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I'm not really a "Randy Newman Fan" and I remain weary/wary of "songs" as an ongoing primary proposition, but Randy Newman has had a very real skill set and he has consistently deployed it very deftly, apparently since the almost beginning. That's the premise of these two sets, and that premise proves to be a sound one, and for me, a semi-revelatory one. These are two delightful collections, and if the programming makes for a somewhat scattered listening experience the first time through, a coherency of voice develops with repeated listenings, and eventually it's just one big hoot. Highlights of unexpected delight will showcase Fats Domino, Rick Nelson, The O'Jays (whose reading of "Friday Night" is, I Swear To God, the exact Mathematical Midpoint between The Drifter & Elvis Costello), Cilla Black(!), and seemingly endless others. Other than Eric Burdon's seeming reading the lyrics off the paper for the first time take of "Mama Told Me Not To Come" (still, the first recording), there's nothing on here that is less than smile-inducing GOOD, and there's enough Genuine Goodies for my unhesitating recommendation to anybody and everybody for whom "this type of thing" might hold an appeal. Haven't really dug into the annotations yet, but they appear to be excellent and document Newman's evolution from a staff songwriter to a Genuine American Icon. Otherwise...is this not an eerie fusion of voices? Is Fats channeling Randy, or has Randy always been channeling Fats, I don't even know, eh what?