Small World Songs Ranked
Small World is the fifth album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1988. It was also their last album release on Chrysalis Records in the USA. Although it reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the album did not sell as well as the band’s previous albums, Sports and Fore!. However, Lewis himself stated in a Behind the Music interview that the recording process for Small World had the most favorable working conditions. The album track “Slammin'” was written for the purpose of being used for highlights for the football team The San Francisco 49ers, whom the band and especially Lewis are big fans of. “We thought it’d be a cool idea to have an instrumental on the record. Very old school,” Lewis recalled. Lewis joked that the song should’ve just been called “49er Highlights”. The team would indeed use the song for game highlights. Here are all of Small World songs ranked.
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10. Small World (Part One)
“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.”
9. Perfect World
“I 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 “
8. Small World (Part Two)
“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.”
See more: Huey Lewis Albums Ranked
7. World to Me
“We have a slow balled type song with “World to Me”. It’s a great song and I like the lines and simplicity to it compared to several other songs on here.”
6. Give Me the Keys (And I’ll Drive You Crazy)
” The song has good lines, and I lie the rhythm here. The saxophone in this one is great too. Musically speaking, it’s an excellent album. Many say it killed the momentum of the band but they always played by their own rules.”
5. Slammin’
“Then we have a surprisingly great instrumental closer “Slammin'” this song has great instrumentation, and the saxophone here is great. All of the songs are catching and stick in your head. I especially like this as driving music, and it always reminds me of driving up the California coast on a slightly overcast day.”
See more: Huey Lewis Songs Ranked
4. Better Be True
“We have one of the best songs on here next with “Better Be True”. This song has a lovely atmosphere to it. I love the lines here, and I love the rhythm here.”
3. Walking With the Kid
“”Walking With The Kid” is pretty good song. It doesn’t have a good hook though, but I love the lines and the guitar here. I think it’s one of the stronger songs here.”
2. Bobo Tempo
“Bobo Tempo” gets my vote for worst song on here. I don’t like the lines here and the flow of the song doesn’t jive with me well, same goes for the backing vocals.”
1. Old Antone’s
“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.”
