Amazon critiques are correct 'Small World' has impacted regular music listeners very well and I happen to be one of them.So I say this is a CD worth checking out.
April 4, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(6 reviews)